And everything seems the same….
Can we get an encore?
The Liverpool Rock and Roll series is one of my favourites – it was made for me. I run, I LOVE music, Liverpool is one of my favourite cities, and your race number includes a beer ticket – what more could a girl want? So it comes as no surprise that I was taking part for the fifth year running.
Liverpool rock and roll: Race Overview
The Rock ‘n’ Roll series is a whole weekend of music and running, starting with a 5k on Saturday, a half and full marathon on Sunday, and a mile fun run Sunday afternoon. It has local bands offering on-course entertainment and a finish line festival.
Visit to the Run Fit Expo
This year, I was there for the half marathon. I was originally running the full, but I’ll be honest, last year I injured myself between Manchester and Liverpool marathon. Paranoid that it would happen again, I was overly cautious with the training. I felt more confident running the half than doing the full ‘for the sake of it’.
I popped along to the Run Fit Expo the day before the race to swap my race entries over. It was definitely an improvement on last year and seemed to be a lot busier. I was really pleased the race has an Expo as I’d forgotten my gels.
The Race Route
I like to think of this race as a 13.1-mile sightseeing tour of Liverpool. The route takes in many sights, including the Eleanor Rigby Statue, Matthew Street, John Lennon Statue, Cavern Club, Chinese Arch, Anglican Cathedral, Princes Park, Sefton Park, Penny Lane (I still haven’t seen that barber showing photographs of every head he’s had the pleasure to know!), and the Otterspool Promenade. It finishes on the Kings Parade waterfront at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Liverpool rock and roll: My Race Experience
If the sun doesn’t come, you get a tan from standing in the English rain. It was a lousy day, pouring with rain and very windy in places. Despite the unfortunate weather, runners were raring to go as we joined the masses and headed to the start pens. I started the race with some friends, so set off a little further back. I spent the first 5 miles overtaking people in fancy dress – there really were some cracking costumes. The live music along the course really kept people going, although I missed the steel drums this year.
I had no plan but to enjoy this race. It was one of those races where I start my watch as I cross the mats and don’t look at it again until the finish. With all the on-course entertainment, you don’t need earphones. I only put my music on the last 4 miles along the prom. I finished with a time of 1.59.08, which I was over the moon with. A sub-2 half was something I worked at for years to crack. It’s crazy to think that now, I can just go for a ‘fun’ one and achieve that time.
Music and Entertainment
The action on the main stage starts shortly after the half marathon ends, which is why I prefer the half distance here as you get to enjoy more of the weekend. The sun came out just in time for this year’s headline act, Toploader. I wasn’t a huge fan of theirs 20 years ago, but they really rocked the main stage.
Medals and Bling
This year, the medals were all sweet-themed, which, when I first saw the pictures online, I was disappointed with. I much prefer the music-themed ones. However, once it was in my hand, my disappointment was soon forgotten.
Play it right on Rock and Roll weekend, and you can come away with a huge haul of bling. You get your finishers medal. The encore medal – you can get if you also ran the race the previous year. If you run the 5k on Saturday and the half/full on Sunday, you also get a Remix medal (as well as your 5k finishers medal). Add in the mile race on Sunday, and there is the chance to come away with 5 medals! There are also even more medals to collect if you run multiple events with Rock and Roll over the year.
Although the Liverpool race has ended, the global Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series continues in other cities, offering the same blend of running and live music.
