Joining Sydney Frontrunners

Forms available at any run (click on panel to the left). $40 for all members - valid until May 2009. Join now.

Complete the form and send it with the membership fee to: Secretary SFR, PO Box 783, Kensington NSW 2033, Australia or bring it to the next run/training session.

Benefits

As well as running and training partners, and access to social and other activities, members receive insurance cover when running with the club, and discounts from our supporters:

Maroubra Dynamic Physiotherapy

Are you injured? Got a niggle? Need a Physiotherapist? At Maroubra Dynamic Physiotherapy offers great discounts to all Frontrunners.

You can make an appointment at 02 9344 7533 and mention you are a Frontrunner. Take along your health fund card for instant benefits.

The Runners Shop

The perfect shoe is hard to find. What fits your friend’s foot is not necessarily the best shoe for you! Better ask an expert. Visit The Runners Shop online or at 223 Clovelly Road, Clovelly. Joe will discount shoes to all Frontrunners.

The 2008/2009 Membership Form for Sydney Frontrunners can be downloaded here:

Membership Form 2008 - April 2009 (Word)

When did Sydney Frontrunners Begin?

I have been asked this question many times and I cannot give an actual date. A few years ago some of us spent some time doing research in an attempt to prepare archives on the club. From this research I guess that the Club grew from members of the Sydney Gay Sports Association who staged the first Mardi Gras Fun Run in February 1985. There was obviously a very strong cross membership between SGPA and Sydney Frontrunners.

The following article, which appeared in Campaign in April 1985, reports on the event.

SYDNEY: While to most the weather may have looked below standard, the morning of February 17 was ideal for running. This was the day of the first of Sydney Gay Sports Association’s fun runs.

The run started in Centennial Park and finished at the Gay Business Fair in Green Park. The field of 28 runners had to complete one lap of the park before making their way to Green Park via Moore Park Road, Fitzroy, Crown and Burton Streets. The run started on schedule at 11am with running times varying from 28 min to 43 min. The total length of the run was 7.8km.

All-round sportsperson Troy Cooper was first to the finish line and was declared overall winner. The winners of the different categories are listed below though unfortunately there were no women entrants in the under-25 and over-40 categories.

Men’s U25: Troy Cooper, 28 min; Men’s 25-40: Robert B, 29 min 50 sec; Men’s over 40: Ray G, 36 min 16 sec; Women’s 25-40: Liz V, 34 min 29 sec; Special; Doris Fish, 34 min 25sec.

Following the success of this run the SGSA organised two training runs for the City to Surf and also a Fun Run on the 23 June 1985 in Centennial Park as part of AIDS Awareness Week.

So when did Sydney Frontrunners form as a club - still none the wiser, but I did find an article in the Star Observer in September 1985 which claims that “Established for several years, Sydney Frontrunners usually make a regular run in Centennial Park early each Sunday.” Journalistic license perhaps?

Oral history seems to indicate that athletes returning from Gay Games 1 in 1982 may have formed a loose organization of runners which eventually became Frontrunners.

Dennis J