Revamped HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon Celebrates 30 Years of History

The HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon will return on Sunday 21 May 2023 for its 30th anniversary edition, with the event given an exciting new makeover as part of the celebrations.

Formerly the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, the inaugural event was held in 1992 with an entry tally of 3,075. The Half Marathon started under the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the course running anti-clockwise through the CBD.

The event has attracted nearly 200,000 people since 1992, from walkers and joggers through to elite athletes. Of those, 10 runners have participated in every single event.

Laurie Coleman is one of those ‘Legends’ who has been on the start line for all 29 years, and the 78-year-old will return in May for his 30th Sydney Half Marathon.

“At that time, I had already completed the first 21 City2Surf runs and had completed seven half marathons. I really liked the half marathon distance and was in good health aged 47 years at the time. The running boom arrived at an ideal time for me, I took up running when I was 26 and peaked at age 42. In those days we tried to take part in as many events as possible,” said Laurie.

“There was luck involved in being injury free at this time of the year and the challenge involved in running an improved time,” he said. “My best time was 90:48 in 1995 at the age of 50. The current incentive is the milestone of 30 consecutive events.”

The inaugural race was won by Sydneysiders Andrew Lloyd and Sue Mahony before Australian road running royalty Steve Monghetti (3) and Kerryn McCann (4) would take on the mantle and dominate titles over the next few years.

By 1998, the event began attracting international talent with the emergence of Kenyan athletes. For three years in a row, between 1998-2000, a Kenyan would win the men’s race. The event was so loved by one Kenyan, Godfrey Kiprotich, he gave his newborn son the middle name of ‘Sydney’.

While the Sydney Half Marathon course has remained in the heart of the CBD, there have been a few minor changes over the years to continually improve the event. In 1995, with changes to roads within the CBD area, the race start moved to Lower Fort Street. This course remained essentially the same until 2003 when, to help ease some traffic disruption, the new course would go no further south than St Mary’s Cathedral.

In 2008 the start and finish lines were moved to Hyde Park and the event saw a record field turn out, with over 6,000 finishers for the first time ever.

The number of entries peaked at around 13,000 and for several years has seen 10,000+ runners take to the streets of Sydney in May each year.

David Matheson is another Legend who’s run every event since 1992 and has experienced the growth of Sydney’s premier half marathon.

“Over the years the course has changed, the greatest being to extend the course so that only one lap is completed. Previously it was somewhat daunting to see the winners almost lap you as they finished. Also, the number of runners has increased dramatically, which has made the event more spectacular and challenging for all,” said David.

This year’s new half marathon course will start on the Cahill Expressway beside the Royal Botanic Gardens and take in the best highlights of the Sydney CBD including the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Barangaroo Reserve, The Rocks and Pyrmont Peninsula, finishing at Cathedral Square, adjacent to Hyde Park.

While course changes have been introduced to keep the event fresh and interesting, the core of the event – Sydney at heart, vibrant atmosphere, and adoring runners and supporters – has remained the same and integral to its success.

“I don’t think the event has changed that much over the years as there’s no need to change a winning format,” said Laurie. “As with the City2Surf, improvements to timing and other procedures were introduced regularly. The course change for 2023 looks exciting.”

Both David and Rod Phillips, 65, another Sydney Half Marathon Legend, agree.

“The crowd support in the final stages of the race is just fantastic. The course design also allows people to see the race at different stages by easily walking a few blocks. That allows my biggest supporter, my wife, to cheer me on mid race and towards the end. It is just brilliant to see so many Sydneysiders turn up for this event,” said Rod.

“Throughout the years of the event, the volunteers have always provided wonderful support and encouragement along the whole course. That, together with the great event organisers, has resulted in very memorable moments over the past three decades,” David adds.

Due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the event was unable to go ahead between 2020-21 but returned in 2022 after three years away, with Olympian Liam Adams claiming his fifth title and British athlete Calli Thackery taking out her first.

Now in 2023, the event is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has been relaunched as the HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon, joining the Runaway Marathon Series and featuring a new half marathon course and a brand-new 10km course for the first time.

For more information and to enter the 30th anniversary edition of the HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon visit https://www.runawaysydneyhalf.com.au