Sheffield Half Marathon
The Sheffield Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Sheffield, England. It was started as a Marathon in 1929 for two years, with a half marathon run at the same time. It restarted again 1946 after the second world war. In 2003 it was reduced to a half marathon and 3 kilometre fun run. Moving from Hillsborough in 1991, the race started and finished at Don Valley Stadium, the stadium where Jessica Ennis trained, until the stadium's closure was announced in 2013.[1] The race is gold graded by UK Athletics.
The 10 chosen charities for the 2009 event are Sheffield Teenage Cancer Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association South Yorkshire, Macmillan Cancer Support, Myasthenia Gravis Association, RSPCA Sheffield, Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre South Yorkshire, Sheffield Wildlife Trust, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.
The 2009 Sheffield Half Marathon was sponsored by SIG Insulations and took place on 26 April 2009 at Sheffield International Venues managed facility Don Valley Stadium at 9:30 am.
The 2010 Marathon was held 25 April.
The 2014 race, on 6 April, was due to start and finish at the Don Valley Stadium,[2] but was cancelled at the last minute due to the expected delivery of water bowsers not arriving. South Yorkshire Police initially set up roadblocks in order to try and stop those runners that had set off, but later decided to let them carry on for safety reasons. [3] Despite the cancellation, organisers refused to refund runners, which one entrant described as "pretty disgusting". Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg has called for a "full explanation" of how the "farcical situation" was allowed to happen.[4]
From 2015, the race relocated to the city centre, with the starting point on Arundel Gate and the finish line on Pinstone Street. The route took runners up Ecclesall Road and out to Ringinglow, before returning through Dore and back down Ecclesall Road. It was re-branded as the Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon as part of the Run For All Yorkshire Marathon series.[5] The new route features over 850ft of elevation gain in the first 5 and a half miles, including a category 3 climb. In addition to the overall race time, runners are timed on a single mile climb (King/Queen of the Hill) and a 10km mostly downhill "sprint" section.[6]
Recent winners
| Year | Date | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:m:s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | April 10 | John Franklin [7] | 1:10:24 | Zanthe Wray [8] | 1:22:59 |
| 2015 | April 12 | Dave Archer [9] | 1:13:20 | Sharon Barlow [10] | 1:22:59 |
| 2014 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2013 | May 12 | Ben Fish | 1:06:51 | Julie Briscoe | 1:16:17 |
| 2012 | May 27 | John Franklin | 1:10:31 | Nicola Squires [11] | 1:21:22 |
| 2011 | May 8 | Fergus Meade | 1:11:32 | Nicola Clay[12] | 1:21:17 |
| 2010 | April 25 | Andrew Pearson | 1:07:04 | Natalie Burns [13] | 1:23:24 |
| 2009 | April 26 | Jason Ward | 1:08:02 | Rebecca Robinson | 1:14:52 |
| 2008 | April 27 | Zachary Kihara | 1:05:12 | Nicola Clay[12] | 1:18:53 |
| 2007 | May 20 | Simon Tonui | 1:05:00 | Banuelia Katesigwa | 1:17:34 |
| 2006 | May 14 | Tomas Abyu | 1:04:05 | Pauline Powell | 1:17:47 |
| 2005 | May 1 | Simon Tonui | 1:04:46 | Cathy Mutwa | 1:15:31 |
| 2004 | May 2 | Eric Kiplagat | 1:04:50 | Miriam Wangari | 1:16:16 |
| Year | Date | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:m:s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | June 1 | Tomas Abyu | 2:27:42 | Sarah Heatley | 3:17:38 |
| 2002 | April 28 | Darren Hale | 2:34:17 | Helen Burrell | 2:55:23 |
| 2001 | April 29 | Darren Hale | 2:30:17 | Ruth Whitehead | 3:06:47 |
References
- ↑ http://news.sky.com/story/1058511/jessica-ennis-makes-don-valley-stadium-appeal Sky News - Jessica Ennis makes appeal
- ↑ http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/new-route-for-sheffield-half-marathon-after-stadium-shuts-1-6435273 Sheffield Star
- ↑ "Sheffield Half Marathon cancelled due to 'lack of water' for runners". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-26920499
- ↑ "'Tough' Sheffield half marathon for runners from around the world". Johnston Publishing Ltd. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ↑ "Route". Run For All Ltd. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ↑ John Franklin profile at Power of 10
- ↑ Zanthe Wray profile at Power of 10
- ↑ Dave Archer profile at Power of 10
- ↑ Sharon Barlow profile at Power of 10
- ↑ Nicola Squires profile at Power of 10
- 1 2 Nicola Clay profile at Power of 10
- ↑ Natalie Burns profile at Power of 10