South Yorkshire Road League, Lodge Moor – 8 April 2015

As a club runner I have always taken part in the South Yorkshire Road League, This is probably my 8th season of competing in the NAD 5 mile races.  These are not open races, you have to run for a UKA club and most clubs across South Yorkshire take part, its only £5 to do the series of 4 races and they are all great tough courses which build on your endurance like no other races in the area due to the hilly nature and level of competition.  I use these races to maintain my race fitness.

This year we got the tough one out of the way first at Lodge Moor.  None of this race is flat.

My times have improved year on year on all the miles apart from mile 3, this is the steep descent and this mile has slowed by 6 seconds.  Perhaps I am getting more cautious on the descents, I am known for falling.  Will I break 30 minutes on this course next year?  More urgently will I break 30 minutes in the league this year?

I was delighted to be part of the Doncaster Athletic Club senior mans team, this will be my last year as a senior man and I would like to be part of a successful team.  Doncaster Athletic Club took 27 athletes and I think this year will be the clubs most well attended road league for 10 years, we have now sold 36 numbers!

Sheffield Half Marathon – Race Number 17 of 2015 – 12 April 2015

I was not feeling so good after Lodge Moor, I had caught a cold.  By Saturday I had a sore throat and I decided that I would take photos instead of run.  I was convinced of this by Saturday evening.  Sunday morning I was sure I had made the correct decision and I had my breakfast, normal silly mode then returned and I got dressed in my racing kit.

Got to Sheffield and did a 2 minute warm up which consisted of some strides, decided to see how it would go.  Started with top block David Crossley about 10 rows off the font and hit the hills with a strong head wind.

The first mile felt flattish and easy, then we claimed to mile 6, this was tough and my estimated finish time was about 91 minutes at half way which was ok considering the hill I had just run up and I was not 100%.  People were gradually passing my all the way up the climb, perhaps 3 or 4 a mile.

When I hit mile 7 I started the 6 mile sprint finish with the wind behind me and some lovely descents.  I passed a few people and got 2 on the last 400m of the race.

From about mile 4 I was in competition with the first lady, this was great as the crowds were either cheering me or her (I pretended me).  I thought I had her beat at the top of the hill as I pulled away but she took me on a descent and I could not catch her.

I was obviously delighted to pull my estimated finish time back from 91 minutes to 82:59, a reasonable PB of just under a minute finishing in 49th place out of 6000+.  I was the only person in the first 50 to run a PB and only 10 in the first 250 ran PB’s.

I paid for this race all the following week with a chesty cold which obviously serves me right.  I took the opportunity to take some photos of the Doncaster Pacers / Doncaster AC hill session on 16 April 2015.  We truly are an all inclusive club, what ever your ability come and join us.

I took part in the fist Trunce race of 2015.  This race has a mix of trail, road and fell.  You also run through the River Don 3 times, this is usually about a foot deep and not fast flowing, I would guess its about 15m wide.

How to run the race:

How to get to the venue:

Head for the Wagon and Horses Free House which is at Oxspring, lovely bar and food.  Don’t use their car park, use the field at the back of the pub.

It takes about 50 minutes from the Keepmoat but allow perhaps an hour as you will be hitting the M18 / M1 / Other Roads in rush hour.  If you have done the South Yorkshire Road League then its the same venue as the Oxspring 5 mile race.

Register to get a number, you keep this number for life.  Then pay £1.50 which is the race fee.  The race starts at 18:45 so get warmed up and make your way to the start.

The race is quite popular which causes an issue at the start, the track is about 3m wide and the runners line up 10m wide, after 200m you go under a bridge which is quite narrow so if your quick and unless you got a quick start you will be delayed.  You are then running on a stone track and its possible to pass people or be passed.  This usually has puddles on it, so to pass people you will get wet feet (which is nor a problem).

At about 0.8 miles you have to go over a stile, the front runners (perhaps first 50) will get straight through but after that queues form.  Immediately after this you are on the first technical descent, which is not that bad but you have to take care with each step, if its muddy then people will slip and fall including me and you.

At the bottom of this at about 0.9m in is the first River Don crossing, its not bad but the river bed is uneven so you might find some steps are deeper than others.  Stepping stones exist but be aware they are slippery and many people fall in to the river so I think its best just to get in and follow the person in front.

Suggest you don’t look like a prat like me

Out of the river turn right and you are on a short road stretch for only about 200m, opportunity to accelerate a bit.  Then turn left and down some steps on to the fell section.  Run down to the River Don and over a footbridge then the worse hill starts.  From 1.2 to 1.4 miles you climb about 200 feet, this section also has a couple of stiles in it.  Most people have to walk up some or all of this climb.

Then you go down a short sharp hill and follow a rutted track.  From 1.8 miles to 2 miles you drop about 200 feet, this is what I consider to be a very technical difficult descent, easy to loose control and fall, very uneven and narrow in places.  Having to grab hold of trees to steady you descent.

At the bottom you run through the River Don again, then up to the road and turn left.  This is where you have to dig in and try to run as fast as you can, you have 0.6 miles of flattish road.  You will run past the steps mentioned 2 paragraphs up and you now run back the way you started, so after 200m turn left, follow the path down to the first river crossing and run back through the river.  Then climbing up quite a challenging hill muddy path that you run down earlier.  Most people have to walk some of it.  Most people will slip and fall.

At the top follow the farm track back to the start (which is now the finish), pick up the pace as best you can and 400m from the finish you have a down hill finish so try your best.

2015 Dates

1. 30th March
2. 20th April
3. 11th May
4. 1st June
5. 22nd June
6. 13th July
7. 3rd August
8. 24th August
9. 14th September