Running in Sydney

G'day Mate!!!

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I was interested in trying a run in Sydney after seeing a picture of it in Runner's World Magazine for that issue's Rave Run feature and just in time too as my family ventured to Australia for two weeks, with main focus in Hobart Tasmania.

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First thing I noticed was that there are a lot of runners here!  Maybe it was because I also run that I become more sensitive to this but on my first day alone, I saw probably 20-30 different runners at the Sydney Opera house, which made me green with envy.  And that was about 1PM!  A deadly scorching time for us Filipinos but obviously not for the Aussies as  the weather was cool and windy here even at this time.  

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I gave in to my urge to run and decided to wake up a little bit early the next day to try my hand at it.  Of course, I am a tourist first before I am a runner so I decided to bring my camera along.  I also stuffed some cash and a city map page in my shoe wallet in case I get lost, then strapped on my Ipod and started playing the songs to keep the boredom away.

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My goal would be to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge to bring this thing to full circle after having done the Bridge Climb some 9-10  years ago  but to reach this place is a challenge in itself as I will start from the Apartment of my dad's friend (on Elizabeth Bay Road), run to the streets to get to the Harbour Dock with the parked Navy ships, run inside Sydney's Botanical Gardens, head out to the Sydney Opera House, run to Clark Quay, The Rocks and finally to Sydney Harbour Bridge where I would cross to the other side, run down the bridge stairs and make a U-Turn to head back to the Apartment.  Not an easy task especially with no water with me and having the extra burden of carrying my camera with me.  Fortunately, I found a water fountain at Clark Quay so that helped relieved some of my thirsts.  There were also a lot of clean public toilets here so very good environment for the runner.  Good windy weather was an added bonus as well.  And of course the view was something I can never forget!!

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But there were still some problems as at the beginning of the run, I already got lost trying to find my way out of the Apartment area and into the Botanical Gardens.  The second time I got lost was trying to find a way to go on top of the Harbour Bridge.  It wasn't as easy as it looks and I had to go around a few times before finding the right entrance for me (the other entrance was for cyclists).  Running on the bridge was nice and felt like being on the set of Cloverfield, but safer of course.  :)  There were a lot of security cameras here and some guards as well to ensure safety of the runner.  At the base of the bridge on the opposite side of the Harbour was a weekend market where food, trinkets,  clothes, books and all sorts of stuffs were  being sold by various people.  I didn't buy anything but on the run back, I was feeling the hunger and really wanted to stop somewhere for a quick breakfast.

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Luckily, Harry's Pies was on the course back to the apartment and so I bought one of his specialty meat pies and a can of Coke for breakfast.  This place is quite famous and had pictures of famous people buying from this stand.  I sat next to a picture of the biker in American Chopper and figured what's good for him should be good for me too.  The meat pie was quite heavy that I ended up walking the last 10 minutes back to the apartment, take a quick shower and do the real tour of the city.

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An unforgettable long run for me as it is done in such a picturesque city.  I hope that I have time to do another one before I leave this place.  This time minus my camera as I let go of the tourist aspect and focus more on the running side of me.  I took lots of pictures here but since I didn't bring the cable to link camera to the computer, posting of pictures will be done upon my return.

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