444 replies to this topic

[kg]

There has been a rumour that they are going to introduce a marathon along with the half and 12k at the 2009 c2s, does anyone know the date if it is happening?

[GinaGC]

kg, on Nov 10 2008, 10:14 AM, said:

There has been a rumour that they are going to introduce a marathon along with the half and 12k at the 2009 c2s, does anyone know the date if it is happening?

Hi kg,

Assume there will be a Marathon. Organisers are determined to create one for next year and hopefully draw some big names. Problem being the best in the world like flat, fast courses! Hopefully, our little hills to the beach wont deter. But I'll keep you posted.

Gina

[flyingdutchman]

I heard the same rumour.  

[StellaBella]

Not much of a "rumour" considering I'm pretty sure the C2S ppl announced it was going to happen - I'm pretty sure it was on the fliers and on the website etc! Was a bit of discussion about it on the C2S threads at the time... Personally speaking i have issues with it but would have no intention of running it anyway!

[VelociRaptor]

Gee it will be a nice early start for the marathon run considering the half starts at 7am.

I don't think it will add too many more people though, you will just have more half people running the full etc.

[GinaGC]

kg, on Nov 10 2008, 10:14 AM, said:

There has been a rumour that they are going to introduce a marathon along with the half and 12k at the 2009 c2s, does anyone know the date if it is happening?

This is a definate. Details are being organised as we speak and a web page should be up and going in the next week or two! Obviously course, entry info etc will be later.

Organisers are hoping for an Elite Field as the prize $ is as follows:
1st- $30,000
2nd- $20,000
3rd- $10,000
For both Men and Women. There will be travel/accomodation assistance to athletes who can run sub 2:20hr (men) and 2:45hr (women), plus time bonuses!!

The course WILL be accredited. As this is crucial for legitimacy, longevity of the event and for runners wishing to use times to qualify for major International Marathons!

Sunday Times has taken over media and advertising and times will be available on the SAME DAY!! Yippee!!

Pencil the date which will be August 30, 2009

Gina

[knoddie]

The $30,000 will come in handy  

[loubee]

Great news Gina, thanks for the update. Can't wait to see the course.

Looks like Perth C2S will really be on the map now.

[djc42]

Wow, that's serious prize money. And some really great incentives for elites as well. Same day times ? This is all great news for the sport in WA... thanks for the update!

[VelociRaptor]

Not that this will affect me as I am just a plodder, but wonder if they will be able to set it up so the elites have a clean run to the finish?

I know with the half this year a big portion of the group was back out on the main course as the elite 12km runners came through. Could you imagine a leading elite tangling up with a group of every day runners and missing out on the cash  

[StellaBella]

GinaGC, on Nov 14 2008, 03:54 PM, said:

Organisers are hoping for an Elite Field as the prize $ is as follows:
1st- $30,000
2nd- $20,000
3rd- $10,000

Pencil the date which will be August 30, 2009

Gina

Holy moley!!!  

Is this the normal standard of prize money in Aus races? I was musing with someone that sure you couldnt make a living off running fun runs (so to speak) but win 2 races a year and you'd have to say it's possible!

VelociRaptor, on Nov 14 2008, 04:53 PM, said:

Could you imagine a leading elite tangling up with a group of every day runners and missing out on the cash  

I can imagine it... it ain't pretty!

So Gina... will there be a clock in 2009?!  

[GinaGC]

VelociRaptor, on Nov 14 2008, 04:53 PM, said:

Not that this will affect me as I am just a plodder, but wonder if they will be able to set it up so the elites have a clean run to the finish?

I know with the half this year a big portion of the group was back out on the main course as the elite 12km runners came through. Could you imagine a leading elite tangling up with a group of every day runners and missing out on the cash  

It has been stressed that the finishing chute be accomodating to the different events. The marathon will have its own finish chute alongside the others and there will have to be a clock!! Very important for that finishing photo with a time!

The course is the most important thing at the moment and Accreditation is essential for its success in the future. Hopefully, Perth Councils will be accomadating.

