In the early morning on February 23, 1975, 500 bright-eyed runners set off from St Georges Terrace in what would be the very first Perth City to Surf for Activ.
The group tackled the first hill up to Kings Park, wove their way through Subiaco and what would later become the Town of Cambridge, toward the coast.
Heartbreak Hill came into infamy as a tough challenge on the home stretch, before they descended to City Beach, finishing what has mostly now become the event’s 12km course.
Peta Carr was the first female across the line with a time of 58.18 and Tim Walsh took out the men's category, coming in at 38.06.
Tim Walsh wins the first City to Surf in 1975.
Fifty years later, the Chevron City to Surf for Activ is one of WA’s longest-running community events, seeing thousands of people take to the streets to walk, run, or roll every year, while raising much-needed funds for people living with disability.
Activ Foundation proudly owns and runs the event, with all proceeds going directly back into their range of programs including accommodation, community, training, employment, allied health, and more, that improve the lives of West Aussies living with disability, their families and carers.
Activ CEO Michael Heath said the Chevron City to Surf for Activ was the biggest fundraising driver for the charity every year.
“Not only is it great to see people of all abilities come together to take part in such a large-scale community event but bringing awareness and education around disability and seeing what the money raised goes towards is truly heartwarming as people’s involvement directly impacts and better the lives of others,” Mr Heath said.
“We operate as a profit-for-purpose model where all money raised is injected back into the business of providing the integral range of services Activ offers around the state that gives customers choice, control, and independence to live the life they choose.”
The event has seen many iterations over the years including benefitting a range of charities at different times, offering varying distances, and some famous faces as ambassadors.
“Activ is proud to own the event and work with our major partner Chevron Australia to continue to bring the WA community together for a good cause,” Mr Heath said.
Some of the milestones over the years included welcoming the first wheelchair participants in 1983, with John Frederico setting the pace at 46.24; introducing the more family-friendly 4km option in 1994; exceeding 10,000 participants for the first time in 1998; and a record 45,000 people taking part in 2014.
John Frederico won the first wheelchair category in 1983.
There was a COVID hiatus from 2020-2022 but the community welcomed the Chevron City to Surf for Activ back last year, with 20,000 people on the track.
“We also raised more in fundraising through last year’s event than in any other year, with the funds helping to renovate and upgrade some of our disability accommodation homes so that our customers could enjoy a more modern, open-plan lifestyle that connects strongly with their community,” Mr Heath said.
This year marks 50 years since that first group of runners took off from the CBD, and Activ is celebrating in a big way.
“We’re encouraging people who have been taking part for a long time or those looking to join in for the first time to keep the tradition or start a new one,” Mr Heath said.
“Celebrate 50 years with us and the rest of Perth, with special offers for corporates and individuals, plus a new virtual event for companies with remote workforces.”
Corporate teams
Chevron Australia has partnered with Activ in the event for more than 10 years. In addition to the community engagement and education that the Chevron City to Surf for Activ provides, Chevron Australia always love putting a corporate team together for the day.
“The Chevron City to Surf for Activ is our largest workforce participation event, with over 1,000 members of our workforce and their families already signed up to run, walk or roll with Team Chevron this year,” Chevron Australia Managing Counsel and Team Chevron Captain Peter McNally said.
“It’s an event our workforce is genuinely passionate about from both a health and wellbeing and social impact perspective,” Mr McNally said.
MinRes General Manager, Health and Wellbeing Jon Haines is encouraging all MinRes employees to pull on their running shoes to take part as part of their corporate team in this year’s event.
“At MinRes, we are committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of our people. Not only do they get the satisfaction of participating in an iconic event, but we are covering half of the registration cost for employees and their families, as well providing a MinRes-branded shirt, a BBQ breakfast and sports massage at the finish line,” Mr Haines said.
The Corporate Hospitality packages finish the event off in style where all team members can enjoy a well-earned meal, celebrate over a few drinks, and enjoy live entertainment.
Virtual event
WA is a vast place and many companies have remote workforces that span across the state, in isolated places where team building and engagement is hard to achieve.
This year sees the introduction of a virtual event, aimed mostly at resource companies with multiple regional sites.
“We have been thrilled to collaborate with Activ Foundation to bring forward a virtual event offering this year,” Mr McNally said.
“At Chevron, we have held our own virtual events over the years, in line with the culture of inclusion and respect we aim to foster among our site-based workforce.
“It is very important to us that our site-based colleagues have access to the same health and wellbeing benefits as the rest of our workforce.”
Participants at regional sites can virtually complete the 4km or 12km between 19 August and 1 September, using a fitness tracking device to verify their results in the Race Roster system. They receive a limited edition 50th Anniversary event t-shirt and a finisher medal by post to mark their involvement.
Companies can even create a bit of friendly competition between their sites to encourage engagement to see who can get the biggest team or raise the most money.
Mr Haines said the virtual event was a big selling point as anyone on the MinRes workforce could get involved, across WA. “We know entering a corporate team is great for morale, while at the same time supporting Activ to make a positive impact to people living with disabilities,” he said.
Get involved
Mr McNally encouraged other organisations to take up the challenge and enter a corporate team this year. “We have found the event is a wonderful way to bring our people together and that the event, and, more importantly our fundraising goals, help to foster a healthy sense of competition among colleagues," he said.
“For Chevron, the impact goes far beyond our participation on the day. By matching workforce donations in the months leading up to the event, our people are reminded of our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion and the tangible difference our support makes for Activ clients and their families.”
Do you have a remote workforce? Get them involved in this year’s virtual event. Chat to the event team at hello@perthcitytosurf.com.au.
Looking for some team building while ticking wellbeing and fitness boxes? Pull a corporate team together.
Wanting to take part or get fit, register now at perthcitytosurf.com.
If fitness isn’t your thing, donate here.
All individuals who are registered and with at least $5 in their fundraising account on event day will go in the draw to win a trip for four to Disneyland Tokyo. (T&Cs apply.)
By Hearts and Minds
