Despite the Sheffield half marathon being officially cancelled due to some organisational blunder meant that there was no enough water available for the runners en route, plenty of runners completed the 13 miles run with spectators on hand with refreshments.
5,000 runners had lined up for the run before organisers made the announcement to officially cancel the Sheffield marathon over the weekend, but that didn’t stop a number of runners who had been preparing for weeks or months leading up to that moment. Some people didn’t hear the announcement, and a number of front-runners just chose to ignore officialdom and get on with their own race anyway…And the Sheffield unofficial half-marathon seems to have been a big success.
Undeterred by the organiser’s inability to supply water, spectators, supporters, and shopkeepers on the route all got together and found plenty of liquids to help the runner rehydrate if they needed it. Even the British weather lent a hand, by producing a generally grey day that turned out to be a pretty perfect temperature in which to go for a jog.
It was only once many runners reached the finish line that they found out they were running as rebels without a cause, but by all accounts the run itself seemed to have gone pretty smoothly for all involved except those in charge.