Andy Mellor reports:
The Round Sheffield Run is a multi-stage event with 11 stages ranging from the opening 2.8k jaunt from Endcliffe Park through to the final 400m sprint to the finish. A total of 19.2k of racing, with a further 5k between stages – a blessing if you welcome the recovery, or a potentially unwelcome 5k in the legs depending on your mood.
Sheffield is famous for many things – the Full Monty, the Crucible, the oldest football club in the world. Regrettably it is not renowned for being flat, and many runners no doubt cursed their lack of hill-training as they tackled the King of the Mountain stage 2.
Runners can enter the event alone or in pairs. For MAC my intended pairing with Dennis encountered a last minute change – Dennis unable to throw off a winter bug, despite a heroic run at the XC yesterday. Resisting the temptation to abort the event in sympathy with my teammate, I converted to a singleton and finished in 1:24:42 (51st and lucky to bag the third MV50 spot). Also taking the solitary approach, Paul Clark finished in 2:12:00.
Adopting a more social approach, the pairings of Dan Ashcroft and Jack Cummins clocked in at 1:41:20, 19th in the Male pairs, Jon Tyson and Andrew Revill squelching across the muddy finish line in 1:50:17, 37th in the Male pairs, with Denney Lau and John Boardman completing the male pairings in 2:20:23.
Even more sociably in the mixed pairs, Caroline and David Robertson finished in 2:20:49 with Margaret and Neil Crummack finishing in 2:27:02.
Photos of MACs to be added when published, but in the meantime, enjoy the sight of the finish area, which is perhaps best described as a little bit claggy underfoot.
