Race Date: Sunday 2nd March 2025
Half Marathon
North Lincolnshire is very, very flat so ideal territory for fast road racing. On the half marathon, according to Strava, total elevation is around 100ft with the steepest parts being the bridges over the M180/M181 at two and eleven miles plus the ramp into the finish at Quibell Park Athletics Track. Largely rural with industrial sized fields and few trees, the long straights may not be to everyone’s taste whilst, if the wind blows (as it did last year) the exposed landscape can be extremely testing. For 2025 however conditions were nigh on perfect with bright spring sunshine warming an early chill as the morning progressed. There was a slight headwind as competitors headed due south for the first three miles but this gave a useful nudge for the return. As a result the peal of the “PB Bell” at the finish was ringing sound and true all morning. According to Power of 10, fifteen Steel City ran a pb although getting one of these in your sixties is surely the sign of a mis-spent youth.
This photograph of first Steel City home Richard Millier captures perfectly how exposed some parts of the course are.
The half marathon takes place alongside a high quality10k which sets off forty minutes before the half posing potential logistical problems. Normally a good strategy is to arrive sixty minutes before the start but by then the best car parking spots would be taken by over nine hundred 10k runners. With some car parking a mile from the start we heard stories of people getting snagged in the loo queue and bag drop which themselves are about half a mile from the actual start. The alternative is to get there earlier but this means a surfeit of lounging around without much cover at Race HQ if the weather is poor. (Editor: We wonder what happened to the pair bearing 10k numbers spotted at the track by the announcer with only two minutes to go before their race was due to start?)
The half marathon was part of the Steel City Road Race Championships attracting forty eight of the green and gold in pursuit of points ensuring good company and plenty of people to chase down again encouraging some good performances.
Victoria Johnson is quite entitled to be pleased with herself after breaking her own pb by over five minutes.
| Pos | Name | Cat | Gun | Chip |
| 46 | Richard Millier | M40 | 01:16:04 | 01:15:49 |
| 60 | Liam Brennan | M35 | 01:17:36 | 01:17:30 |
| 159 | Dennis Hamer | M45 | 01:23:12 | 01:23:02 |
| 207 | Phil Gregory | MS | 01:26:26 | 01:23:48 |
| 180 | Edward Shattock | M50 | 01:24:21 | 01:24:11 |
| 196 | Rob Dawson | M40 | 01:25:38 | 01:25:22 |
| 230 | Darren Barnett | M50 | 01:27:33 | 01:26:38 |
| 227 | Warren Brown | M50 | 01:27:24 | 01:27:12 |
| 233 | Michael Richardson | M45 | 01:27:43 | 01:27:30 |
| 271 | Phil Mason | M60 | 01:29:29 | 01:29:19 |
| 290 | Yasmine Chaffer | FS | 01:30:00 | 01:29:21 |
| 316 | Alexander Briggs | M35 | 01:31:41 | 01:31:16 |
| 342 | Neil Schofield | M50 | 01:32:45 | 01:32:17 |
| 364 | Hannah Holliday | F40 | 01:33:46 | 01:33:05 |
| 393 | Paul Hargreaves | M40 | 01:34:54 | 01:33:59 |
| 398 | Laura Mella | F40 | 01:35:13 | 01:34:31 |
| 439 | Andy Hinchliffe | M60 | 01:36:30 | 01:35:39 |
| 444 | Adam Mcauley | M55 | 01:36:39 | 01:35:46 |
| 446 | Brian Jenkins | M50 | 01:36:42 | 01:35:59 |
| 457 | Ian Hunter | M45 | 01:36:57 | 01:36:40 |
| 480 | Hannah Shillitoe | F35 | 01:37:28 | 01:37:09 |
| 531 | David Hurst | MSen | 01:38:58 | 01:38:05 |
| 580 | Troy Gavin | MSen | 01:40:27 | 01:39:46 |
| 610 | Harriet Davies | FSen | 01:41:34 | 01:40:36 |
| 622 | Victoria Johnson | FSen | 01:41:56 | 01:41:00 |
| 665 | Claire Wren | F40 | 01:43:34 | 01:41:00 |
| 626 | Sarah Allcard | F50 | 01:42:03 | 01:41:45 |
| 633 | Martin Downham | M60 | 01:42:17 | 01:42:05 |
| 696 | Cara Hanson | F40 | 01:44:29 | 01:43:46 |
| 706 | Joel Driver | M40 | 01:44:50 | 01:43:54 |
| 738 | Peter Brown | M65 | 01:45:38 | 01:44:29 |
| 752 | Robin Nelson | M50 | 01:46:11 | 01:45:22 |
| 765 | Sharon Colyer | F35 | 01:46:56 | 01:45:51 |
| 862 | Karen Clark | F60 | 01:50:01 | 01:49:02 |
| 965 | James Lawrence | M45 | 01:53:37 | 01:51:54 |
| 950 | Chris Froud | M45 | 01:53:21 | 01:52:22 |
| 988 | William Poynter | MSen | 01:54:27 | 01:52:50 |
| 1041 | Katelyn Mckeown | F45 | 01:56:23 | 01:55:01 |
| 1081 | Kevin Wong | M45 | 01:57:29 | 01:55:53 |
| 1112 | Jemma Anderson | F40 | 01:58:22 | 01:56:40 |
| 1139 | Jo Gleig | F60 | 01:59:09 | 01:57:13 |
