Faith Martin: How the City to Surf became a family tradition with brother Isaiah out of health struggle

Isaiah Martin will run Perth’s City to Surf next Sunday with one of the toughest personal trainers in the field motivating him.

His older sister Faith will be keeping a close watch on his pace from her wheelchair, ordering him to hurry up whenever he slows and cheering “woo-hoo” when he responds.

Together, they have turned one of Perth’s biggest running events into an annual family tradition.

This will be their third year running, Isaiah providing the muscle — pushing the chair — with Faith contributing plenty of entertainment along the way, even heckling a few runners as she and Isaiah pass them.

Isaiah jokes that Faith is the “meanest personal trainer” he has ever had to deal with.

“I don’t get the option to slow down because as soon as I go a little bit slower, I get told very quickly to ‘hurry up Zaya’ and ‘go faster’,” he said.

“I’ve found it quite funny when we’re going up the hills towards the end and everyone’s having a pretty hard trot, and she’ll do a ‘haha’ and put her hands up to almost taunt them in a cheeky way, which often motivates them to keep up with us.

“We have a nice crowd around us for that last bit of the race. It puts a bit of wind in people’s sails, which is always funny to see.”

The event is a day Faith looks forward to all year, spending time with her brother and catching the train into the city with thousands of other runners.

After spending most of the race in the chair, Isaiah will pull to the side and let Faith run the final stretch by herself.

“I like to trail back a few metres and watch her jump for joy and get excited as she crosses the line and has that moment to herself,” he said.

Born prematurely at 30 weeks and with congenital heart disease, 33-year-old Faith has faced many challenges throughout her life, but when the City to Surf rolls around, she and Isaiah tackle it together, one step at a time.

Their team effort all started a few years ago with Faith’s curiosity.

“I remember after previous runs Faith had always taken a big interest in my medals and shirts, and said that she liked them and wanted one,” Isaiah said.

“So when the City to Surf came around in 2024, we thought it was a good opportunity for her to have her own run and get a shirt and medal and be a part of it all.”

“We get to make great memories together and have a lot of good fun, just her and I.

“It makes me very happy seeing the smile on her face and the sound of her laughter and cheers as we go along, even if it’s at the cost of my own exhaustion.”

As they approach their thier year running together, mum Hayley has watched the tradition grow.

“She’s so beautifully hearted and just loves having fun with him,” she said of her daughter.

“I think that’s what it’s all about for her. She feels very special having a day with her brother. He makes it an experience for her, just them two together, taking the train to get there. She just loves that quality time with him.”

Equally, Hayley is proud of her son.

“Nothing he does surprises me. He’s the most incredible young man. The fact that he does this for her just says volumes about him,” she said.

“It makes her feel more like she fits in. There are all able-bodied people around her. I think it just makes her realise that she can do things too, she just does it in a different way, she might need a bit of help.”

Despite the challenges she has faced, Hayley says Faith has never been afraid to try.

“For someone that had such a rough start, there is nothing that she’s not willing to give a go and she is the happiest person you’ll ever meet,” she said.

Isaiah said their target this year is to break 90 minutes.

“If we do it under an hour and a half, that’s a big win. But we just try to get across the line and have fun while we’re doing it, that’s the most important part,” he said.

“As we were finishing last year, we trailed shortly behind Tony Galati. So, if we can beat him this year — if he’s doing it again — we’ll be quite pleased.”

The Perth City to Surf is WA’s most iconic community fun run.

First held in 1975 with 500 runners, the event attracted around 29,000 participants in 2025, from elite runners to fun runners, families and first-timers.

The flagship 12km distance takes competitors from Perth’s CBD to City Beach along a course lined with supporters. A 4km distance is also available, starting from Floreat before finishing at the City Beach Oval carnival.

In 2025, the event raised almost $400,000, with funds helping provide equipment and programs that improve accessibility and participation for people living with disability across WA.