My marathons

Leeds Abbey Dash

09:309:30 AM Leeds
Leeds Town Hall
© OpenStreetMap Leeds Town Hall. Photograph by Andrew roberts uk, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

A slow rise of 14 m to km 5, then downhill home.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: JohnArmagh, Public domain
  2. Photo: Simon Cobb, CC0

km 4.5mile 2.8

Kirkstall Abbey

The organiser's route description has runners passing the gothic ruins of Kirkstall Abbey before turning back down Abbey Road.

Photo: JohnArmagh, Public domain

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 10. The trace runs between 30 and 46 metres, a range of 16 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there.
0 2 4 6 8 10 km
0 2 4 6 mi

  • slow rise to 5
  • downhill home
The course in short 2 lines
  • Gentle rise to Kirkstall and back downUp about 14 m from the start to 5.4 km, then back down to the finish.
  • Out to Kirkstall AbbeyPast the gothic ruins, back by the Abbey House Museum.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
km 0 to 10GradientGentle rise to Kirkstall and back downUp about 14 m from the start to 5.4 km, then back down to the finish.

The road starts at about 31.6 m and rises steadily to 45.6 m at 5.4 km, the highest point of the course. From there it comes back down, finishing at about 29.5 m, the lowest point, near 10 km. The whole 10K climbs 16.3 m, and 16.1 m separates the lowest point from the highest.

Measured

km 3.5 to 5.5LandmarkOut to Kirkstall AbbeyPast the gothic ruins, back by the Abbey House Museum.

Runners set off down Wellington Street, heading towards Cardigan Fields and passing the gothic ruins of Kirkstall Abbey before turning back down Abbey Road, past the Abbey House Museum, and along Kirkstall Road to return to Wellington Street for the finish line. The organiser says the 2026 Abbey Dash was selected as the England Athletics 10K Championship event and that the elite field returns, with qualifying times of under 30:30 for men and under 36:00 for women. Entrants must be aged 15 or older on the day.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

Race fuel for Leeds

One gel every 40 minutes once you are past about 75 minutes of running, plus a spare.

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Order by 8 November to test them on two long runs first.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
race
Other
climb
16.3 m53 ft

The Leeds Abbey Dash course has 16.3 m of climbing: a flat course. Its lowest point is 30 m and its highest 46 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 29 November 2026, starting at 09:30.

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 29 November Race day

  1. 09:309:30 AM

    10K start Wellington Street. The race starts and finishes on Wellington Street.

Times as published by the organiser, in Leeds time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Leeds time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line follows the road down its middle, so it measures 0.10% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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