SHEFFIELD 10K RUN FOR ALL,
Sunday, 23 September 2017.
Running somewhat under the radar was recent Pumas’ recruit Rebecca Stanley throwing herself headlong into the challenge of the Sheffield 10k, part of the Jane Tomlinson Run For All Series. This was her first run at this distance, though, I hasten to add, not necessarily one of her own making; she’d been entered into it by her friend’s husband as far back as last January. By April, Rebecca thought she’d better do something about it and so turned to the Pumas to get her moving. She started out with the Beginners’ run/walking group and put in as many shifts as she could, helped along by Ian Marshall, who’s encouraged her no end.
It wasn’t until as recently as 2 September that Rebecca ran her first parkrun at Brighouse, clocking 34:10. Two weeks later she returned, and showing obvious signs of improvement, knocked two minutes 44 seconds off her previous time to record a PB of 31:26. By then, she was working as hard as she could to give herself the best chance she could at today’s Sheffield 10k.
This event was staged for the first time in October last year, attracting a field of over 3,200, with the route taking in the roads around Sheffield city centre. Starting and finishing at Arundel Gate, the runners follow the route along Charter Row and into Ecclesall Road, before skirting the edges of pretty Endcliffe Park as they make their way along Rustlings Road. At the end of this road, the runners almost double back on themselves to follow the route along Graham Road, reaching the halfway point just as they approach Riverdale Road. They then follow the route along Endcliffe Vale Road, close to the Botanical Gardens, then swing right down Brocco Bank before picking up Ecclesall Road once more and making the return journey for the last 3k and what the race organisers term “an exhilarating city centre finish”.
Come the day of the event, perhaps the timing of it could have been better. What I mean to say is, Rebecca might have been crying out for another week. Because…she went into it with that dreaded syndrome. An injury, no less. That’s right, she was suffering with a bad back, something sustained, Ian Marshall assures me, through work with her personal trainer, and not anything to do with Northowram Pumas. But, it was either give the Sheffield 10k a miss, or give it a go. Fortunately, she chose the latter option, and felt overjoyed when she completed it. So much so, that she rang our Ian to tell!
Rebecca had no pre-conceived ideas of what sort of time she was hoping for. In the end, she finished in 2,860th position out of a field of 3,744 runners, crossing the line flanked by two Dewsbury Road Runners. Her time was 1 hour 10:26, but her chip time was an even more satisfying 1 hour 07:26 (thus giving her a chip position of 2994).
Afterwards, Rebecca paid tribute to her Puma colleagues, saying how nervous she had been initially when she joined the club, but now admitting it was the best thing she ever did. She’s on the long list (now running into three pages and almost as many buses) of runners wanting to take part in the Abbey Dash in November, a race run over the same distance. At the rate she’s going, she’s sure to better her time from Sheffield. We shall watch with interest.