The Round Sheffield Run (RSR), if you’re not familiar with the event, it’s a stage race which is pegged at roughly 20km which goes up to about 24km when you include the untimed bits between stages. It’s quite a big (mainly trail) event and there’s a lot of local runners round me that go and do it every year. Incidentally, I’m coaching someone for it at the moment, it is to be the furthest event they had ever run since getting back to fitness fairly recently and I wanted to be sure he was going to be ready for what was going to be thrown at him. So, I went online and found the route and started licking my lips at a nice trail run. I’d been hankering to do something different for a while and they trails round me have got to be a bit samey so the course looked like I could kill two birds with one stone. So, I got in touch with my friend, Kev, who lives in Sheffield and who might know the route.
I was completely unsurprised to find that Kev had run the event before and knew the route quite well. Kev is a very competent runner who, at 50, runs the shorter distances at speeds seem like a mile away for me but he’s very humble with it. As the conversation continued, I could tell he was getting interested in joining me and before long we’d arrange to do the route together.
That morning I set off at whilst it was still dark here, packed all my cold weather running gear and jumped in the car. I arrived in Sheffield just as the sun was coming up and the day was perfect for it, which is a rarity in itself in the Peaks. Contrary to the usual rain and wind, the sky was clear and there was hardly any wind. The winter sun was low in the sky casting long shadows across the ground. I’d arranged to meet Kev at the cafe in Endcliffe park and after some very dodgy reverse parking and a very cold change of clothes at the side of the car, I walked down to the cafe. I came across this lovely skeleton in a porch at the end of the road I was parked on. I wondered for a moment if it could be an omen but I was more interested at what kind of person would have an anatomically perfect skeleton replica in their porch anyway. I decided it must be a physio, so perhaps I’d be in luck if I collected any injuries during the run.
I walked out of the end of the road and straight into Kev. We’d both managed to get there at exactly the same time. It was like we had planned it, which we had. So, probably not that amazing…
After a short walk of exchanging pleasantries we got to the cafe and begun the run. I’d had a quick peek at the elevation profile and noticed that there was quite a climb early on so I prepared to hit the hill early on. It’s a very deceptive start which I’m pretty sure will catch some out.
Kev explained that the event village (start/finish) is usually on the field in Endcliffe park with lot’s of stalls etc for people to spend their money at. There was not so much excitment going on this morning, although the cafe was open so there was chance for a coffee afterwards.
The route starts out on pavement with a very minute gradient which isn’t that noticable and would be forgiven for thinking to yourself that it’s nothing, but as those first 3km’s wind on the gradient gets subtly steeper right until the last few hundred metres when you’re running up steep rocky trail. Your HR goes up, your breathing is laboured and you’re cursing the hill like its insulted your children.
It’s fairly short-lived though before you know it, you’ve turned back on yourself and the route is mainly downhill for just a tad longer than you’ve been climbing. I think one of the main things that will catch people out is for those uninitiated to the world of trail running in the Peaks.
What some don’t realise is the amount of footwork the trails can require. It’s very different from running around, say, your local park. In the Peaks the trails are often littered with rocks to prevent erosion, roots which are more prominent due to the amount of footfall in the area and boggy patches. All require a bit of fancy footwork and strong ankles to navigate. Over time, as this course wears on and the muscles become more fatigued, it becomes harder to lift your feet up which can lead to trips and falls. So, if you’re ever planning on doing the RSR I would strongly recommend that you get out there and try running the route in training. If Sheffield is too far to travel for a training run, try getting out on as much trail as possible and by that I don’t mean running around your local recreation ground or grassed area, the more techincal the better.
Once you’ve finished the frst descent at about mile 6 you cross over the railway and head up a ‘lovely’ set of stairs. Advanced runners would probably power up this one, but if you’re not used to it – I wouldn’t advise it. It’s quite a sharp, lengthy climb. The steps are uneven and take a lot of work to run up. You could always run up the side of them, but I’d advise that walking them and conserving some energy is the best idea.
After that, the route takes you through some of Sheffields various parks. It’s more undulating with a few ups and downs to be ready for. Most of the climbs (and trails) are runnable from this point, just make sure you use the downhills to recover after pushing uphill. One of the most notable places on the route is Meerbrooks park which has an iconic view of Sheffield. Kev assures me that there’s a scene from Full Monty which has the view in it and now I’m tempted to watch the film to see if does…
After you’ve soaked up this view and had fun taking in the fast downhill on pavement, you reach the last climb. By this point there’s about 2 miles left of the route so muster up all that you’ve got left and get it done. The climb is mainly road but does go through a style and back onto a spot of trail for a couple hundred metres. Once that’s done, you have a roundabout to navigate before the sprint finish and…TO GLORY!
For Kev and me, that was a bacon & egg buttie, coffee and a natter.
