Race date: 3 June 2025
Report by Helen Royles-Jones (as photographer)
After snapping their Santa’s Special event back at Christmas, I had the pleasure of being invited by Kimberworth Striders to be the race photographer for the 3rd instalment of the 2025 KMR series.
This was the 40th edition of the Kimmy Kanter and the runners received a special boot bag to mark the occasion. The race follows a two lap course starting at Millmoor Juniors Football Club.
The weather threatened rain and we were treated to a huge downpour just before we made our way to the start line. Thankfully, the clouds then passed and we then had some strong sunshine which made for some nice shadows and effects on the photos.
Jamie leading a breakaway pack during a cloudy spell
I’ve ran the race a few times previously and so had an idea about where I wanted to be located. I’d planned to be towards the end of the lap as the runners appear over the brow of a hill and head down towards the start of the second lap, and then the second time around move to the finish line.
Brow of a hill advantages: runner appears into the shot with a mixture of relief and building energy; can get low to the floor for extra action effect. Disadvantages: the sky will consume the runner’s head if not careful; dead leg from being on the floor.
Harriet on what for her must have been an easy jog, leading the way and vindicating my decision to sit in the wet grass
As it happened, leading runners started to re-appear far too quickly and I hadn’t had a chance to get everyone on the hill, so I stayed in my first position. Just as well because had I moved to the finish line, the sun would have been shining directly into the camera, never a good thing.
Simon takes a pre-attack position in the slip stream
For a photographer, wet and interchangeable weather is a pain not just because your bum gets wet, but also because you need to constantly adjust the camera settings to factor in the ever changing light and shadows. Thankfully, we just about had more sun than cloud overall!
Paddy managing to hold off Jo Rooney of Kimberworth Striders
The runners finished and went for a well earned beige buffet at the Drawbridge pub nearby.
I went home and began editing the photos. Anyone who knows me will know I like to edit and share the photographs as soon as possible after an event. I hate the idea of them lying around unorganised, unedited and unappreciated. Evening races pose a challenge though, because I have to fit the editing around eventually going to bed and then doing my proper job the next day. I managed to complete and share the photos the following evening. Out of around 2,000 photos taken, 331 made the final cut and meant I surpassed a milestone 10,000 race photographs on my Flickr page.
If you haven’t done any of the KMR races yet, I’d strongly recommend the series. They are based on some excellent routes all in the Rotherham and Sheffield area, put on by our local clubs with after race food, prizes and running chat. The photos aren’t bad either.
195 runners took part in the 40th edition of the Kimmy Kanter. The race was won by Luke Davis of Maltby RC in 22:55 and Harriet Davies of Steel City Striders in 27:22.
Somewhat uncharacteristically for this race, only four Striders took part. Striders results:
| P | Name | Time |
| 19 | Harriet Davies | 27:22 |
| 49 | Paddy Treehows | 30:25 |
| 91 | Jamie Manton | 33:49 |
| 143 | Simon Gledhall | 39:41 |
Full results: here
Caught in the sun the second time around