A team of 165 students from The Armidale School (TAS) will take part in Sunday’s City2Surf in Sydney, raising money for the Hearts in Rugby Foundation while tackling Australia’s largest fun run.
The students will complete the 14km course in support of the foundation, which assists rugby union players who have suffered severe, life-changing spinal or other permanent injuries sustained on the field.
Among those supported by the foundation is former Wallaby and TAS old boy Richard Tombs, who has been largely confined to a wheelchair since suffering a serious neck injury in 2018. As in previous years, Tombs will be pushed around the course by a group of senior students and TAS principal Ray Pearson.
One of the school’s leading runners is expected to be Cody Uebergang, who completed last year’s event in 1:07.11.
“One of my favourite things about the race is ducking in and out between the thousands of other racers along the course. Last year I ran for a time but this year I’m looking forward to running it with a group of friends and experiencing it with them,” he said.
TAS Challenge and Service Coordinator Jim Pennington first ran the City2Surf as a Year 9 student in 1983 and said the event reflected the school’s long-standing emphasis on challenge and service.
“TAS has always encouraged our students to challenge themselves, but also support others, and the City to Surf is a wonderful way for them to do both and assisting one of their own,” he said.
TAS has entered teams in the City2Surf for more than 15 years and has regularly been the largest school group in the event. The annual trip involves a 16-hour return bus journey and extensive planning, including separate accommodation for boys and girls.
The event also contributes to the school’s Triple Crown challenge, with students who complete the course in less than 100 minutes qualifying for the award.
Pearson said the event embodied the school’s values of challenge and service.
“TAS has a proud history of character education, where students are encouraged and supported to be challenged out of their comfort zone, but with a purpose greater than themselves,” he said.
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