Report by: Mavourneen Raj

Race Date: Sunday, 5 November 2023

After the rain all week it was nice to have a cool and sunny day for the race.

4 laps of rother valley lakes seemed like it might be a little tedious, luckily for me I was paced by the legend that is Des Strider. Having obviously take a large bite out of the blarney stone Des was able to keep me thoroughly entertained and suitability distracted from my first half marathon.

Conditions under foot were wet and rather muddy with a good selection of puddles of varying sizes.

There were 154 runners tackling the half marathon distance with a further 215 runners taking part in the 10km.

The field spread out a lot so without company this could have been a lonely race.

Overall it was an enjoyable experience on a nice flat course. Organisation wasn’t great at the start and the half started approximately 5 min late. Water was provided at the 5km mark which was passed several times.

Finishers medals were available in both metal and wood for the environmentally conscious.

Once again many thanks to Des for pacing me .

 

The 1st placed male was Keith Swainson of Sheffield Running Club with a time of 1:15:31, and the first female was Emma Wilkinson with a time of 1:38:44. 

Strider results: