Date Posted: 13 Aug 2006
City to Surf 2006 - Animal Liberation "Team Vegan"
The 2006 City to Surf sported a new team this year, amongst all the people from all walks of life who had decided to have a go, there was Team Vegan!!
The "Team vegan" outfit, was supplied by the lovely people at Haviana's. T-shirts, shorts and socks were supplied. Our outfits had a scaly, snake like appearance to them. (No snakes were harmed it the 
production of our uniforms). Before too long the team was forming. It was almost time for the race to begin. We wished each other well and headed for the start line.
The starter's pistol fired!
The group began to move down William Street. It was like a street party, not a car in sight. I remember approaching the William St tunnel, and wondering, "Where is the rest of my team?" Some had rung in sick but others were out there, somewhere!
The crowd, still as thick as ever, passed through the William St tunnel and headed towards Rose Bay. There were all sorts of characters in the run today. This is community spirit at its best!
There was a group of young guys who had painted their whole body, from head to toe. One was green, one was red, one was yellow and one was blue. I'm not sure of their message, or if they even had one. But they were fit and they were having fun!
This reminded me of the Animal Liberation banners which I knew were being displayed further down the track for thousands to see. Some would glance, and look away, but others would finally be inspired to investigate. We 
were planting seeds. Thousands of seeds. Then, the hill arrived. Anyone who has run that hill before knows why it's called Heartbreak Hill. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking "Shit, I should have trained harder!" I had kindly been informed that my $20 pair of runners weren't the best of choices, so I was having thoughts of aching bones and crippled feet as a lasting reminder of my intermittent running career!
Then I spotted the Animal Lib banner. I scanned the nearby faces. There was no one that I recognized. I shouted "Team Vegan", and I heard a guy shout it back!
But the banner was there for all to see, and the Education Van was also attracting attention. A great day for exposure! A great day for Animal Liberation! I felt proud to be wearing the logo. Occasionally I would look around for a "Team Vegan" member, secretly hoping not to see one, as I was expected to come in first for our team!
Finally I reached the line, along with thousands of others. The finish line bottlenecked as the volunteers handed out timecards and medals.
Everyone reunited at our Dover Heights hang-out for the post-race party. We exchanged stories as we refueled our tired bodies with the beautiful Vegan banquet provided by our Vice-Pres, Sally.
There wasn't a lot of talk about next year's race.
Story by Dancin' Dave