Gina

[20thCenturyBoy]

It's not often you get the chance to run in an inaugural marathon!
Looking forward to it  

[VelociRaptor]

Two issues with this:

1. Don't think I am ready for a marathon yet
2. I will more and likely still be living in Scotland or I could be doing my US tour by then.

But hey good luck to anyone doing it, should get a pretty elite field with that kind of cash on offer.

[jockster]

The boom of the West hey!

The prize money alone would surely draw some large names over here... Gold Coast has $20k for the winner, Sydney at $5k.

I think a race of this magnitude could easily draw 1000 with the right advertising, and would grow in the years to come with the right support.

Be interesting to see the course that they come up with; as a guess I would say the current half course followed by a loop along the beach - say up to scarborough back past city beach and then towards cottesloe, return to city beach.  Nice flat 2nd half to make up for the 1st half...!  May have to run this 2nd half along the bike paths though...?

Will definitely be on top of my races to do in 2009!

[bruyere]

This is intriguing. Perhaps I should plan for a return visit....

[Ellie80]

GinaGC, on Nov 14 2008, 07:51 PM, said:

there will have to be a clock!! Very important for that finishing photo with a time!

wow - a clock and photos next year - will have to come back for the half again!

[Vurt]

has there been any word on the course? I hope they are not going to do 2 x the half marathon, that would be not very pleasant.

[GinaGC]

Vurt, on Dec 2 2008, 08:38 AM, said:

has there been any word on the course? I hope they are not going to do 2 x the half marathon, that would be not very pleasant.

Hello Vurt,

The course has a deadline for Feb 1, 2009. Hopefully, the council's concerned will be helpful as that will be the only drawback. The course will be Accredited (AA and AIMS/IAAF), as this will assist all competitors achieve qualification times for other marathons.

Basic website www.perthcitytosurf.com It says entries open May, but it will be Februrary after the Press Launch (May for other City to Surf Events).

Prize money for Marathon will total $100,000. How that is allocated is still in discussions as Australian athletes really need to be supported here as well as Internationals.

Will keep you informed with anything else I hear.

G

[Morts]

I noticed that they are going to construct a website, and have started to advertise, so it is looking promising.

www.perthcitytosurf.com

[trailblazer777]

that is huge prize money!
I'm curious for sure.
Probably will try and run it, but most likely as a tough training run, as I have done in the last 2 City2surf HALF's...

[homo]

GinaGC, on Nov 14 2008, 04:51 PM, said:

and there will have to be a clock!!

Now that is encouraging! D'oh!!

How about a decent registration system. I am not going to put up with this amateurish "stand in the queue for an hour to collect the race number" any more.

[G.T.]

am giving this one a good hard look ,the trusty wife is looking to have a holiday in perth so wood appreciate any feedback
thanks heaps GT

[Ellie80]

homo, on Dec 7 2008, 01:09 AM, said:

Now that is encouraging! D'oh!!

How about a decent registration system. I am not going to put up with this amateurish "stand in the queue for an hour to collect the race number" any more.

hehe - also more than an HBF stall and a merchandise stand to count as 'health and fitness expo'

[pfb]

Hope I'm not stealing anyones thunder here but I've had a sneek peek at the proposed course for this marathon and it is very interesting.

I'll give a brief description and let the better informed post the official route in due course

Marathon runners will start on the Terrace and head east to the causeway, loop back onto Riverside drive and head west back along the river past the Belltower, under Narrows, Mounts Bay rd (unsure wether running on road or cycle path at this point) past old Swan Brewry, left at Hackett Dr around past Matilda Bay reserve, left at the Avenue, another left then right onto the Esplande again adjacent to the river, the turnaround looks to be before the end of the esplande at Beaton Park, runners turn and head back the same way until you hit Mounts Bay rd where a left hand turn is made followed by a right into Winthrop Av right again into Poole Av (Kings Park lower) immediatley right into Park Av then right again at Crawley Av which brings you back to Mounts Bay rd (just a teaser of KP for starters) runners return back along past old brewry etc under narrows for a left hand turn into William St back to the terrace to begin the second part of the course which appears to be the the BankWest half of last year, which for those of you who have the pleasure should prove rather interesting as the back half of this event!

