Leeds or Sheffield HM?

Hi everyone,

I'm a glory hunting PB chaser wanting to do a HM in the spring. Wilmslow has sold out and it's right before Cumbria Commotion so I was thinking of entering either Leeds or Sheffield.

Has anyone completed both? How do they compare in terms of crowds and hilliness?

Comments

  • I did both last year. I PBed at Leeds and jogged Sheffield with my OH.

    Both were good but I certainly preferred Sheffield. Leeds starts and finishes in crowded Millenium Square whereas Sheffield is better with the DV Stadium as its base. Leeds has a couple of long, quite tough climbs but you can claw some of it back with the downs. Sheffield has a flatter course with a couple of short, sharp climbs in the city and a steady one before the crowd-packed Eccy road section. Both have quite dull drags from miles 10-13. One part at Leeds was single file on a coned part of the ring road which was frustrating and negated the chance to pass folk on a downhill. I`ll be opting for the Steel City.

  • btw I think the same fella won both last year and pretty sure he was faster at Sheff. I would say that Sheff is potentially at least a couple of minutes the faster course.
  • Did both in 2009 and 2010. Very similar times both years (Sheffield 1 sec faster 2009, Leeds 10 sec faster 2010).

    Agree with ET that Sheffield should be the faster course as it is flatter, however otherwise my experience is very different to that of ET. The stadium at Sheffield is very nice but I found the exit from it crowded and was significantly impeded - the Leeds start was much smoother. Also didn't have any problems overtaking on the ring road in 2009/2010, in fact this was the section of the race where I gained most places.

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