Sheffield Half Marathon Report – Report

Sheffield Half Marathon 12th April 2015

By Sarah Attwood

It was great to see so many Harriers invading my home town of Sheffield today for the Sheffield Half Marathon, so much so I decided to write a race report. I had hoped to write one after Malta and Belvoir Challenge but unfortunately I just didn’t get the time. 
 
When I heard that Jane Tomlinson had decided to take over the organisation of this half I was so relieved as I thought it would never take place again after last years water fiasco. The course had changed this year to one similar to to that in the 1990’s, before Don Valley was built (when it started and finished around beautiful down town Bramall Lane).
 
I was in two minds whether to enter. I really fancied running the course (as I knew how scenic it would be) but I was concerned about running a hilly half two weeks before London. The fact that it was a club run, and it gave me a good excuse to see my parents swayed me. I really didn’t think the £28 entry fee was that bad in comparison to some other races I have entered and the cost of the Jane Tomlinson 10ks. 
 
The race started at 9:30 in the centre of sheffield. I managed to arrive in town for 8:45…plenty of time to pay a visit before the start (so I thought). Unfortunately once I had found the designated toilets outside the crucible theatre there was a mammoth long queue….I really don’t think I have seen one as bad except at london. 
 
Luckily I had a brainwave (it doesn’t happen often) when I spotted a hotel nearby. I decided to sneak in and use their toilets. I timed this just right as when I left they had put a “bouncer” on the door. 
 
I made my way to the start and bumped in to Nick Griffin and then Ewan Cochrane. Talking to them took my mind off the cool windy weather. Why is it we’ve had lovely weather all week whilst I’ve been at work and then come the weekend it turns miserable?
 
The race started just after 9:30 once some cars blocking the course had been moved. The plan for me was to run steady for the first 8 miles then (my hopefully) marathon pace for the last 5. I set off a little too fast in the need to warm up. As the gradient of the hill became steeper and steeper it became easier to slow down to a more steadier pace.The first 5 miles was up hill and boy did my legs know it. My muscles (mainly calfs) became tighter and tighter as I continued to climb…distracted at one point by Stef Durkin running by. The further we went up the windier it became until it nearly blew me off my feet towards the end of the “king of the hill” section (a times section between 4 and 5 miles). Just after 5 miles the course turned left and flattened out (cutting across some of the round sheffield run course-a race I would definitely recommend). 
 
Here people picked up their pace and all those I had slowly over taken on the hill started to fly past me. It was so difficult not to try and keep up with them, especially once we turned out of the wind and started our descent. 
 
I tried to hold myself back but I was finding it a struggle and worried about the constant breaking causing an injury so I decided to change my plan. I decided to do my marathon paced miles early and then do the last part of the race steady. This allowed me to relax more and take in the gorgeous scenery at the edge of the peak district. 
 
Miles 5-13 were more or less all downhill. Some sections being quite steep. This allowed me to talk to other runners around me, including several runners I knew from my early running days when Maltby was my first claim club. 
 
At 12 miles I tried to slow down but found it difficult as people sped up around me to race to the finish. I managed to cross the line in 1:44:46 just slightly quicker than planned. 
 
In our goody bag we had a mars, rocky bar, technical T shirt, medal, water and a sports drink. I caught up with a few harriers at the end before running back to my parents who had been our support crew for the morning at the bottom of Eccelsall road. I arrived just in time to cheer Vivianne Fraiser on. 
 
Overall I enjoyed the race and would like to come back next year and race it. The course wasn’t the easiest with the long steep ascent and later descent when your use to York but it made a refreshing change. The event was well organised with lots of marshals and water stations on the course. There were lots of supporters around most of the course cheering us on (and feeding us sweets) despite the cold windy conditions. The atmosphere was fantastic, friendly encouraging and positive. It was a much nicer course than the last, showing my home city in a much better light. The only negative was the lack of toilets at the start but hopefully that was just a little hiccup and will be rectified next year.