A bit of rain and the windy conditions wasn’t enough to stop (most) of the JSK team from joining the crowds of people milling into bondi last sunday (with a few exceptions, who we’re assured all had valid excuses…). We were thrilled with the overwhelming enthusiasm, with over 110 people joining us in running for jsk!

 

Everyone did a sterling job on the run (or walk), doing us very proud. Special mention goes to our fastest male, Tom Banks, with a time of 57 minutes, and not far behind him Renato Manias with 59 minutes, Ben Kelly and Jack Davis with 61 minutes. Congrats to our fastest female Tess Kelly, with a time of 70 minutes, with Kirra Stutchbury, Laura Donnan and Thea Perrett now far behind. So it’s official – the Kelly girls were both the fastest and slowest females. John would be so proud.

The BBQ back at the Kelly House was a great success, thanks to the Johnson Family (from Boorowa) for donating all the meat, Lisa Dermott, and Helen Thompson for organising the food and helping us set up and clean up, and Cammie and Kenzie Rice for the amazing handmade cupcakes.

At the BBQ we started a tradition of giving out a range of JSK awards, sponsored by local businesses. This years awards went to:

The JSK Fastest Male & Female (sponsored by Balmain Fitness)

Tom Banks & Tess Kelly

The JSK ‘Ticker Award’ sponsored by Brays Books Balmain – For the team member displaying most courage and dedication.

Sharon Dunlop – mother of Kirby Dunlop, Sharon heard about the JSK team last year and promised herself that this year she’d get in involved. Sharon trained hard for a year leading up to the event, starting from scratch with 1km runs around the block she slowly logged up the Kms running around her hometown Dubbo. The training certainly paid off, and Sharon ran the full 14km on Sunday, proving it’s never to late to start running for JSK! Well Done Sharon on the amazing achievement!

The JSK ‘good bloke’ award sponsored by Blokes Balmain

Evan England – a keen runner himself, Ev has participated in more City 2 Surfs than most. This year he and his mate made their way to bondi dressed as superman, and a banana, but still managed to make it in sub 70! Ev gets the good bloke award this year for generously offering his house to the JSK team as a meeting place after the race, and providing us with a feast – he even managed to toss a few salads!

The Spirit of JSK award – for the person who most exemplifies Johns spirit through their successful or creating fundraising and enthusiasm for the cause.

Jaquie Azizi –  As Cath’s good friends and personal trainer Jaquie, from Personally Inspired Fitness, is the one to thank for Cath’s solid performance in this years City 2 Surf. Her generosity was exemplified in the lead up to this years city 2 surf as Jaquie trained many of her clients and other friends free of charge for the event. Single handedly she raised nearly $1000 for the fund by convincing clients not participating in the race to donate instead! Thank you for your support Jaquie!

 

So thank you to everyone who made the day possible and so much fun. Your support was invaluable and we couldn’t have done it without you all.

Looking forward to seeing you all (and more) back next year and running for JSK!

 Below: Some of the JSK team managed to brave the cold and meet up before the race