From Colin Williams…
On Saturday I took part in the Rotherham Round Ultra, a 50-mile trail run mostly through woods and over farmland with a small amount on roads. The race is part of the Run Further series of races for their league. There are 12 races, to qualify a runner needs to complete a minimum of four, including one short, 35miles or less, one medium, between 35 and 45 miles and one long over 45 miles plus another of your choosing. After missing out by one race in 2019 and having some that I had booked for 2021 being cancelled, I was determined to make the start line for the Rotherham Round.
I opted for a late start at 06:55 so that I wasn’t in the dark and didn’t need to leave home till 5am. The event is chip timed with up to 10 runners starting every five minutes, the earliest starting at 4am, so by the time I started most of the participants were already running. I started well, and made it to the first check point at 10 miles in an hour and 25 minutes, the weather was looking good, a bit damp underfoot but it was going well. At about the 18 mile mark, Rory Harris, the eventual winner, passed me – I guessed he had started about 15 mins behind, By the 35-mile mark with six checkpoints down the weather was more like a hot summer’s day than October and I was feeling done in. I carried on at a somewhat slower pace, eventually finishing in 10:15:12.
1st Rory Harris 06:48:28
20th Colin Williams 10:15:12
143 Finished