Race Date: Saturday 14th September 2024

Race Report by Robin Nelson

By the time the Worrall Festival Chase came around, I’d already got my five scoring races on the board for this year’s Striders Trail Champs. Others in my category had done the same though (curse your fast running Russell Stevenson & Paddy Treehowes). I still fancied trying this race for the first time, and hoped I might get a new score into my top five*. Worth a try for the bargain price of £6 and the promise of sampling some festival atmosphere with the club.

The festival marquees were up and busy when Jo Gleig and I arrived, and pay-on-the-day number collection was well organised and speedy. Strider Daryl knew the lay of the land and gave us some handy pre race pointers; the route went something like this:

1. A small lap of the green in Sycamore Park.
2. A visit to two farmers fields (luckily not yet ploughed or muddy) linked by the longest climb of the route on tarmac lanes.
3. A narrow, slightly hectic and technical downhill through woods. Daryl said overtaking here would be difficult, he wasn’t wrong. A few runners had a navigational wobble near the bottom of this section.
4. A final sting of a climb back up to Worrall and the festival. As the last climb was knocking the wind out of me, it started to look familiar, and I realised I was revisiting a chunk of Sheffield Way Relay Stage 2, didn’t realise I’d been to Worrall before.

After the finish there was a fair wait before prizes would be announced, time to try a free pint in our new Festival Chase cups, and remortgage the house for a burrito (tasty though).

The results were announced and to my shock, my name got read out, first M50 and my first prize in an open race. A myRaceKit voucher plus one item from the table of dreams were mine, and apparently I dream of dried pasta.

I was in great company in the prizes, with Lucy Broom (F50, jar of pickles), Mandy Taylor, (F60, tea bags) and Dot Kesterton (F70, hot dogs?) also winning their categories, well done to all. A successful end to another good outing with the Striders.

* My first M50 win was my worst scoring Trail race. Swings and roundabouts!

There were 21 Striders among 89 finishers at the Worrall Festival Chase. Joe Harding of Hillsborough & Rivelin Running Club won the men’s race in a time of 28.09. The women’s race was won by Phoebe Bramley, also of HRRC, in a time of 33:12.

Strider Results