The largest TAS team to ever compete in the iconic City to Surf footrace descended on Sydney for Sunday’s (16 August) 14km event, with runners stepping out in the fight against Muscular Dystrophy.
Comprising 135 students and around a dozen staff and parents, the TAS team took to the pavement for the Stand Tall for a Cure foundation has been established by TAS Old Boy Drew Schofield from Nundle who was diagnosed with the condition when he was 12 years old.
In ideal conditions, The first TAS runner to cross the line was Sam Jones in 60 minutes and 30 seconds, closely followed by Emerson Browning (1:01:59), Nicholas Barnier (1:05:23) and Nicholas Farrar (1:05:53).
“There was more of a build up to it this year and I was expecting more of myself, so was pleased to knock seven minutes off last year’s time,” said 15 year old Sam, whose race preparation included a solid game of rugby against The King’s School just the day before.
“Being familiar with the course helped – and while I would have liked to have cracked the hour, I’m definitely aiming to do it next year.”
Not far behind was the fastest TAS girl, Disa Smart in 68:44, who stormed home and was 12th fastest overall in the women’s 13-15 category.
“I set a good pace at the beginning of the race and picked people to run with along the way. I was aiming for under seventy minutes so was really happy to do that,” she said.
The event is one of the three legs of the TAS Triple Crown award, the others being the 2km Coffs Ocean Swim and the 111km overnight Hawkesbury Canoe Classic.
Coordinator Jim Pennington said it was also about students proving something to themselves, and giving back to the community.
“It was particularly gratifying that not long after finishing the gruelling event, a large number of our students then spent a considerable tome cheering on runners along the final stretches. This truly sums up the event, it’s for the community and it’s not about yourself.”
The 2017 TAS City to Surf team
