Motions

City to Bay Fun Run

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:51): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that this year marks the 50^th running of the City to Bay race;

2. Commends the City to Bay for promoting good health and the enjoyment of fitness, supporting athletics communities in South Australia and for providing a platform for fundraising activities by race participants; and

3. Recognises the dedicated efforts of City to Bay staff and volunteers in ensuring that the event is successful each year.

In just a few days' time, on Sunday 15 September, we will mark a major occasion: the 50^th running of the City to Bay Fun Run. The City to Bay is one of the most popular and beloved events on South Australia's annual calendar and a wonderful celebration of the fun to be had in fitness and community. It is not only Adelaide's largest running event, I understand it is also Adelaide's largest mass-participation event. If you have witnessed the throng of people each year waiting at the starting line for the race to begin, this is not at all hard to believe.

This iconic race hosts tens of thousands of runners every September. It attracts a number of very serious athletes and elite runners from all over Australia, but the majority of the entrants are participating just for fun and, in many cases, also to support good causes that are meaningful to them. Many runners and walkers choose to support charities with their participation and some people choose to dress up.

The eclectic mix of people involved, from the serious to the silly, brings levity and enjoyment to the day. Quite rightly, to encourage and support the diversity of participation that makes the City to Bay so special, there are options to suit all abilities, with three kilometres, six kilometres and the traditional 12 kilometres all available to registrants, as well as a half marathon distance of 21.1 kilometres, which was introduced in 2018 for those who are extra keen. The half marathon course starts at 6am at Glenelg and joins with the 12-k start point before ending up at the same spot in Moseley Square.

One well-loved feature of the race is the entertainment on the sidelines along the course, which can be appreciated by race participants and spectators alike. Then there are the post race festivities at the event village, where participants, family and friends can enjoy a range of activities like food and drink stalls, live entertainment by local artists and the award ceremony, through which are celebrated not only the winners of the day but the phenomenal community spirit that characterises the whole event.

Of course, as with any good contest, there are prizes and awards for place winners. The prizes are awarded in various categories, including overall winners, age group categories, best dressed, highest fundraising individuals and teams, and the largest team. Because it is the case that every entrant who finishes the race deserves recognition and commendation, all participants who succeed in crossing the finish line receive a finisher's medal and a race pack with various goodies from sponsors. Anyone who has ever run or walked to the City to Bay will tell you that it truly is a fantastic event. With its warm, celebratory and inclusive atmosphere, it creates a real sense of togetherness for the community of people who gather to complete the course together.

Compared to the spectacular event of today, the City to Bay began much more unassumingly in 1973. Running was nowhere near the popular exercise or pastime in the late 1960s and early 1970s that it has been in more recent decades. Bob Clarke, the race's founder, gathered an organising committee and only 11 weeks after he decided it would be a good idea, the first City to Bay was run in November 1973.

The first race started outside Adelaide Town Hall and included about 1,600 runners who had paid an entry price of just 50 cents each to compete in the 11.5-kilometre run. Bob Clarke, to open the race, addressed the starting runners from the Adelaide Town Hall balcony by microphone before rushing down with just 30 seconds to spare, joining the group of runners just ahead of the starting gun.

The race since then has grown enormously in size and scale, although not necessarily in a linear way. During the acute phase of the pandemic, the City to Bay race was not able to be run in person which forced the committee to think outside the square in an attempt to keep the race going. True to athletic form, the organisers showed remarkable agility in pivoting, successfully running a virtual race for two years until the in-person race made its much anticipated return in 2022.

The City to Bay Fun Run gives our community much more than the good times we had on the day itself. In fact, the main objective of the City to Bay is to raise funds to support athletics in South Australia. Profits from the race are used to assist athletes and clubs within the athletics community. They have previously sponsored promising athletes to get to the Olympics and have purchased new equipment for clubs.

The race also supports local service clubs as well as the athletic community, with donations based on the amount of volunteer help they provide, both on race day and for pre-race administration. Add to this the good that can be done by the individual and team fundraising efforts of race participants and you have significant momentum in raising funds for worthy causes across our state and our community.

Of course, the City to Bay does not happen on its own. It is the beneficiary of the tireless efforts of a great many people, beginning with its excellent and highly accomplished race director. I pay tribute to Joe Stevens OAM, who in 2021 was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his contribution to athletics. Joe is known to all who have been involved in sport and athletics in South Australia. He is currently a board member of Athletics SA as well as past president and life member of both Athletics SA and Athletics Australia.

Although not related, I do enjoy calling him Uncle Joe and he plays a vital role working with Athletics Australia as an official, specialising in the technical aspects of competition. Joe works with a number of other organisations, such as Sport SA, the South Australian Olympic Council and the Australian Commonwealth Games Association. I extend my recognition and my thanks to Joe for the care and the work that he puts into sport for our state and our community.

The City to Bay website says that the event 'promotes fitness, community and all things good about South Australia', But the fact is that the City to Bay itself is one of the good things about South Australia: an inclusive, welcoming, community-minded event that gives people a good reason and an enjoyable opportunity to come together and do something for a good cause, or merely just to come together and enjoy the day.

To give an idea of just how special this annual event is to our community, as at last year's running there were not only entrants competing who ran in the first City to Bay race in 1973, there were entrants who have run every single race since. I trust these incredible individuals will be out on Sunday, enjoying their 50^th City to Bay in the same spirit as they enjoyed their first. A more lovely tradition is genuinely hard to imagine.

This year, for the 50^th running, there will also be a lovely tribute to the man who started it all. Bob Clarke was 73 when he ran his last City to Bay, which he completed in only 59 minutes. He passed in 2016 at the age of 91. On Sunday, about 25 family members will don commemorative T-shirts and participate in the event's six-kilometre walk, a fitting tribute to a person who began a great legacy with this wonderful event, and he would be so gratified to see it continue.

I commend everyone who makes the race possible each year, including Uncle Joe and the race organisers, its many, many volunteers, each and every participant who dons a bib and completes the course, and the many members of the community who contribute to the event by cheering from the sidelines, offering support, encouragement and entertainment. It is a wonderful and special thing for our community to come together and share. I convey my wishes to everyone for an enjoyable and memorable 50^th event on Sunday—at this stage the weather looks perfect—and all the best for many, many more City to Bay fun runs to follow.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.