Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said joining in the 14-kilometre City2Surf run from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach wasn’t a big shift from his usual morning routine.
“I could either run around the back blocks of Forestville or I could be out with 80,000 of my fellow Australians,” he told Macquarie Radio.
Ben Moreau was first across the finish line at Bondi with a run time of 41 minutes 47 seconds, while Linda Spencer was the fastest female with a time of 48 minutes 28 seconds.
Paralympic champion Kurt Fearnley was the wheelchair winner with a time of 34 minutes 10 seconds.
The NSW Ambulance Service says the City2Surf has historically left large numbers of people needing help from paramedics, usually as a result of heat exhaustion or poorly prepared entrants.
But so far there have been no significant incidents at this year’s event.
Roads in the CBD, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Edgecliff are expected to reopen at midday (AEST), while all other roads in the eastern suburbs will remain closed until 4pm.
Police from Central Metropolitan Region, Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, mounties and dog squad are out in force along the running route but a NSW Police spokesman told AAP runners and spectators had been well behaved so far.