The Armidale School’s team of 220 certainly made their presence known in this year’s City to Surf, whether it be Mack Oxley winning his age category, a group of students pushing Wallaby Richard Tombs in his wheelchair, or the sheer grit and determination of the 14km challenge in often trying conditions.
After a six-year hiatus, TAS returned to the iconic event, with 150 students, 15 staff, and 54 parents pulling on singlets to run, jog, or walk in often torrential rain, from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach.
Twelve-year-old Mack Oxley had an outstanding run to record a time of 53:00.00, the first finisher home of 1,338 boys in the 10-14 year category. The talented young athlete seemed unfazed by the enormity of his result, which placed him 316th overall of 72,840 finishers and 289th male of 36,940. It was an even more extraordinary result, given that the TAS team was in the last start group, meaning Mack had to navigate his way through the field in what was the longest race he had run.
“I just excused myself to get as close to the front of our start group as I could before the hooter went, but there were still plenty of people on the course to get around, which was probably the hardest thing,” he said. “I’m really happy with how I went, but I wasn’t thinking about times, I just wanted to take it all in.”
First TAS female home was Emily Ussher in 1:06.01, placing 28 of 2044 runners in the 15-19 age group. The pair had crossed the finish line before heavy rain made challenging conditions for the bulk of the TAS runners, including a group of 10 and Principal Ray Pearson, who pushed TAS Old Boy Richard Tombs around the course, his Guns Out Foundation being the focus of fundraising efforts by the school.
“For much of it, there was torrential rain coming from all sides, wind blasting through one minute, then sunny the next, but after a while, when we were fully soaked, we got used to it,” said Year 11 student Clare McDouall.
“One of the groups pushed him all the way up Heartbreak Hill, which was quite an achievement in itself, and Richard was really grateful for all the support from the school.”
Before the event, some of the students trained at a run club on Wednesday mornings, whilst others relied on sporting fitness, including 50 who had played rugby against The King’s School the day before. Overnight accommodation was in St Ignatius College Riverview gymnasium for the boys, while the girls stayed at Sydney Boys’ High School boatshed in Abbotsford.
“That so many are keen to be take part says much about their character. But it also wouldn’t be possible without the support of others, including St Ignatius College and Sydney Boys’ High,” organiser Jim Pennington said.
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