Beat the Reaper 10k and 1k Fun Run

Andy enjoyed Beat the Reaper so much last year that it was an easy decision to sign up again. It was made even more tempting by the addition of a children's 1k fun run this time so we signed both boys up too. So we drove the 2 hours once more to Croxteth Country Park where the race, organised by Pool Runnings, was held. We headed straight for the hall and collected Andy's running number. A rather ominous looking reaper was hanging about the registration desk, probably checking out which souls he'd like to scare on the course. I didn't even realise that William had even noticed him until I saw this photo posted after the run! The look on his face is brilliant (although I'm not sure it bodes well for our upcoming Zombie Run on Halloween)!

Photo taken by Anna Watkin

We headed over to the children's playground and let the boys play here and on the exercise equipment until it was time to head over to the start line.

The thing I like about this race as a spectator is that it's 2 laps and there are several places to view the runners from. So once we'd waved Andy off we dashed over near the playground again and spotted him shortly after, then dashed to another point to spot him again.

Then at 5km we were able to do it again. Or at least that was the idea. We went over to stand near the water station to watch Andy come round at the halfway point and after putting his costume on, William managed to get himself involved with handing out water to the runners! 'We need to go to see Daddy at the finish' I said. 'I'm a little too busy' was his reply! I gave him a few more minutes then managed to get him over to the finish line.

Andy's chip time was a fantastic 54.36, a whole 5 seconds faster than last year's time. He received a really cool medal and a bright orange technical shirt for his efforts.

After Andy finished we went round to the cafe and got ready for the fun run whilst having a coffee and hot chocolate. Sam's devil costume went on and so did the boys' running numbers. We then headed over to the start again to wait for the last of the 10k runners to come through and the start of the fun run. I think the boys were getting a bit excited!

Andy ran with Sam and William ran independently. I headed down the path a little way to get some photos of the boys coming through. I could hear the DJ getting the kids all excited, jogging on the spot etc. Then came the reapers, who really hammed it up for them. There was a bit of pantomime booing from the kids and the reapers told them they'd never beat them to the finish as they skulked away down the start line. There were huge smiles on the kids faces as they set off.

I did the same as I did for Andy's first km, once both boys had gone past I ran over to watch them come round the building. William did fantastic and I was worried I'd have to abandon seeing Sam come round so that I could get to the finish in time for William but the worry was for nothing as soon after Sam came speeding round the corner with Andy.

After cheering him past I ran over to the finish line in time for William coming through, followed shortly by Sam. William loved seeing a reaper fall to the floor just short of the finish, pretending that a child had tripped him up. These guys were really fantastic.

The boys received the same medal as Andy with an alternate fun run ribbon and a sweetie bag so were extremely happy. Once again, the trip all the way to Liverpool was well worth it for a fantastic morning of running. I am sure we will be back again next year!