"If you love mud come along": Leeds running club kick off new year with 10 mile run which includes famous "cardiac hill"

A Leeds running club has kicked off the new year with a sixth edition of their famous 10 mile run through the city's Temple Newsam Estate.
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St Theresa’s Athletic Club (STAC) has been running the 10 mile on and off road "all the mud and all the hills" run since 2016.

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The event was sadly cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions but the runners were out in force today.

St Theresa’s Athletic Club (STAC) has been running the 10 mile on and off road "all the mud and all the hills" run since 2016. Picture: Simon Hulme.St Theresa’s Athletic Club (STAC) has been running the 10 mile on and off road "all the mud and all the hills" run since 2016. Picture: Simon Hulme.
St Theresa’s Athletic Club (STAC) has been running the 10 mile on and off road "all the mud and all the hills" run since 2016. Picture: Simon Hulme.
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Speaking to YEP, STAC chair Stuart Gall explained that this year's 773 was not far off their best turnout of 839.

"We have had a hit due to Covid but not that bad." he said "It's been really positive, we've been pushing it quite a lot on Instagram, Twitter and social media and we've been able to do quite a lot of transfers over the Christmas period as people pulled out and others took their place."

The run saw a pretty even split with 399 men and 374 women finishing the race, with many using it as an opportunity to run off some of that Christmas pudding.

"I think the first runner was just over an hour, an hour and one minute and the last runner was about 2 hours and 45." Stuart explained "It's a good spread of runners and I think a lot of people use it as their first race of the year because with January kicking in and the excesses of Christmas they know the TNT is the second Sunday in January."

The run saw a pretty even split with 399 men and 374 women finishing the race, with many using it as an opportunity to run off some of that Christmas pudding. Picture: Simon Hulme.The run saw a pretty even split with 399 men and 374 women finishing the race, with many using it as an opportunity to run off some of that Christmas pudding. Picture: Simon Hulme.
The run saw a pretty even split with 399 men and 374 women finishing the race, with many using it as an opportunity to run off some of that Christmas pudding. Picture: Simon Hulme.
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Stuart explained how the 10 mile course is split into two different portions with the first half relatively flat before an increasingly hill laden finish.

"It's definitely a race of two halves." he said "The first six miles are relatively flat, the lovely water jump, the bog of doom about five and a half miles in and then you get past the water stage and that's when the hills start."

He went on the explain how one hill in particular has gained a rather ominous name.

"You've got the flat muddy bit and then the hilly muddy bit." he said "We even have a hill right at the end which has been named cardiac hill which is the steepest hill on the course and that's in the last half mile."

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For those perhaps keen to get involved at the beginning of 2023 Stuart had one message.

"If you love mud and you love a good goodie bag then come along to our race."

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