Course record broken as 'gorgeous but tough' Sheffield Half Marathon returns

The course record for the Sheffield Half Marathon was broken as thousands of runners and supporters turned out to celebrate the return of the event after two years.
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Runners took part under the beating sun in Sheffield on Sunday, starting and finishing on Arundel Gate with thousands of supporters gathering along the barriers to cheer them on.

Andrew Heyes, 31, of Hallamshire Harriers beat the course record, the men’s record and also the record for all Run For All half marathons with his time of 01:06:04, crossing the finish line almost five minutes ahead of second place.

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The women’s title was taken by Caroline Brock of the Steel City Striders with 01:21:27.

Cal Lloyd after she finished the half marathon.Cal Lloyd after she finished the half marathon.
Cal Lloyd after she finished the half marathon.

Second place in the men’s race was Mohamed Saleh with 01:10:57 and in third place was Scott Hinchcliffe with 01:11:29.

And in second and third place for the women were Eve Pannone with 1:26:04 and Bex Stone with 01:27:26.

Andrew Heyes, of Lodgemoor, said the Sheffield half was ‘always a good run’ and that he enjoyed running on the roads he trains on around his parents’ house near Ringinglow.

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"It’s a tough course though. It’s very hilly. You don’t really know what to expect because you’ll start fast up to Ecclesall Road South but then it’s a grind up to the Norfolk Arms. But once you’re their it’s downhill all the way back.

John Follin and Simon Bennett trained together.John Follin and Simon Bennett trained together.
John Follin and Simon Bennett trained together.

"It’s a gorgeous route and Sheffield is beautiful anyway. The support today was incredible and we know a lot of people in Sheffield’s running community so it’s great to run alongside friends and to be close to home.

"Me and my wife Lauren and our daughter are living at home with my parents while we wait to move house, and my parents live near the Norfolk Arms, so it is so great to race on the roads I’ve been running on for 16 years.”

Also racing was Cal Lloyd, 46, of the Porter Way Plodders.

She said: “I found it really hard but it was fantastic. The organisation was phenomenal and lots of my friends were running it together with me.

The start line for the Sheffield Half Marathon.The start line for the Sheffield Half Marathon.
The start line for the Sheffield Half Marathon.
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"It’s great to be back running again after it was cancelled in 2020 and it’s lovely to be running close to home.

“The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere as we were running was amazing.”

John Follin, 62, won his age group with a time of 01:23:20, and crossed the line shortly after Simon Bennett, 52, who credited John with helping him achieve his personal best of 01:22:13. Both were running for the Hillsborough and Rivelin Running Club.

John said: “It was hard, but I’ve been training for a marathon, so I still had the legs for it at the end fortunately.

Sheffield Half Marathon takes over the citySheffield Half Marathon takes over the city
Sheffield Half Marathon takes over the city
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"It’s a good, tough course and it’s great to have the Sheffield Half back.

Speaking ahead of the race, Sheffield’s Lord Mayor Cail Smith praised the volunteers and Run For All for organising the event.

She said: “It is so great to be amongst people for the first time in 18 months. Thank you to all the volunteers who have made this happen.

"This is a great event for the city and it is lovely to see so many people here this morning.”

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