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!

Wirral Half Marathon

Well, I managed it. I ran my first half marathon on the 13th of September! As the BTR Liverpool's Wirral Half Marathon was 2 hours away and started at 9.30am we had the pleasure of getting up at 4.30am to ensure I got to the start line on time! Porridge was eaten en route thanks to a handy porridge pot and a flask of hot water!

We were due to meet up with our WWC friends at Morrisons in New Brighton for 8am and after getting lost once we managed to get there about 5 minutes early. The group split up there, with myself and friends C and C headed for the start and Andy and the boys headed off with J and grandchildren to get some breakfast!

It was lightly raining at this point so I made sure I took my cap and hoody, and once parked up near Birkenhead Park my friend pulled out some very trendy disposable ponchos to save us getting wet. We took a little wander round with a loo stop (there was a plentiful number of portaloos) then dropped our things off on the baggage bus which would be waiting at the finish. I chose to keep my cap on as it was still raining very lightly and I like to be able to see out of my glasses!

We headed to the start funnel and stood by the 2 hour 15 minute corral. My ultimate goal was 2 hours and 30 minutes but you never know! Once we were set off it took 2 minutes for me to get to the start and I was quickly moved along by the sheer number of people taking part. We spent the first part of the run inside Birkenhead Park before heading out towards New Brighton. I went out too fast as per usual, but soon steadied my pace. As we headed out of the park I realised it had stopped raining and the sun was shining down on us. By the time I got onto the prom I had to take my cap off as I was getting too hot.

I managed the first 5km in about 31 minutes which I was really pleased with although slightly worried that I needed to take it a little easier if I wanted to get to the finish! I really liked that section on the prom though as the crowds of runners started to disperse and it became more roomy. I passed a fantastic art piece of a pirate ship made out of driftwood on the beach and made a mental note to tell Andy about that when I finished... little did I know he and the boys had already been playing on it!

I started getting nearer the 10k mark and where the 10k runners would break off to their finish. I was starting to tire here a little, but I managed 10k in 1.04 so was quite pleased with that. I started scanning the people along the sides here to see if Andy and the boys had come out to watch me pass by and they had! Not only was I able to get rid of my cap but seeing them gave me a real boost and I felt myself moving a little faster again. After a few minutes I passed over the half way marker (1.07) and kept going.

Not too much further on and I ended up on a slightly narrower section of prom, but with lovely views still. The 2 hour and 20 minute pacer overtook me just at the 8 mile marker, singing 'We're off to see the Wizard' as he went past with his followers.

I ran the first 10 miles in 1 hour 47 minutes (the same as my time for the Prudent Riverside 10 miler at Lancaster). I was thrilled with that time as it meant I had 43 minutes to get the last 5km done. 3 of those minutes I allowed myself to walk a little but I mostly managed to keep running. My motivation increased when I got back onto the prom and could see the finish line in the distance. As I got nearer I realised I was going to beat my goal plus I saw Andy and the kids on the way to the finish. Got a high five from William on my way in and finished my first half marathon in 2.26.29!

I received my medal and goody bag and walked like a little old lady over to the t-shirt tent to collect my shirt. After that it seemed to take an age to get over to the group, mainly because I had to have a sit down partway there. It's amazing how you really don't feel it until you stop! I was so proud of myself, and proud of my lovely friend who completed her first 10k event.

What a wonderful day.

 

Liverpool Rock n Roll Half Marathon (and 1 mile run!)

Two Sundays ago (still catching up!) was a big day for Andy, due to run his first half marathon (well, first since his twenties anyway!). He'd chosen the Liverpool Rock n Roll Half Marathon, mainly because of it's flatness, although the bling was not bad either!

Since his race started at 9am in Liverpool it meant an ultra early morning start for us from Cumbria. We were up by 4am and out of the house by 5am. Managed to get to Liverpool and find the car park at the waterfront by 7am so we were quite early. We managed to find the tent where I could collect our running numbers from and then it was just a case of having a look round and waiting till Andy was due to start.

There were over 12,000 people in the half marathon, according to the corale numbers, Andy was in the 12,000-12999 corale and it took him about 17 minutes to reach the start line! We managed to spot him though for a quick photo on his way out.

We met up with my friend L and her son who had arrived from afar to take part in the one mile event. We had a mooch round, trip to the loos and checked out the Echo arena which was where the half marathon and marathon runners were due back in. At 10am the marathon runners were set off, then we headed to the start area after checking in our bags.

