UKC

Anyone done the Leeds Abbey Dash? What's the route - it doesn't seem to be on the website. I know it starts outside the Town Hall, but that all I've been able to gather.

In reply to tony: Town Hall, A65 to the Abbey, round a cone in the road, run back. Pretty much flat, slight incline up a slip road off the inner ring road at 9k. Very busy - last time I did it if you wanted to start near the front you had to be in the pen half an hour before the start.

In reply to andy:

Thanks. I did hear it was a bit busy but that sounds a bit excessive! I may reconsider ...

In reply to tony: Depends whether you're wanting to chase a time. It's chip timing so the main issue is being held up in the crush - but I did find it frustrating having to go into the pen early which made warming up difficult.

In reply to andy:

I would be chasing a time - it'll either be me chasing 40 mins or me pacing my partner casing 50 mins. The lack of a warm up is a bit of an issue, particularly when you're as old and creaky as I feel at the moment.

In reply to tony: I think you'll be fine for 50mins - it tends to be the sub-40 bods who getbun very early. My mrs runs c48mins and didn't have an issue.

If you want a local, fast 10k Dewsbury and Rothwell are both much quieter and very quick.

In reply to andy: Rothwell is now sadly no more, or at least was cancelled this year due to a lack of support and increasing costs. Dewsbury is still on and fast, though had to be rescheduled due to snow this year.

It's a few years since I did the Abbey Dash, and starting just behind the 40min marker didn't find it too bad beyond the little contraction just before the Yorkshire Post building. The road is very wide, especially with the new bus lane now put in. I don't recall arriving that early (I ran down as it starts a perfect warm up distance from home).

In reply to andy:

Thanks for this - very helpful. We're not local, but will be visiting my parents in Burley for the weekend and I saw the chance of a flat 10k. Looks like I'll be pacing my partner.

In reply to Liam M: I think it's 2 years since i did it and it really pissed me off as the only way into the pens was from the back - previously you could nip in by your time marker. In the end people were warming up off the front but it seemed a bit daft when they'd given people coloured numbers based on projected finish time to make the faster people (who'd want a proper warm up as opposed to the mass aerobics) go in the pen so early.

In reply to andy: Have Run For All taken over the event - that sounds like what was done at Leeds Half this year, with sub 85 runners asked to meet 30 mins before the start, and a scrum behind it (I was walking and cursing within 200m of the start due to crowds with a 91min eventual time)