Run For All Sheffield 10k

The clocks go back this morning so this gives us an extra hour in bed to mentally prepare ourselves or otherwise for today’s Sheffield 10k. This is a different Sheffield 10k to the Great Run organised one and is run by Run For All, they of the Jane Tomlinson Foundation, and it’s sponsored by Asda.

These folk also organised the Sheffield Half which I ran earlier this year and the course takes the same route out along Ecclesall Road but then instead of disappearing up a big hill into the Peak District it skirts around Endcliffe Park before return back along Ecclesall Road.

Despite the omission of the ‘Peak District’ this is still a seriously undulating route and a real challenge. Although the biggest challenge of all is keeping up with the 45 min pacer which shouldn’t really have been a problem for me considering my current form.

The pacer, however, sticks to his 4:30 per km pace with metronomic precision even on the kilometres that are completely uphill. This means that his initial group of around 30 runners is gradually reduced attritionally to, well, probably nothing. I'm guessing here as I hung on longer than most but couldn’t stay the distance either.

The inverse of this is that when the course starts heading downhill later on he is hamstrung by his 4:30 pace meaning most of us catch him and pass him. I finish in 44:55, so who needs dodgy pacers. Perhaps we should have paced him?

After I have finished, I notice there is no queue at the massage tent which is a rare thing indeed. I quickly go and get my rucksack back from the baggage area, which works seamlessly this time, then I sign up for a session on my calves. I must say that I get outstanding service from Sheffield Hallam’s physiotherapy department who supply a girl for each leg and it’s well worth the £2 charity donation I give them.

Just a word for the goodie bag which was excellent and weighed down with snackie things.

Leicester Half Marathon

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It’s the Leicester Half Marathon today and my third time of competing in it. The course remains unchanged, on road until almost half way then back through parkland before a final bit through the city centre and the climb up the only real hill on the whole course.

I do love this race which feels like a really small time race even though it’s a 'big city' one. It could really do with a big sponsor\organiser to come in and move it on a bit. There is huge potential here, numbers could easily be doubled I would think, for what is very underrated race.

Throughout the race my pace is almost identical to last year’s, at each split I’m hitting almost the same time. Last year I did 1:40:01, so this year having dragged myself up that final mile uphill it’s a case of leg it as hard as I can once the course flattens out again around mile 13.

I’m not usually one for a sprint finish and this one almost finishes me off. I tumble over the line and collapse in a heap on the tarmac. My watch says 1:39:59 but what does the official timing say?

It isn’t until much later that I get confirmation that I have indeed managed to drag this ageing body over the line in under 100 minutes. Albeit by just one second. If the drinks at the feed stations hadn’t been in cups I’d probably have broken it more easily.

The multitude of data I then gets tells me of an average speed of 7.86 mph, pace 7:37 min/mile,

VO2 max estimated at 45.1 (ml/kg/min) and really bizarrely a chip time as 21-29 year-old of 01:29:11. WTF. How the hell do they work that out?

Are they telling me that if I’d been doing half marathon’s 20 years ago I’d be breaking the holy grail of 1:30? B******s. That's a bizarre statistic that I didn't need to know. 

L says it would've been more handy if they're predicted my race time in 10 years’ time. I’m not convinced, I’d just end up killing myself to prove it was wrong.

Stilton Stumble

Today we head off to Cropwell Bishop for a tour of the local cheese production area, namely the villages of Colston Bassett, Long Clawson and of course Cropwell Bishop itself. This is the Stilton Stumble in the home of Stilton Cheese and it comes in both a 10k and a 24k variety.

I would like to give the 24 a shot one day but with the Leicester Half Marathon next weekend, and the Derby Half still in my legs from last weekend, it’s just the 10 for me today. As it is for L.

It’s a somewhat soggy start at the Memorial Hall in Cropwell Bishop and nobody really wants to get stripped off too early. Perhaps the weather will improve once we get started? 

It doesn’t, it gets worse and a torrential downpour a few miles in is refreshing to say the least. The sun does finally come out, when we’ve finished.

By then I’ve been handed my block of Stilton, which is much much better than a medal, and I'm giving Doggo a leg up over a wall to get him in a good supporting position to bark L over the line.

Derby City Half Marathon

It’s the second running of the Derby City Half Marathon today which starts from Derby University. In my opinion it has a far better route than the better known Ramathon but pulls a fraction of the field, only 460 finishers today. This is mainly due, I think, to the fact that no one knows about it because it is barely advertised compared with the heavily promoted Ramathon.

The route has had a few tweaks since last year presumably to ease the traffic congestion. The first part is again a lap of Markeaton Park before heading through the city centre which is followed by a long drag through Pride Park to get to Alvaston Park then a long drag back along the river.

There was a definite attempt to keep us off the roads this year and this meant a surprise section on grass through Darley Park. I will pack my trail shoes next time.

Drinks seem to be short supply with the second drinks station at 6 miles and the third at 11 miles, which was a long time to go without a drink. They’d also left one poor bloke on his own to man it.

The mile markers were a problem last year and they didn’t look any more accurate this year either. At mile 11 I appeared to be on course for a corking time of 1:38. The next mile which was all uphill out of Darley Park put paid to this as this mile took me nine minutes but that still left me on course to break 1:40. Sadly the last mile again seem to be super long despite being mostly downhill and I finished in a devastating 1:42:08.

Probably not too devastating though as its two minutes quicker than last year. Onwards now to Leicester in two weeks’ time. Sadly I think they gave me the same medal as last year, the t-shirt was quite good though.

Shelton Striders 10k

It’s the Shelton Striders 10k today which a race I’ve not done for quite a while and I’ve not done it at all since it moved to its new home at Boulton Lane Park Community Centre.

The race starts on the old canal path before heading off towards Sinfin, doing a bit of a loop which included the new road to what I think they call Infinity Park before returning to Shelton Lock where it finishes again on the canal path.

L runs with the 65 minute pacer and almost goes under 65. I am just over 46 minutes, which is a bit disappointing. A 45 would have been nice.