| 1216 | Nichola Read | F50 | 02:01:35 | 02:00:29 |
| 1262 | Ruth Thomas | F45 | 02:03:22 | 02:01:25 |
| 1268 | Lucy Mottram | F40 | 02:03:32 | 02:01:35 |
| 1303 | Jamie Smith | M35 | 02:05:18 | 02:04:15 |
| 1478 | Nada Ross | F55 | 02:15:05 | 02:10:38 |
| 1501 | Simon Gleadhall | M55 | 02:16:13 | 02:14:37 |
| 1757 | Hannah Jayne Wright | F40 | 02:37:56 | 02:29:47 |
First Male Gavyn Chalmers (Leeds) 1:06:12 and first Female Charlie Thornton (Lincoln W) 1:15:28 both ran personal bests. The last of the 1849 finishers crossed the line in 3:20:02. Prize for the Steel City taking the longest to cross the start line goes to Hannah Jane Wright with 8 mins 09 secs. Phil Gregory was seen weaving his way through the field during the first mile after getting caught in the early jam but this didn’t seem to stop him bettering his own pb by over two minutes. Link to full results North Lincolnshire Half 2025.
It’s a cruel man who takes photos at twelve miles. Yasmine Chaffer leading the Steel City ladies home after a long lay off with injury. (Andrew Winter)
North Lincs 10k
Seven Steel City eschewed the chance to gather points to run the 10k which set off on a different course forty minutes before the half marathon as we read this report on the event from Jonathan Smith.
The North Lincs 10K in Scunthorpe provided the perfect opportunity to chase a new PB and with near-ideal conditions on the day it didn’t disappoint. This race has built a reputation as a fast and flat course, attracting runners from across the region eager to test themselves. Last year, heavy rain had left the country roads covered in puddles, making for a tough race day. This time around, we were treated to cool temperatures, minimal wind, and dry roads—a dream scenario.
Pre-Race Preparation and Strategy
I had booked this as a late replacement for the Trafford 10km which was postponed until August due to a sinkhole. Trafford was my main target race since late last year and I had focused my training for it over the winter period. Thankfully being on the same day and with a similar profile, North Lincs gave me the opportunity to push for the PB I wanted.
With a 9am gun it was an early start and a smooth journey to Scunthorpe, there was time for a quick warm-up from the car to the start line via the facilities. My goal going into the race was clear: run a controlled first few kms and aim for a strong mid-section and finish. While a negative split would be lovely I’m yet to really crack that art! So, as is often the case on race day, adrenaline had other ideas on my sensible start and I ended up going out around 10 seconds per kilometre faster than planned. I knew I was taking a bit of a gamble, but with the legs feeling good, I decided to roll the dice and commit to the pace for the first 5K.
Race Execution and Splits
The first half of the race felt great—I was moving fine with a small group. Passing through the 5K mark ahead of schedule (and only 10 seconds off my fastest 5k time) I knew the real test was about to begin. Could I hold on? The second 5K became more of a battle and, while I couldn’t quite maintain the early pace, I didn’t feel dreadful so focused on minimizing the drop-off. A negative split wasn’t on the cards but I was determined to finish strong and get the PB. Coming down the final stretch the clock was ticking and I knew a PB was secured with about 800m to go as we entered the athletics track. Crossing the line in 37:12 meant a 32 second personal best.
One of the best things about race day is sharing the experience with teammates. Alex Ball, who I travelled with, also put in fantastic performance finishing in 36.45.
Jonathan Smith making life difficult for himself with an ambitious start but still coming up with the goods.
| Pos | Name | Cat | Chip | Gun |
| 41 | Alex Ball | M40 | 00:36:45 | 00:36:48 |
| 45 | Jonathan Smith | M40 | 00:37:12 | 00:37:16 |
| 235 (1) | Louise Rowley | F70 | 00:49:36 | 00:49:51 |
| 366 | Josephine Blewitt | F50 | 00:54:40 | 00:54:55 |
| 537 | Dawn Jackson | F60 | 00:59:26 | 00:59:43 |
| 538 | Catherine Ager | F50 | 00:59:01 | 00:59:43 |
| 731 | Darren Woolley | M45 | 01:06:24 | 01:07:31 |
First Steel City home in the 10k was 3028 Alex Ball who signed for the club recently after he had been training with the Thursday evening track group. Jon Smith is visible in the pack just a little way behind.
There were 914 finishers. North Lincs 10k 2025 Results