Face the sunshine

View from the start line queue On Sunday 24 th  June 2018 I completed my first half marathon, the Round Sheffield Run. The event is billed as ‘a  trail running enduro that is a unique creative "multi-stage" running event following the beautiful Round Sheffield route, a superb running journey linking some of the best trails and parkland.’ There are 11 timed stages which make up 20km and interval stages in-between the timed stages for runners to get to the next stage in another park/location. In total the route was 24.5km/15 miles and runners get a time for each stage as well as an overall run result. I hadn’t run anywhere near this distance but felt that this event would be a good introduction to a half marathon due to the ‘recovery’ interval stages….I was wrong, just as I was about understanding there to be a ‘few hilly sections’. I heard one runner say he had lived in Sheffield all of his life and didn’t know where all the hills were coming from o...

I haven't run a Parkrun on a Saturday for a couple of months now and that's not entirely as bad as it sounds. I've found that Parkrun was a springboard to other running adventures and at the moment I'm not too concerned with getting a new PB on the 5k distance but looking at increasing the distance I can comfortably run.  Without a doubt I would not have discovered a love for running without hearing about and getting involved with Parkrun and it was a great introduction for someone who had never run before. I will return to it and hopefully go to some other locations as a 'tourist'.  I've now done part of both the White Peak trail (10.5k) setting off from Ashbourne and the Dark Peak trail (12k) setting off from Hayfield. Both were organised events by a company that runs events throughout the scenic Peak District. These were the first proper events I had entered and I was really pleased with my times for both, although it was more about completing the...