The event was the brainchild of Bible Society. With the mass-media advertising set to kick-off next month, the City2Surf gave people a taste of how 'present' Jesus will be in the coming weeks. Although 'Jesus. All about life' will conclude in October, it's hoped Christians will have an annual presence in the event.
Bible Society Project Manager Karen Graham says the idea to run in Jesus T-shirts was a good one. "Running in uniform gave us a real presence," says Karen. "We believe that by word of mouth and future advertising efforts, next year we will have twice as many Christians wearing what are essentially, moving billboards!"
Jesus Racing Driver Andrew Fisher was one of the thousand who took part in the race, finishing in the admirable time of 79 minutes.
"While it was an incredible personal achievement to complete the City2Surf, being part of the 'Jesus. All about life' team was really something to be proud of," says Andrew. "This year was the benchmark. I am hoping the number of Christians taking part increases each year until there are thousands of us. "There are now 12 months to train, so there are no excuses for next year's event. 14kms is not really that far!"
In addition to the race from the city to Bondi, 60 boys plus staff from Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre staged their own 'City2Surf', running 14 laps of the oval (one for every kilometre of the race) wearing the red Jesus T-shirts, in support of the 'Jesus. All about life' campaign.
'Jesus. All about life' begins online on September 7, with billboards going up the following week and television ads set to hit our screens at the end of September.