City2Surf 2026 – A New Personal Best
By Christian Paesano
Aug, 2026
Putting the Training to the Test
Yesterday I joined thousands of runners making their way from Sydney’s CBD to Bondi Beach for the 2026 City2Surf – and I was very happy to cross the finish line with a new personal best of 71 minutes 40 seconds.
I’d set myself the goal of improving on my previous City2Surf times and getting under 75 minutes this year, so finishing more than three minutes inside that target was a great result.
The training behind the run
One of the things I enjoy about City2Surf is that it gives me something specific to work towards.
Over the past few months, I’ve been gradually building my running with longer runs, faster sessions and plenty of hills – something that becomes particularly important when preparing for the climb through the middle section of the City2Surf course.
As an osteopath, it’s also a useful reminder of many of the things we regularly discuss with patients at The Body Project: improvements in strength, fitness and physical capacity rarely happen overnight.
They come from gradually increasing what your body is capable of doing, allowing adequate recovery and, perhaps most importantly, being consistent.
Putting it into practice
There is something quite different about experiencing training and recovery yourself rather than simply talking about it in the clinic.
Running regularly means managing tired legs, muscle soreness, changes in training load and those days when everything feels considerably harder than it should. It also means learning when to push a little harder and when backing off is the better option.
That experience is particularly relevant to the work we do with runners and active patients at our Chatswood clinic. Whether someone is preparing for an event, returning to running after an injury or simply trying to become more active, the aim is generally the same: build enough strength and capacity for the body to comfortably cope with the demands being placed on it.
City2Surf done for another year
After several years of running City2Surf, it was particularly satisfying to make this year my fastest yet.
City2Surf 2026: 71:40 – a new PB and comfortably under my 75-minute goal.
A great morning running through Sydney, a lot of training put to good use, and a very welcome downhill stretch into Bondi to finish.
Now for the recovery!
