Sheffield A City for Runners

Fancy a run? You would be in good company in Sheffield. Go out early in the morning or early evening and you are bound to see a number of runners going through their paces.

There are likely to be solitary runners as well as organised groups. Sheffield offers a challenging environment to develop your running skills. The combination of variable hills and a long river valley gives different terrains to test your athletic skills.

The New Year brings with it the opportunity to create new fitness goals and learning to run can be one of these.

The benefits of running are well documented and physical and mental fitness and weight loss are among the advantages of regular activity.

You can be certain that you will not have to struggle alone. Weekly Parkruns operate on Saturday mornings at a number of parks.

These include Concord, Endcliffe Park, Hillsborough Park, Sheffield Manor Fields Park, Graves Park, Rother Valley, and Millhouses Park.

Entry is free but you have to register to participate (www.parkrun.org.uk). The Parkruns are friendly and welcoming and open to all abilities. You can walk or run around the standard 5-kilometre circuit.

They are a safe and encouraging way of getting people outdoors and running. Each run is marshalled by volunteers and timed to enable you to monitor your progress week by week.

They are all scheduled to start at 9.am on Saturdays and once you are registered you can run at any of the Parkruns in Sheffield or anywhere in the UK.

For junior runners there are separate events on Sundays at 9am at Graves Park, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, and Hillsborough Park.

Often runners will meet for a well-earned cup of coffee and a slice of cake to celebrate the achievement of another refreshing run.

For those who want to extend their abilities there are several running clubs and groups within the city to support you and offer training to improve your performance.

These include Steel City Striders, Hallamshire Harriers, Totley Athletics Club and Strideout. Details of meeting times and venues are advertised on their websites.

Structured programmes like the NHS ‘Couch to 5K’ (www.nhs.uk) are a supported transition into the world of running with specific progress points identified.

As with all new forms of exercise it is always good to get an assessment of your capability to participate if you are prone to ill health or injury.

Many websites such as Runners World (www.runnersworld.com) offer advice not just on starting to run but training programmes and choosing suitable clothing and shoes.

One of the keys to successful running is to start small and build up your fitness and the Couch to 5K programme is a useful resource for the novice runner.

Expectations may be high when you first start off and you will need to manage these by focussing initially on what you achieved rather than any sense of failure.

When I started running 25 years ago, I ran too fast to begin with and was soon out of breath. The physical exertion was uncomfortable.

Over time I realised that the pace at which I ran needed to be slower so I could run for longer.

When I could run a sufficient distance, I focussed on the pace knowing with confidence that my endurance was good.

Running is a personal activity and a voyage of discovery about what your body and mind are capable of in terms of activity.

Establish a running routine is important so thinking about how many times a week you want to run, what time of the day you prefer and what milage or time you wish to cover can be planned in advance to ensure progression.

As well as training programmes and Parkruns there are several running events in the Sheffield calendar such as the Percy Pudd, the Sheffield 10k and the city’s half-marathon.

Each milestone you reach will give you more confidence to extend your performance distance and time.

For the coming year why not consider becoming a runner and enjoying the city of Sheffield and its surrounding countryside in a different way.