Locals know and love the iconic annual northern beaches Pub2Pub Charity Fun Run & Festival organised by Rotary Club of Brookvale, now in its 27thyear? but the profile of the event is also growing exponentially overseas.
Last year the event attracted entrants from the U.S., U.K., Wales and Japan. This year we can add Germany, Singapore and Indonesia to the list!
Eltje Wehrlin-Schmidt is an enthusiastic runner from the Efringen-Kirchen municipality in the southwest of Germany. It?s about 179km from Stuttgart and quite close to the Swiss border. This year Eltje has competed in two legs of the Abbott World Marathon Majors – a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world. She ran the Berlin Marathon in her home country as well as Japan?s Tokyo Marathon.
Married to husband Dirk and with two children ? a son and daughter who are also keen runners ? the family had planned a trip to Australia in August and as runners do, thought it would be nice to complement the trip with a run or two. ?As soon as I?d finished the Tokyo Marathon, I was asking myself what would come next?, says Eltje with a hint of humour in her voice. ?For me, stopping after a race is no more an option than it is during a race.?
So she hit the Internet and quickly came across the Pub2Pub on runningcalendar.com.au ?I was thrilled to see the great pictures and video of this event in such a beautiful location?, said Eltje. ?I was looking for a run that would challenge me, but also one that would be fun? after all, I will be on holidays!?
Eltje couldn?t wait to register herself, her daughter and son in the Pub2Pub. (Poor Dirk is recovering after a knee operation so will be cheering on his family from the sidelines.) In fact, she was one of the earliest registrants? the 5thentry received! ?We?re really looking forward to our trip to Australia now and we?re sure that being part of this great running event will be a highlight.?
So now it?s up to locals like Pub2Pub ambassador,?Jenny Wickham, to withstand the international challenge on?Sunday August 25. With less than a month to go ?til Race Day, the serious training has begun. Entries for all three distance options ? 13km, 6km and 3km ? remain open.