Monday, April 02, 2007

Running in Sydney


Americans have a reputation for the diligence and intensity of their exercise regime, but the runners in NY's Central Park and along the ocean trail in LA are a casual bunch compared to the morning runners around Sydney's harbour.

I struggled to get out the door of my hotel Friday at the painful hour of 6:30am and was quickly greeted with an impressive sunrise over the harbour and the impressive sight of the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I was also almost immediately passed by a pack of 7 runners doing some sort of fartlek type workout. I thought this was an isolated case, but as I ran through the Royal Botanical Garden another group zoomed up beside me. Everywhere there were runners, swimmers, and people doing yoga. The most intense scene of all was at a steep set of stairs on a hillside at Macquarie Point which was filled with people doing stair repeats.
I have heard that Australia is a large and spacious place, but I cannot confirm this, my two trips to the country being confined to business meetings in the canyons of Sydney's central business district. But I certainly can say that the 6k loop around Sydney's harbour and domain is a great urban run.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting to know.