I understand changes may be made to this proposal due to some obvious logistical restrictions so by no way is this official but definatley what been put up so far

Personally I think its a great course and an excellent challenge for those willing to test themselves on a tough local course - fingers crossed!

[Vurt]

that is going to be a tough 2nd half of a marathon. I can't see to many PBs being run.

[StellaBella]

Whoa! That's gonna hurt!

[dangerthorne]

the course is a real shame.  I understand the restrictions of road closures etc.. but the event should be a show-case of all that is great about Perth, the parklands, the river and the beach.  Its a pity the course could not continue down to Freo then up the coast to City Beach.

[knoddie]

It's better than the course they used for the 1962 Commonwealth Games. That was from Perry Lakes, up Selby Street to Wanneroo Road, then up Wanneroo Road to the corner of what is now Ocean Reef Road. Then back the same way. Not much of a show case there.

[loubee]

It's a tough course certainly not planning on it this year at least. I wonder how the races will start, it would be pretty hectic for the marathoners coming in at the same time as the 12k'ers and halfers .

dangerthorne, on Jan 13 2009, 01:41 PM, said:

the course is a real shame.  I understand the restrictions of road closures etc.. but the event should be a show-case of all that is great about Perth, the parklands, the river and the beach.  Its a pity the course could not continue down to Freo then up the coast to City Beach.

I hear what your saying Dangerthorne, a marathon that covers all you suggest would be great. But being the City to Surf I think it should follow most of the course as the half and 12k or it would miss the point.

Knoddie, that would have been a lovely run in the country back in '62  

[orlando]

loubee, on Jan 13 2009, 06:44 PM, said:

It's a tough course certainly not planning on it this year at least. I wonder how the races will start.

I wondered that too.  If I'm reading it correctly, the start of the marathon heads in the opposite direction to the starts of both the half and 12k, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out on the Terrace on race day.

Not that I'm planning on doing it this year either.  It's not my favourite race or course, but I'm determined not to retire from the 12k until I've cracked 60 minutes.  Once I've done that I'll consider stepping up to the half or the full.

[knoddie]

Here is a rough course map based on pfb's description: http://www.gmap-pedo....com/?r=2488076

Edited by knoddie, 13 January 2009 - 11:01 PM.

[knoddie]

The turnaround point Loubee

[Brian mac]

hi all the sunday times has an update artical on this years event  pg 17

[trailblazer777]

yeah sounds like a pretty tough one, riverside drive will be a nice section...I will probably do it...

[Digger]

This is all good news, and as fur as I can see, we now have 27 Official 42.2km marathons, and I have listed them here

The disappointing thing is the 'log jam', on the 23rd and 30th of August.

[knoddie]

Digger, on the Marathon dates site it lists this race as "The New Perth Marathon". Could it be called it's proper title which is the "City to Surf Marathon" ? There will be enough confusion between the "real" Perth Marathon and this event without adding more fuel to the fire.

Cheers mate.

[Digger]

knoddie, on Feb 8 2009, 01:54 AM, said:

Digger, on the Marathon dates site it lists this race as "The New Perth Marathon". Could it be called it's proper title which is the "City to Surf Marathon" ? There will be enough confusion between the "real" Perth Marathon and this event without adding more fuel to the fire.

Cheers mate.

Done!

When 2 Marathons appear in one city, there is a certain amount of friction.(Seen it all before).

But this is a new Marathon which need supporting, just as the July Marathon needs supporting.

Fortunately, the time gap between them is sufficient for most Marathon Runers to run both.

If you don't believe me, do a pole on those who run Six Foot Track and then Canberra, or Gold Coast Marathon vs Brisbane, or Melbourne vs Portland etc.  A very high proportion of starters in the smaller of the above parts, appear in the results of the larger each year.

Edited by Digger, 09 February 2009 - 06:53 AM.

[Morts]

The website now has a course map  City to Surf Marathon website

Edited by Morts, 09 February 2009 - 07:11 PM.

[wadistance]

Just thought I'd add my two cents on the Perth C2S - Hopefully someone from Activ Foundation (who organises the race) is reading.

The Perth C2S is a great event. The 12km race for years has been the pinnacle of Perth fun running, overtaking the Bridges 10k. For years, everyone knew the winner of the City to Surf, everyone knew that the person crossing the line first was the winner, and the accolades shone true for this person.

