Our Story
Where it all began.
It seems like only yesterday we started working on the Bondi to Manly Walk – a community initiative driven by the love of our city and its people. After fifteen years in the making and two years in existence, the walk has been traversed by tens of thousands and touched by many more.
At 80km in length and immeasurable in natural and architectural beauty, we dreamt of creating a world-renowned walk used daily by locals and visited yearly by national and international visitors.
In 2020, one month after the Bondi to Manly Walk was opened, one of Australia’s most famous ultra runners ran the full 80km – and that’s where this story began.
Since then, dozens of Sydney-siders have joined our leaderboard – running it, walking it, in groups or alone. They’ve made the Bondi to Manly their own personal challenge and completing the full 80km has become a local favourite - a guerilla activity conquered by locals desperate for a challenge, but stuck close to home.
It’s been two years of dreaming, thinking and planning if and how we could use the route to create a global ultramarathon distinct from any other.
In 2022, this vision came to life thanks to the support of our corporate partners, landholders from each level of government and a small team working behind the scenes. It’s a race made possible by the community in order to celebrate the community – local businesses, public land, cultural sites and of course, the community we all get up for: the running community.
The Bondi to Manly Ultra is a run to fund the preservation of the running track; all proceeds go to the Bondi to Manly Walk Supporters, a registered Australian charity working to preserve and enhance the public land and natural environment around Sydney Harbour.
Beginning as a local initiative, we hope in time the Bondi to Manly Ultra will become a global phenomenon, attracting visitors to our shores to partake in the race or discover the hidden trails of the Walk in the city we call home.