Report by: Helen Smith

Race Date: 29^th – 30^th June 2024

Strap yourselves in, you’re in for quite a ride with this….its a long old report – nearly as long as the race took…..

Summer 2024 actually began (or so it felt) the week before RSR this year so as we have become accustomed for RSR the weekend was set to be dry and some would say perfect conditions for running 15 miles around the most beautiful city in Yorkshire..

Ideal is not a word that could be used for my training ahead of this race. Id suffered a herniated disc at Christmas and took a long time out of running and the truth is Im not yet fully recovered, however having run/walked at 10k in Berlin in May, I wanted to try RSR, it’s a race I used to absolutely love when I was fit. My training since however had consisted of the odd 3 mile run, the most undulating being a couple of Saturday morning Parkruns at Hillsborough, so prepared I was not.

I put these thoughts out of my mind as I laced up my trainers on Sunday morning, having spent the Saturday marshalling at the top of “the hill” (Stage 2) I’m not sure if seeing the Saturday runners has inspired me or just made me realise the sheer lunacy that was attempting this race without training but my strategy was to take the pressure off and walk when I needed to.. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now this is not a report about fast times and trophy wins, but about the other side of running – the slog and challenge of returning to fitness and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone!

So I arrived on Sunday with my run partner Cat and spent a lovely hour trying to pretend my fate wasn’t sealed and I might not actually have to run this thing after all. I distracted myself with the usual chat and cheering on the elite wave as they started (that new vest looks good and Im pleased to report Rob was wearing his vest this year!!!) I promptly joined the queue ready to set off on what was going to be a test of my endurance and stamina both physically and mentally.

Stage 1 & 2

Cat and I set off with a few other Striders but our strategy of taking it easy and if we thought we were going slow in the first 2 stages to go slower, soon meant all our Strider friends had left us for dust and we enjoyed a gentle run up to forge damn. A few doubts crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to manage the full 15 miles but I reminded myself the first 2 miles of any run is always tough and you soon warm up, not only that but the benefit of RSR was Id get lots of walking breaks. We were greeted at the end of stage 1 by the ever enthusiastic and smiley Laura Rangeley. A sweaty hug from me and we were on our way to the start of stage 2. We took every second of that 4 minute break to compose ourselves – not for the climb up the hill but for our photo by Helen! Queue lots of posing and giggles as we started on stage 2 – a great distraction from what we knew was to come. A very steady climb up the valley. We knew we would walk the majority of this stage, I wanted to conserve energy, push too hard now and I knew from bitter experience the rest of the race can be torment. We reached the top of stage 2 in good shape – our strategy worked I even felt like it “wasn’t that bad” I was a sweaty mess but not broken as Id feared, we were met by our trusty mobile cheer squad Sarah Howson, the first of many surprises when she popped up along the route and soon found ourselves walking over the stage 3 – my all time favourite stage!

Stage 3 & 4

Limb Valley, the absolute highlight of RSR for me (its almost a shame it comes so early in the race) That beautiful downhill section where I felt like I could fly…. It reminded me of carefree running when I was fit, it reminded me of how good it feels to be free and to run without caring about times or pressure and somewhere down that valley that elusive running mojo that’s been so hard to find for 6 months, found me…. I put my foot down and let myself go… what an amazing feeling.. there’s magic in those woods in Limb Valley… I felt like I reached the bottom a runner again…..

Then onto Ecclesall woods, the downhill sections of RSR are in my opinion few and far between so I try to enjoy them as much as I can and Cat and I seemed to fly down, the problem with that being that you reach “the steps” at the start of Stage 5 sooner.. oh those steps thank goodness they’re no longer in the timed section

Stage 5, 6, 7

All the way to Graves….. Cat and I seemed to tire after the steps at Twentywell, I stumbled a few times on the narrow paths putting that down to fatigue in my legs, but with a perfectly timed Icepop delivered by Sarah and my trusty Percy Pigs (who needs gels) we fought our way to Graves.. and it was a fight, body and mind struggling to keep going.

Whoever said Stage 2  was the worst section must forget about graves… Again, time for strategic walking… and a quick stop to chat to Katie Gill, a welcome break and always lovely to see Katie’s smiling face.

We were most definitely in unchartered territory now as the mileage was in double figures and my head started to go… but fight on we must – I text Emily Green to share a couple of expletives in terms of my current physical condition and state of mind  and her practical and honest response of  “you might as well just get it done – its easier to finish than to turn back” spurred me on.

Stage 8 & 9

The calm before the storm of Brincliffe

I don’t mind Lees Hall section, although this year the path seemed to be more cut up than usual but the warning by the marshal prior to setting off made me a bit worried and the reality wasn’t as bad as I thought… I wouldn’t say I skipped with delight down the hill, I sort of kerthumped my way down with my usual downhill style of adopting a jazz hands position for balance!! And on to  Meersbrook

Now, we  all like the idea of flying down the hill at Meersbrook park but as a middle aged women on the wrong side of 45 with a recovering back issue and wanting to protect my delicate knees there was no flying done by me… I threw myself down the hill as best I could without falling – the best I could hope for at this point – I seriously hope the photographers weren’t hiding anywhere… but I got to the bottom in one piece and relished the break as we walked to the bottom of Brincliffe

Stage 10

Oh Brincliffe. Here is where my lack of training really caught up with me… with less than a couple of miles to go I had doubts Id get the top of the hill so again we walked… I must say we were walking at the same pace as some runners and we fought our way up that hill with hands on thighs and sheer determination to get to the top – after all it’s the last up, but it’s a tough up when you’re fatigued and your quads and hips are on fire. By now we’d been on our feet for a long time and even though we knew we’d finish it was a brutal section made even more brutal by the steps as you exit the woods on to Chelsea Park.

Always the actress I attempted to show delight and enjoyment as we passed Nicole and Graham Nield in the park but in fact my mind was fighting with my legs to stop and all I could think of was how quickly I could get to the end.

I message Emily again at the bottom of the park to let her know I was close and her promise of Pizza was my last and final motivation to get this thing done…

Stage 11

You cant help but smile despite the discomfort of running that distance with no training when you see Syd Burns… and a sneaky slug on his pint set me off for the final sprint finish (more a shuffle than a sprint) Emily and Peter Brash were there willing me to the finish and I needed that boost to get me over the line, thanks guys… its always lovely to hear people shouting your name when your broken and struggling..

Summary – I’ve lost my love for running in the last 6 months and I’ve forgotten how it feels to enjoy it. The slog of returning to fitness has been a hard one for me, and I’ve had lots of doubts and fears about if I’ll ever enjoy it again. But I’ll repeat what I said earlier.

There’s magic in those woods at Limb Valley and somewhere hidden in those trees must have been my mojo….… I felt like I reached the bottom a runner again…..

Results
Fastest over the two days was Tom Bailey (Hallamshire Harriers) in 1:07:10 and fastest female was Lauren Heyes (Hallamshire Harriers) in 1:09:42.

Link to full results here.

Striders’ Results
Listed first in time order (overall position), then a second breakdown by class/category.

Hope the DNFs are all OK, there were a lot of fallers this year –  Claire Wren, Helen Musther, Stephen Slater, Zaheer Mahmood, Claire Grisdale.

Special mention to our three fastest men’s pairs who won the men’s team first prize:
Robert Byers/Jack Martindale
Evan Shkul/Sergei Shkul
Andy Green/Mark Baines

Overall positions