In my first C2S as a 16 year old, I ran well enough to finish 5th. As I entered city beach oval, there was a couple of thousand people watching, and everyone was cheering for me. It was amazing, I still have a photo with only myself in the finishing straight. Everyone knew where I had crossed the line, and they appreciated the 12k as it was the premier event.

My coach won the event 12 times, the most out of anyone. Every time he raced, people knew who he was, they knew that as he crossed the line, he was the champion.

Fast forward a few years, and a Half Marathon had been entered. All of a sudden, the focus was not on the 12k, but on the Half. The prize money was more for the half, the race started before the 12k, and to finish it off, suddenly the winner of the 'City to Surf' no longer took line honours. The race was now the Perth Half Marathon incorporating the city to surf.

Last year was my second City to Surf. Running along Underwood Ave, just coming up to the 4k to go mark, I was sitting in 5th place. What saddened me was to hear members of the crowd asking, "who are these guys with the green race numbers, they are running pretty fast." It was at this point that I lost all faith in the City to Surf. IF running through the tail end of the Half Marathon from early into the race wasnt bad enough, this was. When Marty Dent crossed the finish line, it would have barely raised a ripple. When I crossed the line, they whisked me away and tried to push me out of the finishing area, because it was getting too full.

The Perth City to Surf is under threat, and the addition of the Marathon just adds to the demise of the race. It is no longer the City to Surf, it is the Perth Running Festival, and the name should be changed immediately. I ask any Sydney runner who runs the Sydney C2S if they would be happy with a Half Marathon and Marathon being added to their event. I dare say the answer would be no.

I leave myself open to criticism here, and quite frankly, I hope this raises a stir. I would encourage anyone who agrees with me to send an email to citytosurf@csports.com.au and voice your opinion.

Regards,

Courtney Carter
Co-Founder of Runnerstribe.com
West Australian Athlete

[StellaBella]

I whole heartedly agree with you Courtney... a fair few of us have raised this point even since last C2S and certainly since the marathon was announced.
Perth's C2S 12km, like Sydney's 14km C2S, deserves to be a stand alone event.
I think this is a sad state of affairs and feel that running and runners have taken somewhat of a back seat in terms of the priorities of the organisers. Just my humble opinion of course.

[Brian mac]

Well I have to agree with courtney and stella it would make more sense to have a whole seperate festival and leave the city to surf as its own event even thoough I have particpated in the half for the last two years the finish has all changed since the half was incorperated lets hope it will be changed in the future and the 12k returns to its glory as the prime event for the city to surf
well thats my opinion
it will be interesting to see what sort of start times they have for the different events on this years program
Brian
Macca

Edited by Brian mac, 09 February 2009 - 10:58 PM.

[20thCenturyBoy]

Yep I agree. Why don't they throw in an egg and spoon race too?  
I like the name change idea...I'm sure Perth is big enough to support a Running Festival on a different date from the C2S. Keep the C2S as the classic 12k (with the HM, grudgingly). Adjust the start times so the top 12k runners finish first, ahead of the HMers. Last year virtually all the post race reports concentrated on the HM like it was the main event. This will get worse with the marathon.

[Nate]

Agreed!

Activ would be much better served approaching the WAMC to talk about possibly revamping the Perth Marathon with a more scenic course and better prize money. Perth probably does need to look at getting a 'big city' marathon but the C2S is not the place to do it.

Nate

[jockster]

At the elite level Courtney's view is spot on.  

However at an overall level, I'm pretty sure Activ could only manage 1 major Perth event.  

There is a huge amount of planning/organisation/police permits/council permits/road closures/volunteers required/marshals/timing/bibs/transport/aid stations/emergency services/announcers/sponsorships/prize money/insurance (just to name a few) that goes into an event of such size.

Don't forget local residents being put out by having their streets closed, and restricted access.

So if the choice was either a combined festival event catering for everyone OR one 12k race, I know which way I would be choosing.

IMO the marathon is the ultimate pinnacle of distance running.  And with $30k, $20k, $10k, for 1st/2nd/3rd, we could be running against the world's best - imagine Haile or Wanjiri coming across...

