After competing in a number of fun runs, Peter Wood, Tony Carr, Errol Stewart, Don Steel, Paul Stafford and Barry Maguire decided that they would organise a fun run in Warrnmabool to assit with their fitness for football, and raise some money for the community. January was chosen as the ideal time to hold the event given the influx of visitors to the town and weather conditions, and in 1982, the inaugural Surf 'T' Surf fun run was held attracting around 300 runners.

Brian Lewry was the winner of the first run and in later years went on to clock the fastest time of 30 minutes 30 seconds over the current 10km course. 

The event drew great interest in 1988 in the lead-up to the Brisbane Commonwealth games when Steve Moneghetti used the event as training prior to competing in the marathon. 710 participants competed in 1988 where Moneghetti competed the event and then ran the course again as a cool down!    

In 1996 the walk event was introduced to the Surf 'T'Surf and grown very popular with professional walkers as one of few competive walking events held in regional Victoria.

In it's 29th year, the Surf 'T' Surf attracted 840 competitors in 2010 including visiting participants from as far abroad as Ethiopia and England. 

In 2011 the inaugural 6km run was introduced to the card to encourage participants new to running or those who prefer shorter distances. 2011 was also the year the race entered the electronic age with particpants being fitted out with electonic timing devices for accurate timing. The new event along with new initiatives including early start time resulted in numbers swelling to in excess of 1,300 participants.

The event t-shirts and singlets have always been a feature of the event from the beginning, showcasing the generous sponsors who have made the Surf 'T' Surf possible and providing a training guernsey.

Many things have changed over the years however the intention of the Committee remains the same: Provide a well organised event, value for money, encourage participation and promote healthy living, and invest proceeds back into community organisations.   

2011 Past Winners

• 10km run women: Ella Gill
• 10km run men: Nic Van Raaphoost
• 6km Run women: Bridget Milesi
• 6km run men: Hein Reimert
• 6km walk women: Emma Smith
• 6km walk men: Andrew Blood

If you have a Surf 'T' Surf story or fact, please contact info@surftosurf.org.

Judy McDowall Memorial Medal

In August 2009, one of the Surf 'T' Surf's greatest competitors, Judy McDowall died of Leukaemia. Judy competed in the Surf 'T' Surf many times and won a remarkable six consecutive races from 1995 - 2000. Judy competed at local, state and international level over many years, and was a terrific ambassador for distance running. To honour Judy's passing and enormous contribution to the Surf 'T' Surf and running in general throughout the South West, the Surf 'T' Surf committee introduced the inaugural Judy McDowall Memorial Medal during 2010. The medallion is presented to the first female runner in the 10km event.

A feature of many Surf 'T' Surf runs was the tremendous rivalry between Judy and close friend Jenny Dowie. Between them, the pair won a combined total of 16 Surf 'T' Surf events. The article below was compiled by Peter Fletcher and appeared in The Warrnambool Standard, January 7 2010, honouring both Judy and Jenny's careers, and showcasing the terrific competition and friendship they shared over many years.
  
Dowie honours a friendship forged in competition

JENNY Dowie lost more than her greatest sporting rival when Judy McDowall died of leukaemia in August. The decorated Warrnambool distance runner also farewelled one of her closest friends.
While they ran against each other for more than two decades, winning a combined total of 16 Surf 'T' Surf Fun Runs, Dowie revealed the pair were friends for more than 30 years.
In her late teens, Dowie met McDowall, of Childers Cove, through her boyfriend (now husband) Gary, who played tennis with McDowall for Hopkins Point in the Allansford and District Tennis Association. Their friendship soon extended to sporting teamwork, playing together for Tikis in Warrnambool's domestic basketball competition.
"We were friends pretty much from the start and we played basketball together because we were friends. Judy was very friendly and easy to talk to. She was a good, honest person and a genuine, dependable and loyal friend.
Dowie joined the Warrnambool Amateur Athletic Club in 1984 and McDowall followed, paving the way for a successful south-west era as the pair competed  with distinction  at local, state, national and international level.
"Judy was just a natural sportsperson," Dowie recalled. "She was good at anything she tried.
"If you asked everyone who knew Judy as a runner they would say she was a strong, determined runner who put in the training and had the will to succeed. I admired her for the fact that she trained so hard by herself all the time. I think that's one of things that made her all the more stronger."
Dowie said McDowall's running improved dramatically in 1989 and she came to the fore in the surf 't' surf in 1994.
The following year McDowall won the first of six consecutive surf 't' surfs and in 1996 produced what Dowie rates her finest peformance in the testing 10km event, clocking the smart time of 35 minutes, 48 seconds.
"We were together all the way and Judy won that one," she reflected. "She probably pulled away over the last kilometre.
"We would have had hundreds of races against each other. We had quite a few memorable races and this is the thing Judy and I shared.
"We both knew what it was like to train so hard and be really competitive. We knew what the other had been through to achieve what we did. That's why we were so close and why we had that special bond."
Dowie says her favourite was an eight-kilometre leg of the Corio Bay Challenge, in which they both ran at sub-3:30 pace to post times of 27 minutes.
"We ran together all the way and there was a little uphill bit at the end. I only managed to beat her by a few seconds. We had a lot of races like that.
"It was one thing to win a race but more satisfying if you ran a really good time and because we pushed each other so hard we were both very fit."
Dowie says being competitors didn't put any strain on their friendship.
"It was a really good thing because we brought out the best in each other. You could never rest on your laurels. It was always who had done the most work or who felt better on the day. You knew you had to put the work in and do your best to beat the other person."
In addition to local form, Dowie said McDowall was successful at state level and raced in the United States and Japan.
Dowie's admiration for McDowall was heightened by the way she coped with leukaemia.
"Her attributes came to the fore and her fitness held her in good stead," she said. "She was amazing. She was always so positive.
"We shared a special part of our lives together. When I'm running on Sunday I'll be thinking of her and just be so grateful I can still get out there and run."
The Surf 'T' Surf Fun Run-Walk Committee will present the inaugural Judy McDowall Memorial Medal on Sunday to the first female runner across the line.