Fi running Sydney's City to Surf

HOPE supporters come from far and wide, and one very active supporter from the onset at HOPE signed up enthusiastically for Sydney’s Cityto Surf to raise funds for HOPE!  A surprise during the training didn’t even deter her enthusiasm… read Fi Reeves’s story here!

Signing up for the City to Surf seemed like a good idea. It’s something every Sydneysider should do at some point in their life…apparently. It’s a beautiful 14kms run from Sydney’s city centre through the notorious Kings Cross and along the waterfront to Sydney’s infamous Bondi Beach. It’s been running for 40 years and is the world’s largest fun run. So I duly signed up, partner in toe and promptly forgot about it. After all August was a long way away! I’ve always enjoyed running and liked the challenge of competition and the chance to raise a few funds for my favourite charities so the match seemed good. What of course we conveniently forgot was that August in Australia is cold and windy. It’s not warm and summery like in the UK. But surely being surrounded by 80,000 runners would warm us up? 

So the training runs started in the beautiful Australian bush land and all seemed to be going along nicely despite the onslaught of winter. That is until, bang – I discovered I was pregnant. Now this wasn’t so much a shock but a nice surprise and certainly news that we didn’t expect so soon. Despite the tiredness, morning sickness and pure rabbit in the headlights reaction to it all I started getting messages from my mum and both families politely wondering if running in the City to Surf was quite the thing to do now…I mean surely no-one could run 14kms with a baby on board? The closer August 8th loomed the more the calls and text messages became less polite and more insistent that I would be stupid to run it – at least surely I would be walking it? I think I mentioned at the beginning that I loved the challenge of competition – some call it stubbornness…Either way I was determined to run it the best I possibly could. The doctor rolled her eyes at me and just said – don’t get that belly of yours hot! It’s August – middle of winter – hot does not enter the equation.

Excited, a little nervous and with much trepidation we trained it down to the city centre on a beautifully sunny day (still freezing!) and joined the throng of the whole of Sydney it seemed in the lead up to the start of the race. Some were jumping around clad in next to nothing trying to keep warm, others clung to their layers only to throw them off last minute for the Smith Family charity to collect for homeless and disadvantaged families and then there were the Star Troopers, men in full diving gear, Phantom, Superman and other such super heroes, mums with pushchairs, dads with trolleys of beer. All in all quite a spectacle and a fun way to start a race that this year had a little more meaning as I was running for two – made a change from eating for two… The run itself flew by and was such fun. All along the course there are water and Gatorade stops, residents outside their houses cheering you on and random bands blurting out rock or jazz music as encouragement – they even had a pseudo Guns and roses band on the roof of one of the pubs. With the exception of a loo break atheartbreak hill – aptly named as it never ends – we managed to jog the whole 14kms and crossed the finish line in just under two hours about half way through the 80,000 – not a bad first attempt for the three of us – next year I’ll be one of those mums pushing the pram! City to Surf – a must for all Sydneysiders and at the end of the day a huge amount of fun.

Thank you so much Fi for your stubbornness and enthusiasm to support HOPE every step of the way, it’s very much appreciated. Congratulations and very best wishes to you and Ian. We look forward to sponsoring you again next year!!

If you are inspired then please contact us should you wish to do a fun fundraiser. Or sponsor Fi now at Just Giving ! Go on… she’s only 15% away from reaching her target…

Amy says….

I went to Cambodia in 2007, just for one week as part of a four month trip with a friend, but it had more of an impact on me than any of the other countries I went to.  I knew I wanted to do something to help or raise money but it wasn’t until I entered a marathon this year that I started looking.  That was when I found HOPE, and the trustees seemed to have had similar experiences to me.

They obviously put in a lot of time and effort to make sure that support is given to the people who need it most and where it will help the most.  The projects they are part of will help the young people of Cambodia and enable them to become independent, improving their lives for the future while respecting local customs and businesses.  It will allow them to break out of poverty and then help others to do the same through learning and playing.

There is so much we take for granted in our lives, so visiting the orphanage in Cambodia was really emotional for me.  I was amazed by everyone’s generosity with sponsorship and I know the money raised will go a long way.  The months of training I put in really paid off too as the marathon went really well.  The weather was perfect, the marshals were very friendly and encouraging and we kept a good pace.  We ended up finishing over ten minutes faster than we intended, despite the last mile being pretty much all uphill!  I thought I might cross the finish line thinking “never again” but I actually can’t wait for the next challenge now!