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Half-marathon fiasco “catastrophe for city”

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Calvin Payne after the Sheffield Half Marathon

Calvin Payne after the Sheffield Half Marathon

The chaos of yesterday’s Sheffield Half-Marathon is “a catastrophe for the city” according to the Robert Jackson, the Chairman of the Trustees of the event.

The near-5000 runners lined up to start the event were kept waiting for about 50 minutes after the official start time, with many complaining that tannoy announcements were inaudible.

Organisers then attempted to cancel the event – for the first time in its 33 year history – because of a problem with the supply of water.  But many runners did not hear the announcement and after the elite runners lined up at the front of the event decided to run on in the face of initial road-blocks and attempts to prevent them, many competitors carried on unaware of the official cancellation.

As news of the water shortage emerged, Sheffield people and businesses lined the route – and took it on themselves to hand out water to runners.  But other runners complained that they were stopped from running – and then had to watch while those who completed the “unofficial” run still received medals.

Robert Jackson, Chair of the Trustees of the Sheffield Half Marathon, speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield sports journalist Rob Staton, said:

“…5000 plus runners have just been failed utterly…the responsibility is with the organising committee and with the trustees…you’re quite right…it’s a catastrophe for the city…this is a complete failure of a company to deliver the water as ordered…but without water, you can’t have a half-marathon.”

Listen to Rob’s interview with Robert Jackson here.

Margaret Lilley, chairperson of the organising committee, said: “It is with huge disappointment and regret that we were forced to cancel the 2014 half marathon because of a problem with the delivery of water. We apologise to all the runners, their families and friends and anyone who has supported the event.”

An investigation is currently underway into the circumstances behind why the original water order was not delivered.

The requirements for an official race dictate that there is an appropriate amount of water available at every three mile interval.

Many runners have asked why communication at the start was so poor.

Sheffield Live! volunteer Calvin Payne was running the event and commented that communication was completely lacking, with most runners at the start unable to hear any announcements about the delay. And our volunteer Andy Cooper said:

“I was in the city centre and news that the event was cancelled did not reach the marshalls I spoke to, who seemed to have no way of communicating with the organisers. Marshalls looked confused and abandoned. Through the good nature of local residents and businesses runners did get some water along the route as the people of Sheffield erected makeshift drink stations outside their business premises.”

Hundreds of runners took to twitter, facebook, and commented on newspaper reports to express their frustration.

On facebook, Carly Pirie wrote “I ran today and like many others who have commented only found out it had been cancelled after I had completed it! There was no organisation to the morning, nobody providing updates as to the reason for the delay and then everyone set off so we presumed whatever had been holding the event up had been rectified. Will we be informed of our official race times?”

And Ru Maxwell said “I was at the sub 1hr 35 marker at the start and couldn’t hear a tannoy either, for those of you thinking it was just those nearer the back who had no idea what was going on! If it wasn’t for the elites deciding to go for it without permission, then there wouldn’t have been a half marathon for anyone. We thought they had been given the green light to go!”

On race day morning the official twitter account of the Half Marathon had tweeted “Spectators and runners! Tweet us your race day pictures using the hashtag #ilovesheffieldhalf and we’ll retweet as many as we can!”

4,100 runners completed the route of the event and “each were given a time so that those running for charities could collect their sponsorship money” according to organisers. But as of 10:30am today (Monday), many are complaining via social media that they’ve not received a time at all:

@adieward wrote: “@SheffieldHalf I wasn’t given a time either your website is incorrect. Where/when will these be available?”

@amandaswinney84 wrote “we haven’t had times yet. Can’t get the website to load since this post was published” and @CeriRodgers asked “@SheffieldHalf can u tell us when the results/times info will be avail. website states this info has been given to runners already? Not me?”

Organisers told BBC Radio Sheffield this morning that runners won’t receive a refund.

Sheffield Live! presenters Si Thake and Calvin Payne participated in the event. Si discussed it on this morning’s Monday Uprising show – podcast here – and Calvin will discuss it on our Communities Live show.

Sheffield Half Marathon – top tips for 1st time runners

Banana

Banana boost for your half-marathon (image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizzzual-dot-com/, used under Creative Commons License)

With the Sheffield Half Marathon fast approaching, we asked Chris Hough (@HoughboyRunner on twitter) of local running store Accelerate UK for some top tips or points to consider if this is your first time running the distance (like it is for Sheffield Live’s half-marathon virgin Calvin Payne).

