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Rowbotham's Round
Rotherham Run 2010

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79 Days left (or 11 weeks) to the 2010 Event

The 2010 Round Rotherham Run has been arranged for
Saturday 16th October 2010

The facilities in this section are under development for the 2010 event but are functional. All updates will be announced here.
The 'OS maps' choice provides a clickable map which will then provide a clearer and more detailed series of OS maps on a much higher scale. Click the route section for map of route and click the checkpoint (rectangular box) for a guide to the checkpoint- facilities, access, location.

Winter in Roche Abbey woods on the Round Rotherham Route

The 27th staging of the Rowbotham

		The 27th staging of the Rowbotham's Round Rotherham 50-mile Trail Race was won on 17th October by Marcus Scotney (Dumfries RC) in 6:42:12, with first lady Angie Sadler (Tewksbury AC) coming home in 8:23:55 on a day which was suited to running both from the weather and the going underfoot. Marcus' winning time was almost 30 minutes ahead of Jack Brown (Ron Hill Cambuslang H, 07:10:50) with Ian Bishop (East Cheshire H, 07:38:35) third, whilst in the ladies race Angie led Claire Spencer (Kimberworth Striders, 08:43:26) by around 20 minutes with Anne Wade (TRA, 09:24:07) third. Kimberworth took the team prize through Ian Brookes, Martin Gaynor and Spencer as well as bringing home the next two teams. What makes Scotney's performance more remarkable is that, apparently, he did not reconnoitre the route, relying on the event map to find his way. This is testimony both to his map-reading skills (Wainwright-style strip map) and to the skill and dedication which Henry Marston has shown creating such a guide and keeping it up to date (as well as keeping event statistics). It is not an approach to recommend however- one of the relay teams got lost in their own parish! Fitting too in a way, in that the winner is one of the Dumfries contingent, a club which has supported this race impressively over the years, not least considering the distance they travel.
The event has been based at Dearne Valley College for a few years now and got underway with a start for walkers in the dark at 6am, followed by runners at 7am. The race has incorporated an 8-stage relay (using the feeding stations) since 2001, and this started at 8am, all of this ensuring some continuity in the presence of competitors along the route with late-start runners overtaking walkers and slow runners round about first (Grange) and second station (Treeton) and relay teams catching the leading runners by around station six (Maltby). Whilst the 'real competitors' must disdain the relay as too easy a challenge, it generates a lot of interest and sometimes does aid individuals with route-finding. And it's very competitive. This time Rotherham won all three categories (men, women, and mixed). Two hundred and twenty-six starters (15 on the day) saw only a small drop-out rate as the last competitor home was 208th in a shade under sixteen and a half hours. With the sun setting around 6.15 this meant that the last 65 or so participants, all of them 6am starters, finished in the dark. With diligent back-up work led by Pete Adams, all the dropped-out competitors were safely reunited with their belongings at Dearne Valley (some of them using their own back-up however). Only one left the course without informing a check-point or phoning the emergency number, causing considerable problems for organisers Sharon Burton and Brian Harney who, in such circumstances are unsure whether the competitor is unconscious in a ditch or speeding home on the motorway. The latter, in this case, but we all make mistakes.
	A high proportion of the competitors have come back year on year, and not a few this time were somewhat dismayed that the traditional December date has been abandoned. From their point of view, it is the last event of their event calendar and a bracing challenge, which sometimes has made completion a notable (even more notable!) achievement. The trouble is, sometimes it has been too bracing, and after two years of brilliant 'shirts-off' weather we have endured two poor ones, last year in particular being horrendous with a virtually continuous biblical downpour, which made the going underfoot boggy, gluey and very slow, leading to a lot of drop-outs. The terrain for this 50-mile event seems to me to be equal part countryside (fields, paths, often remote and quite beautiful in the right weather) and urban (streets, urban footpaths) so that finding competitors (possibly in distress) in such conditions, and in the dark became a major safety problem. Plus of course, the checkpoint marshalls and assistants were out in it for many hours. No such problems this year, and whilst better conditions in October than December cannot be guaranteed, more daylight can. Competitors have understood this necessary change, and we thank them for their understanding.
Speaking of coming back, twenty people have completed the RRR more than ten times, led with an incredible 23 occasions by Roy Varo (Rotherham HAC). Incredible in that, having completed 20 times he missed 2006 after a running incident left him with a broken hip, but he has since completed three times as a walker (13:15:18 this time). Many who come back, and beginners at the distance, have again been very complimentary about the support and encouragement of the army of helpers who run the checkpoint feed stations and at the event centre where Elaine Laurie, June Harney, Jenny Gent and Pat Rowbotham have been the main caterers for as long as I can remember. When they comment what a friendly race it is and how welcoming the checkpoints are, their comments in turn are very encouraging for us. When I say "twenty-seventh staging", it's only partially true as Ralph Rowbotham, originator of the RRR set it up during his long tenure as the club's secretary (a euphemism for general factotum) in 1982 when a strike in the steel industry left him with time on his hands. The county boundary had been reorganised to be bigger, and at the time aslo events like the Lyke Wake Walk (40 miles plus) were popular, partly as fund-raising ventures. He saw a round-Rotherham event as being more accessible and less expensive. After laying out a route, a small contingent took it on in midsummer starting at 10am at Maltby Crags, with only Ralph and Roy Tinker finishing at around 8pm. But of course 2009 has been the 27th open competitive event.
.		It's competitive life began with Tinsley School as headquarters, walkers starting at midnight and runners 6am. Subsequent moves were to Brampton Ellis School and then the present venue. The walking involvement came about because runners in those days entered distance events which were to a large degree LDWA events, and not necessarily competitive. As this was condoned by LDWA organisers, RRR welcomed walkers reciprocally. Route marking has been a difficult area; at one time there was over-enthusiastic use of emulsion paint; for a number of years Brian Harney laid a huge trail of sawdust supplied by a local company. On one occasion Terry Girdlestone, a supportinve local publican, supplied 1000 brightly-coloured Stones Beer mats which were laid in the ploughed fields so that they could only be seen in one direction! (I hope they were biodegradable). In recent times, plastic tape has been used at tricky points such as King's Wood Elsecar. Review of the 2009 event has led to the decision that the course will not in future be marked. This because, firstly following tape for a while makes competitors forget to use the map so they lose place, and secondly there have been instances of deliberate realigning of tape, thirdly there is a bit more morning daylight in October. The organisers will be pressing for permanent markers to be installed round the route similar to those for the "Rotherham Roundwalk" which was based on this event. They will be opting for the same start arrangements in 2010 and the event date chosen is Saturday 16th October. Many thanks to Steve Gaines and to ARMADA (www.armadaphotography.co.uk) for their photographs, and to Henry Marston for the map extract Peter Humphries


23/12/09.....developing