City2South Brisbane

What Was The City2South Brisbane Event?

The City2South Brisbane event took place in Brisbane's city centre for five years to raise funds for various charities. Runners of all backgrounds, ages, and running abilities would gather over two days to participate in a fun run or join the numerous other activities held throughout the two-day event in Brisbane's beautiful Southbank location.

City2South is not a city or a suburb but rather the event's name. However, as mentioned, the race's finish line is located in the suburb of South Brisbane, a vibrant area with many restaurants, bars, and cultural attractions. It is also home to the Queensland Cultural Centre, which includes the Gallery of Modern Art, the Queensland Museum, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

Runners could participate in either a 5km run or a 14km run for a small fee for raising money for selected charities. Before or after running, participants and spectators could enjoy activities that would include F45 boot camps, open-air cinema, food trucks, free activities for kids, free massages for runners and even live entertainment.

A History Of How City2South Evolved Over The Years

The Brisbane Times City2South event evolved from its well-known and renowned sister event, City2Surf, which has been held in Sydney every year since 1971. Presented by Westpac and The Sun Newspaper, the event began and is still a way to promote healthy living and raise funds for various charities.

As the sister event of the historical and much-loved City2Surf running event in Sydney, the Brisbane edition, which Fairfax Events organised, became very popular very fast. This inaugural event that ran from 2013 - 2017 attracted around 4,000 participants and grew to become one of Brisbane's most popular running events, with over 10,000 participants in its last year.

The event would usually take place in June or July, and participants could choose to run the entire 14-kilometre course or a shorter 5-kilometre course. In addition to promoting fitness and raising funds for charity, City2South also allowed runners the opportunity to explore the city's landmarks and neighbourhoods while enjoying the festive atmosphere of the event.

Other City Run Series Events

Although the City2South Brisbane event has not been held since 2017, numerous other events have been hosted by the same or similar organisations each year to continue supporting healthy living and raising funds for local charities and worthy causes throughout Australia.

These events include:

City2Sea Melbourne

The City2Sea Melbourne event ran for seven years, from 2010 to November 2017. With two running courses that were designed for runners of all levels to run either 5km or 15km, this track would take runners from the Melbourne CBD to the St Kilda foreshore. Once at the St Kilda foreshore, runners would collect their token of participation and enjoy the outdoor market-style event entertainment by the beach.

City2Swan Perth

City2Surf Perth is an iconic event that is Perth's longest and largest-running event. The running courses are designed to be accessible for all ages and abilities, so those with disabilities can join the community fun too.

City2Surf Sydney

Donning their team caps and customised teamwear or going for solo gold, City2Surf Sydney has become a popular bucket list activity to check off for people all over the world. For 51 years, runners have taken the famous 14km course from Sydney's Hyde Park to its famous Bondi Beach to raise money for charities and to be a part of something iconic. Today this event attracts approximately 80,000 participants.

How Much Did City2South Brisbane Raise For Charity?

Participants' entry fees in the City2South Brisbane fun run event went towards numerous charities. From raising $185,000 in its first year, City2South went on to raise approximately $1 million in total over its four-year period.

The funds were typically raised through participant registrations and sponsorships, with the proceeds going towards a range of charities and causes.

Some of the local and Australia-wide charities often donated to and fundraised for included:

• Health and medical research
• Surf Life Saving Queensland
• Bears of Hope
• Social services
• Deaf Services Queensland
• Environmental conservation and
• RSPCA

As well as the entrance fee going towards charities chosen by the event hosts, runners could create fundraisers of their own for other charities of their choosing. People could donate to the runners' fundraising page or directly to the charity of choice.

City2South's long-running sister event, City2Surf, has raised almost $49 million since it started recording its fundraising tally in 2008.

Where To Get More Information

Unfortunately, the City2South Brisbane event came to an end, with the last race being in June 2017 and the event raising just over $100,000. As event organisers have yet to release a statement to advise why the run is no longer active, it's unclear why the popular event came to an end.

City2South was known for its lively atmosphere, stunning city views that could be taken in by foot and even the custom team singlets that participants would wear to represent their group.

Although City2South Brisbane is no longer active, it doesn't mean you can't put your running shorts on and actively participate or get involved in other legendary fun run events!

The City2South event website is no longer active, but information on the original Sydney city fun run event, City2Surf, can be found here.