Here are Chris’ 5 top tips:

1.  Have a Banana.  Whether for pre-run breakfast, during the race – or both, good quality natural carbohydrates like bananas are great. Bananas are easy to swallow, taste great and contain Potassium, Magnesium and Vitamin B6.  All very useful in aiding hydration and efficient running.  Green Bananas help prevent diarrhoea, which can’t hurt! Make sure you have tried out your race day food plan in training.

2.  Don’t over train.  If you’ve done the work, by now you’ll want to be into your ‘taper’ phase, which means doing fewer and fewer miles – allowing your body to rest and recover from all that hard effort.  This means you’ll feel fresh and ready to run strong on the day, rather than still aching on the start line.  At this stage, less is definitely more.

3.  Set off easy and build toward a fast finish.  Negative splits are based around the idea that for as long as possible you should run well under your threshold and build to a sprint finish as soon as the end is within reach, so you avoid running past your ability to maintain the maximum effort.  Try starting slower than your average race pace and increasing through the middle section, before squeezing that last burst of speed over the final mile.

4.  Hydrate in advance.  Days before the race, try to take on plenty of water/juice.  Keep away from Tea and Coffee if you can and allow your hydration levels to reach a respectable level.  Then avoid drinking too much first thing on the day, which will get you to the start line on time and not queueing for the loo.

5.  Don’t speed up to overtake.  You should resist the temptation to blast past slower runners.  Hold your pace and trust that you’ll pass plenty of people in the process.  Sudden speed is the equivalent of that sprint finish while you’re far from done and will cause your body to suffer massively later in the race.
Have a great race – good luck!

What next?

  • Stu Hale and Debs Smith of Accelerate UK were guests on our Business Live show on 7th March. Listen to the podcast here (available until end of April).
  • Sheffield Live! volunteer Calvin Payne is running the Sheffield Half Marathon this year – read about Calvin here.

Family fun for marathon spectators

A host of family activities have been lined up for spectators at the SIG Insulation Sheffield Half Marathon 2014.

Organisers have created a hub at the race’s new home – the Don Valley Bowl – to keep family and friends entertained before, during and after the race.

At the grass Bowl, there will be a fairground with a helter skelter and number of different rides for children. Stalls will also be serving coffee, crepes and breakfast for spectators and runners.

Margaret Lilley, chairperson for the SIG Insulation Sheffield Half Marathon, said: “Moving to the Don Valley Bowl provides us with a great opportunity to revamp the race start and finish area to create much more of a fun, carnival feel.

 

“We are hugely exciting by the activities we’ll have on the grassed area, as well as the wide-range of food and drinks stalls, and we hope it encourages runners and spectators to make the race a fantastic family occasion.”

This year the 13.1 mile route will start at Attercliffe Common and end at Don Valley Bowl.

The grassed area will also feature a charity village and information tent. At the adjacent iceSheffield, people can skate for a £1 on the morning of the race.

The SIG Insulation Sheffield Half Marathon and 3k Fun Run, which attract runners of all ages and abilities from across the county, will take place on Sunday 6 April from 9am.

For more information and to secure a place to run on behalf of the event’s 10 chosen charities, call 0845 388 3438, or visit www.sheffieldmarathon.com to enter online.

Sheffield Live! volunteer Calvin Payne is running the Sheffield Half Marathon this year – read about Calvin here.

Calvin’s world of running Payne for half marathon

Calvin in training

Calvin in training

Calvin Payne, the much loved host of our Communities Live show on Wednesdays, will be running in the Sheffield Half-Marathon on Sunday 6th April – and he’s doing it to raise money for Sheffield Live!

Calvin’s never taken part in a half-marathon before, and admitted he’s nervous about the distance.

“I’m aiming to complete the race just inside three hours – and looking forward to talking with other running virgins during the race.”

So if you’re running the half marathon for the first time look out for Calvin in his Sheffield Live! t-shirt and make sure you say hello.

You can sponsor Calvin’s run, which will be a huge effort on his part – and all sponsorship raised will support Sheffield Live! – going towards the costs of bringing you our wonderful, varied and diverse schedule of content.

Sponsor Calvin via a donation through Paypal here:

When you sponsor Calvin, please send a short email of support. Thank you!

The Sheffield Half Marathon route.

Running store Accelerate gave Calvin some tips when they appeared on the Business Live show last week. Listen to the podcast here (available for 60 days).