Colourful costumes mark Sydney’s biggest road race

Gorillas, superheroes and Pikachus took part in Sydney’s biggest fun run yesterday, with the annual event attracting more than 80,000 participants in sunny winter conditions.The 14km (8.7-mile) City2Surf road race from Sydney city to Bondi beach is a major fundraiser for Australian charities and attracts serious competitors and as well as entrants in fancy dress.This year’s costumed participants included women dressed up in bright tutus, competitors in tight superhero costumes, a team of runners carrying an inflatable family of pigs and even Pikachu – the most famous character from the Pokemon series of games.Local distance runner Harry Summers, 26, finished first in 42 minutes.Last year’s women’s winner Cassie Fien took the title again with a time of 47 minutes and 29 seconds.Summers had hoped to compete at the Rio Olympics but illness stopped him from taking part in the qualifiers in Japan, the Sydney Morning Herald said.Kurt Fearnley, a three-time Paralympian gold medallist and co-captain of this year’s Rio team, won the elite wheelchair division in 33 minutes and 22 seconds.Organisers said they were on track to raise nearly A$5mn ($3.8mn) for 850 charities, one of the highest amounts collected since the race was launched in 1971, and surpassing last year’s A$4.5mn.Top fundraisers this year included Angus Dawson, the brother of Katrina Dawson, one of the two hostages killed in the Sydney cafe siege in 2014, the Herald reported.