The one that springs to mind for everyone is the City to Surf. This race is a bit of an institution in Sydney. It is the annual City to Surf Fun Run, it stretches about 14-kilometers, it finishes at Bondi Beach and starts way back up in the city at College and William Street. It started in 71-72 thereabouts, with about 2,000 people participating in this run, which is a fair number of participants. Last year there was 63,000 participants in this 14-kilometer run.



The start has to be staged because of the sheer volume of people, and from the start, they stream all the way down Williams Street and into Kings Cross. It really is something to look down Williams Street there and shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest, runners and walkers setting of on their 14-kilometer run. If you are in Sydney during the period of August, at the very least get down to Bondi Beach and watch the finish of this run because the atmosphere is incredible.

If you are that way inclined, it is a great experience to actually enter the race and really be a part of it, mixing with 60 odd thousand Sydney-siders. You do not have to be fully fit, there is no requirement to run, there is no time limit, and thousands of people walk the course just for the joy of being a part of it. It really is a unique experience if you get a chance to participate in the City to Surf.

Sculpture by the Sea takes place every year around early to mid-November, down to the south of Bondi. This is essentially a 2-kilometer area of the walk from Bondi to Coogee, transformed to an open-air art gallery. A large number of sculptors and exhibitors show off the sculptures that they have created and put up there.

You can walk past and you can take in these various sculptures and pieces of art, all very modern, some quite abstract, with a little written narrative on it; and you can take it in there and really get a feel for the local art and sculpting scene.

Sculpture by the Sea is a big event and last year for instance, there were over half a million people actually took it in and saw the exhibition. It is pretty unique and whether or not you are into art and sculpture, it is interesting regardless. If you are around Sydney in November, then it is definitely worth getting down there. It's free to go to and you can meet some of the artists. It gets quite a crowd of people on weekends, but during the week you can get down there with hardly anyone around.

You could probably see the lot in 15 to 20 minutes if you were pushed for time, but if you've got the time, you can spend a number of hours doing that kind of thing as well. Sculpture by the Sea runs for about 3 weeks in early to mid-November, but if you are in Sydney and Bondi at the time, its well worth getting down there for a look.