We had several minutes of being entertained at the start line, the compere got everyone waving their arms from side to side above their head and lo and behold Sam started doing it too! Just before we set off Sam was handed a foam mohawk as well which he enjoyed till we got going.

William paused to wait for Sam and I for a few seconds then was off and running. Sam decided to mostly walk the first half but managed a gentle jog for the return journey. We headed out of the dock, onto the main road and down to the Liver building where we turned and did a loop at the waterfront and back again.

William was waiting for us when we got back, having finished a full 6 minutes ahead and collected his medal. According to his running watch he managed his fastest mile so far, 9min 40secs! Sam and I got our medals and then we all headed back to the Echo arena to collect our bags and wait for Andy to come in.

We didn't have to wait for too long! He finished in 2.00.13 according to his garmin! Unfortunately there must have been a chip timing malfunction as his official chip time came back the same as the clock time. He received a tech t-shirt, goody bag and fab medal.

We didn't stay too long as Sam was getting a bit worked up with the crowds that were growing as the runners were coming back in. Andy is definitely considering doing this run again next year (if only because you get an extra medal for just coming back a second year!).

Shiny, shiny bling!

Liverpool Spring 10k and Spring Dash

We had the weekend off to a good start with the Dalton 10k, it got even better on the Saturday when Sam got a PB at last! 46.13, knocking a minute and a half of his best time from last August! Had a great smile on his face the whole way round too.

On Sunday we were up very early to get to Sefton Park in Liverpool for the Liverpool Spring 10k and their children's race, the Spring Dash. We got there shortly before the one way restrictions around the park were put in place so managed to hunt and find a parking space on the outer edge of the park just a short walk to the start/finish line. Unfortunately it had been raining heavily all morning and was raining when we arrived. We had put the boys in their wellies with the intention of going back for their trainers just before their run was due to start. So glad we did as there were a lot of puddles about!

We collected the boys running numbers (which incidently had their names on - a great added touch!) and had a wander about, including a go on the bouncy castle until pretty much the start time of the 10k! Luckily it had stopped raining by this point so I stripped off my jogging bottoms, hoodie and jacket ready to start.

I've never been in such a large race before. I headed to the red start as I'd put my 10k time at over an hour. The crowds were enormous but I managed to spot where Andy was waiting to watch us set off with the boys thanks to the giant helium balloons they'd gotten just before the start! I hurriedly handed him my cap which I'd changed my mind about wearing and waited. We eventually heard the countdown but it took me 2 minutes to reach the start. Not a worry though as it was chip timed and I set my garmin off just before going through the start.

Spot the Cheetah

We were all quite bunched up for a few minutes and I was trying to make my way around those going a bit slower than me. Eventually we started spreading out a little and I managed to get going with a good pace. Just before my garmin hit 5k was the water station, but I didn't stop as I wanted to try for a 5k PB. Didn't quite manage that but came very close!

My legs were feeling like lead weights after that point, but not too long afterwards I spotted a yellow balloon being bumped about and then spotted that it was attached to Sam's raincoat. Seeing them there was a real boost and I found myself speeding up again. The marshals were fantastic, and really encouraging but there's nothing like seeing your family to keep you going.

I rounded the second to last corner and the finish line became visible again and I spotted that yellow balloon again along the edge! I ran in as best as I could, although a sprint finish was a bit out of the question as my energy was just zapped.

Another bonus - free finish line photography! Thank you! (even if I look very worn out!)

Thrilled to have finished with a PB according to my garmin, I headed to the t-shirt funnels to collect my goody bag and t-shirt. It took what felt like an age to get through, but boy was it worth the wait. Fantastic tech t-shirt and gorgeous medal! I later discovered that my chip time for the run was 1.03.12, knocking 2 minutes off my previous 10k PB!

The children's race started after the main race had finished. William wanted to run it by himself which was fine by me. It was only on park paths and I was a little tired. Andy ran with Sam. They set off down the path to a loop in the path and then headed back again.

William didn't stop the whole way and Sam did his parkrun speed which still got him back in within 12 minutes. Very proud of them both. It was whilst waiting for them that the other WWC found me and helped cheer the boys in. The boys both received an excellent medal and the same goody bag as the 10k runners.

Seeing as the sun had come out, we all enjoyed a picnic packed lunch before heading home. Andy and I both agreed it was a very well organised event with a great atmosphere. I hope we'll be coming back again next year.