City to Surf 14K!

Today I ran my first race in Australia.  It just so happens it was the largest race in the world!  80,000 people ran in the City to Surf 14K today.  It started in Sydney CBD (Central Business District) and ended at Bondi Beach.  I had no time goal in mind because this was the furthest I had run since the San Diego Marathon in June.  I just wanted to run the whole 8.7 miles which I did.  What a crazy race!  There were parts where the walker to runner ratio was 10 to 1.  It was fun to pass lots of people.  Since lots of people were walking some of them were drinking beer along the way and eating ice cream cones!  It was a very well organized race especially considering how many people ran it.  The course was quite hilly though.  The biggest hill was called Heartbreak Hill and was uphill from mile 3.5 to 5!  Here is a map of my route, the elevation, and my mile splits:

The view of Bondi Beach at the top of the last hill before the finish was gorgeous!  I found Ben afterwards and we got some sandwiches and chips and ate lunch on the beach.  We had to walk very far to get to the train station because the line for the busses was very long.  It felt good to come back to the hotel and take a shower.  What a great first Australian race!  Here are a couple more pictures from the day:

After the race and Bondi Beach

Leigh post-race

Bondi Beach Surfers