Spring half marathon

Yesterday (I thought it would be apt to start with a Beatles song) I had a bash at the Liverpool Half Marathon. I like to be at races well before the start so it meant I had to be up very early as the race started at 9.30 IN THE MORNING!! Is there only me that thinks that there should be a law against starting races before midday? Nobody can run at their best until they been out of bed for at least 5 hours and have got two meals inside them. And the shorter and faster the race, the later in the day it should start. Marathons are just about acceptable at noon, halfs mid afternoon and 5 and 10ks should be from 6pm onwards. The recent Trafford 10k started at 9am which is just plain daft but the first prize for 'Extreme Sillyness' goes to The Park Run series which are 5ks that start at 9 o'clock on a Saturday morning! I don't know who came up with the idea of the Park Run Series but I'm guessing it's someone who is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler or someone who is a big fan of certain methods used during the Spanish Inquisition. I've heard some women mention that childbirth is a bit unpleasant but I can't believe that it hurts anywhere near as much as a 5k on a Saturday morning. And despite the pain i always do a rubbish time! My 5k PB is a shade over 18 minutes  which was achieved one summers evening at the very sensibly organised Sale Sizzler, whilst my  Bramhall Park 5k PB is about 3 hours 20!! Although to be fair, it is a bit undulating. I reckon if the Olympic 100 metres final was held in the morning then Usain Bolt would still win but he would struggle to break a minute. Other advantages of afternoon/evening races are that we can all have a lie in, the organisers and marshals  have lots of time to set the course up and once we have crossed the finish line we can head straight for the pub and have great night out. And getting drunk after a race is what running is all about. Anyway, it will probably never catch on, but I thought I would plant a few seeds. Back to the race report!

I'm 40 years old and I live in Stockport which is about a 45 minute drive from Liverpool and yet this was my first trip there! I can't explain it either! Actually, I tell a lie, last  year I used the John Lennon airport. Isn't it a great idea naming the airport after a local musician? Other regional airports should definitely follow suit. The drummer from 1980s rock legends The Alarm is from Manchester and I think that 'Nigel Twist International' is a cracking name for an airport. Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent again!!

The Liverpool Half Marathon! I liked it! Well, apart from the strong headwind for the last three and a half miles which cost me and probably hundreds of others a PB. Its a well planned, traffic free, scenic route which took in 3 of the cities parks and started and finished in the Albert Dock area along side the River Mersey. The race started after a short delay and the route took us inland and up Upper Parliament Street which gave us the only tough climb of the race. After three miles on the roads we entered the 'park section' of the race. There was a lap around  Princes Park then straight into a 4 mile section through and around Sefton Park and then into Otterspool Park via a subway. Then it got tough! From Otterspool Park we dropped down to the Promenade and the last three and a half miles along the Mersey to the finish were into a horrendous headwind. It was a shame about the wind as the flat promenade supplies an extremely fast finish to an already fast course. The support at the finish was excellent as it was throughout most of the route, especially the in the parks and once finished runners were treated to a medal, a t-shirt, a sports drink, a bottle of water and then a goody bag. This is definitely a race I would do again, its fast and the three sections of road, park and prom breaks it up nicely and helps avoid the monotony of some road races. The only minor quibbles would be the lack of a clock at the finish and the lack of an actual finish line, there was just a couple of the chip timing mats. But overall, hats off to the organisers  for the difficult job they do of putting on a good race in a city centre and extra credit to them for organising a number swap scheme so that anyone who couldn't run could give their number to someone who could. It makes a refreshing change from the 'swap numbers and you will be hung, drawn and quartered' attitude of some other races. Now if they can just get that wind to blow in the opposite direction........

The Gingerbreadman