Road closures- Sheffield Half Marathon- 10 April 2016

[Jeffrey Shaw]

What other city do you think should host the Sheffield half marathon?

 

In what type of world do you live in where people smash machines up or assault people and you somehow believe that Sheffield Half Marathon could somehow be at fault?

 

You can't help the fact that the Sheffield half marathon exists either.

Point of information: this event is the Yorkshire Half Marathon, not branded 'Sheffield' at all.

[Guest sibon]

Point of information: this event is the Yorkshire Half Marathon, not branded 'Sheffield' at all.

 

Is it not the" Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon - Sheffield"?

 

In which case it is indeed branded "Sheffield".

 

Sorry to be tediously picky and dull, Jeffrey. But you did start it:rolleyes:

[spilldig]

Your assumption is wrong, I do work regular weekends and nightshifts. In fact I was working nights last weekend.

 

You're also wrong about me not having feelings, I do have every sympathy for the stressful situation that you find yourself in. You may be surprised to know that the people of SF are here for you.

 

OK on that JFK , but people go the wrong end of the stick with me I think because it was other people being affected rather than me that I meant.

[EmTron]

Here are my thoughts:

 

Money is being raised for charity, including a lot of local ones.

 

It brings many visitors. Visitors bring money. Last race I did was in another city, I went out for dinner the night before, hired a taxi, stayed in a hotel, ran the race, got the bus back into town then ate lunch. On Sunday I shall be celebrating my finish by going to one of my favourite independent restaurants. Oh and I’m sure my supporters will be grabbing a coffee while they wait for me. Money money money.

 

The new course really shows off Sheffield. The old course was an embarrassment. We want people to see the pretty parts!

 

Sounds cheesy but it also shows off the wonderful people of Sheffield. The year of the water fiasco showed how much the community can come together. People buying and bringing out water for strangers? Awesome.

 

Possibly encourages locals to take up running and get fit. Maybe this is one step in stopping us becoming a bunch of fatties?

 

You know about this race MONTHS in advance, road closures are announced with plenty of time to come up with alternative routes/plans. Emergency services can get through if needs be, at York one year I saw roads being opened for an ambulance.

 

Yes the road closures are an inconvenience for some but for a few hours on a Sunday morning is hardly the end of the world.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

You know about this race MONTHS in advance, road closures are announced with plenty of time to come up with alternative routes/plans.

Er, no, that's just not true.

[moke]

For those fretting over the loss of the 10k - you are a bit off the mark. It's not been poached by Harrogate, it's a new race organiser. I'd imagine that the 'great' series of runs were asking for more cash for the run - they are extraordinarily expensive for their entry costs for the 10k runs they organise - as a regular race runner, i cant countenance weighing out £30 for the sake of a 40 minute run.

 

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/starting-gun-is-fired-on-sheffield-10k-run-shake-up-1-7803125

 

run-for-all are the new organisers. Not sure of the route, if it will alter completely or stay the same. Either way, roads will still close, much to the horror of fruity feeders across the steel city.

 

In the last year i've run marathons and halfs and 10k races on the roads in Worksop, Ackworth, Clowne, Brighton, Sheffield, Stockport, Hampton Court, the Isle of Wight, Dewsbury & Eyam amongst others. I've run one round the racing track at Donngington Park. The track race was dismal, boring after the first lap, and utterly lacking in atmosphere with no passers by, support or even just something to look at.

 

I wonder if residents of these much smaller towns were as miserable as the outliers on this thread? As far as i am aware, no incidents of note were reported, but i suppose that these races may have created swathes of lost contracts, unemployment, economic destitution and fruit rage across large swathes of the UK. Usually the towns seem to be delighted - local businesses for some reason seem keen to welcome a few thousand extra people in a captive environment on a quiet Sunday morning. Can't imagine why.

 

There are plenty of off road and trail races which i have also run, that don't cause any closures. However, these days the majority of my running is done as a guide to my blind friend. It is not usually appropriate to try and run a blind man up a jagged path up a fell - meaning that closed road races are the only practical way for him to race. The same will apply for fun runners to whom an off road course would be daunting.

 

I'm massively looking forward to Sunday. We've intentionally planned to run the Liverpool marathon rather than Manchester just to make sure we could run in this years Sheffield half. As the only road half marathon in my 'home' town, it's a big deal for me, so it's a real shame (but no surprise on here) to read so much one-eyed whinging.

 

Litterally tens of thousands of races are held across the UK every year - it's really not that unusual. There's already been the Dronfield 10k this year, and i believe it passed without the government having to call an emergency meeting of the Cobra committee.

 

If you fear you may have problems on the day, you could mitigate your issues with a very small amount of planning then for the sake of 1% of the effort being put in by those competing.

[EmTron]

Er, no, that's just not true.

 

*searches emails*

 

Ah here we are! An email from 18/10/15: Entries are now open for the 2016 Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon-Sheffield on Sunday 10th April.

 

6 months notice...

[Guest busdriver1]

Whilst not a supporter of this kind of event, I must say that the road closures are much more sensible this year.

I feel for the folks in Newcastle who have to suffer the Great North Run that effectively brings the whole city to a halt for several hours and does result in absolute chaos for the people who dont wish to take part / spectate.

They close the tyne bridge for the runners and the High Level bridge for spectators thereby cutting the 2 main ties across the river at the city centre.

Now THAT is chaos.

The Sheffield one is a minor blip in comparison.

[1978]

*searches emails*

 

Ah here we are! An email from 18/10/15: Entries are now open for the 2016 Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon-Sheffield on Sunday 10th April.

 

6 months notice...

 

 

Be fair, before Joe Public starts his journey on Sunday morning is he likely to search your emails from 6 months ago?

 

However, for every race of this sort, anywhere, some folks will be caught out at the last minute, and others will have had to change their travel plans. There is always some congestion around the route wherever it may be. Try getting around on Tyneside on Great North Run day!

 

An elderly friend of my wife will be unable to get to church on Sunday. She lives only half a mile away, but it's too far for her to walk and wheeled transport would have to make a very long detour.

 

I received an email from Great Run Series email inviting me to enter the 10th anniversary Great Yorkshire Run. Last year Great Run were openly seeking new sponsors for almost all their events after losing support from BUPA and then Morrisons. Clearly they didn't get an offer good enough for a run in Sheffield, but Theakston's were happy to oblige in Harrogate.

 

I see they're now playing down the fact that the Great Yorkshire Run is being relocated to Harrogate, now saying "We’re partnering with Harrogate Harriers & Athletic Club to bring you a new 10k through the beautiful spa town of Harrogate." No longer a 10th anniversary.

[Hambeast]

*searches emails*

 

Ah here we are! An email from 18/10/15: Entries are now open for the 2016 Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon-Sheffield on Sunday 10th April.

 

6 months notice...

 

Does that email give full notification of all the road closures and the times they are going to be closed?

 

Earliest Google article on that subject seems to be the 29th March - which was only last week.