Sydney’s second CBD will get its first major running event next year when the city shuts down its streets for the Parramatta Half Marathon.
The event, to be announced on Friday, is expected to attract 8000 runners next June and marks a major development in western Sydney’s running scene.
Parramatta Half Marathon organisers Alex Treglown and David Bennie, co-founders of 180 Cadence, hit the pavement in Parramatta Park.Credit: Peter Rae
“Every global city needs a major running event,” Alex Treglown, a North Rocks resident and co-founder of the event organiser, 180 Cadence. “We believe the Parramatta Half Marathon can have global appeal. It kind of feels like the city is really developing and coming alive, and it can stand on its own two feet.”
Runners will pace down O’Connell Street before running around Parramatta Park, through the CBD, including Parramatta Square, and along the Parramatta River foreshore. The race will finish inside CommBank Stadium, where spectators will be able to cheer on runners and watch a livestream of the race leaders. The race will shut down the light rail and close most city streets to traffic.
The city’s west has long been a running hub, with dozens of park runs and run clubs across the region – but the half-marathon will mark the region’s first major urban running festival. Another half-marathon, taking place next Sunday, runs through the City of Parramatta’s boundaries but runs along the banks of the river near Ermington and Rydalmere – not through the city.
“We’ve seen the rise and rise of marathons around the world, and it’s the perfect time to leverage this for Parramatta,” Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter said. “It’s just amazing … athletes will be coming from all over the world to participate in this.”
The timing is intentional: the June 21 event occurs in the dead of winter, avoiding western Sydney’s heat, and is about 10 weeks before the newly crowned world major Sydney Marathon. Organisers expect to attract runners keen to participate in both events.
The event is being organised by Treglown and co-founder David Bennie, who met on fitness app Strava, where they ended up competing for Local Legend status, a recognition of whoever runs at a location the most over 90 days.
Bennie is the former president of the Parramatta Park Runners and Walkers group, which he said was the oldest run club in Sydney, having met every Friday since 1968.
“The half-marathon is a perfect distance,” Bennie said. “It’s an event where you can walk, run, sprint, and it might take anywhere between 70 minutes and four hours. We’re finishing at CommBank Stadium – you get to feel like a rock star with your friends in the stands cheering you.“
Bennie grew up on the northern beaches and moved to Parramatta 20 years ago. “The race is something I’ve wanted to do for 20 years, it’s just taken [that long] to find Alex … and a course that takes in all the beauty of Parramatta.”
The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.
Most Viewed in National
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