I'm sorry, but I would say its not often running gets catered for, so we should enjoy the multitude of events whilst we can.  Who knows how long this will go for.  Could either be a one off, or regular event.

The majority of us aren't at elite level, so for us its about getting a PB (or maybe a course PB), maybe finishing a first marathon, or just trying to get healthy.  Getting to the start line is an achievement in itself, and if the general community gets motivated to run one of the distances in this day and age, where something like 25% or higher are overweight/obese in Australia, it can only be a good thing.

Edit: Forgot to mention it probably would help to have different finishing chutes with individual race clocks for each event.  Maybe even for the elite field only they have NAMES on their BIBS rather than just numbers...

Edited by jockster, 10 February 2009 - 10:02 AM.

[tpi]

i agree with you jockster. it always takes time to adjust to change. like alot of perthites my memories of the C2S are of images of boydy running down to the finish line winning the 12km- the 4km was introduced almost as a novelty event but this year they had around 8000 run the 4 and thats gotta be a good thing. i believe its time have a big running weekend in Perth and as each year goes by more people will understand that there are 3 events within the c2s.

i just hope they improve the finishing area and have announcers that can recognize the elite runners.

i remember running the 12km in 1983 and everyone being given a certificate with your time handwritten on as you went through the finishing chute. i cant believe that's over 25yrs ago- i feel old now.

[StellaBella]

Nate, on Feb 10 2009, 09:24 AM, said:

Agreed!

Activ would be much better served approaching the WAMC to talk about possibly revamping the Perth Marathon with a more scenic course and better prize money. Perth probably does need to look at getting a 'big city' marathon but the C2S is not the place to do it.

Nate

I think this is a great idea! Mind you if it were to be made bigger and better it might be time to close the paths... you wouldnt want an interstate/overseas elite athlete being mowed down by a lycra clad nutcase going 70kph through a drink station on their Bianchi... well actually no one deserves that fate, local or out of towner, elite or... not!

One thing to be noted, as far as I'm aware (something I heard once but I'm not willing to say where), Activ is now just a figurehead for this event. Behind the scenes the City to Surf is actually run by a private company who has promised Active a certain amount of money each year and actually profits from this... as private enterprises are apt to do! Apparently the ppl that run the company are runners themselves.

I can understand that things have to change, esp with Perth often considered to be a backwater country town (an unfair tag in many respects but somewhat understandable) so I think that Jockster and epi certainly have a valid argument.

I really do think that there is room for a "Perth Running Festival" AND the original C2S format. If they can manage it in other states surely it can be managed here... we're talking 2 days out of 365 for a few hours (in terms of road closures and general inconvenience).

Perth deserves to stamp itself firmly on the running map - it would be nice to see ppl travel here to run instead of us heading east.

Or maybe i'm being idealistic and unrealistic!

Edited by StellaBella, 10 February 2009 - 02:04 PM.

[gregorywannabe]

StellaBella, on Feb 10 2009, 09:39 AM, said:

One thing to be noted, as far as I'm aware (something I heard once but I'm not willing to say where), Activ is now just a figurehead for this event. Behind the scenes the City to Surf is actually run by a private company who has promised Active a certain amount of money each year and actually profits from this... as private enterprises are apt to do!

Well, all the email links on the c2s website point to csports.com.au so I'm guessing it's them?

[Keely]

A running festival over the entire weekend would be a good idea.  12km/4km events on Saturday and the HM and marathon on the Sunday. That way the 12km City to Surf could be the main event on the Saturday.

Other cities do it... I took part in the HM in Ottawa about five years ago and it was a fabulous festive environment with lots of people coming into town specifically for the running weekend. Here's the Ottawa Race Weekend Site.  When I did it the HM alone had around 8000 people taking part! It was a blast!

my 2 cents!

ps. the marathon course looks like crap to me.  The Perth Marathon course is so much more appealing!

Edited by Keely, 10 February 2009 - 06:36 PM.

[Brian mac]

well regardless of weather we agree with the idea of the marathon or not who is going to give it a go
I for one would love to line up with some of the best runners in the world so who's in and who's not?
macca