Liverpool Rock ‘n Roll Half marathon #rocknroll

The day before i flew to Australia I ran a half marathon. That sounds insane? It felt a little bit nuts but i had entered before I had booked my flights and in fact before realised that i would have to go to Aus. So I wanted to at least do the race, if not in a fast blast it pace just to get round and have another race under my belt so to speak. I thought i would be okay although it turned out i had to work a 12 hour shift the day before so, even i was thinking this could all be a little bit too much. But I thought if i took it slow and looked after myself well after the race i would be okay.

This is the second half marathon i have entered. My first was in March and a pretty similar route. The rocknroll’ marathons are a large movement of races that i think started in America. They are calling it a tour and they have clocked up an impressive number of cities. It is sponsored by the heavyweight BT in this country and so it had quite a slick feel to it in comparison to the first one that i had raced. They even had Austin Healey to start off the race ( a rugby celeb who i would have had no idea about if it hadnt been for his appearance on Strictly!). He stood by the start and  enthusiastically high fived the first couple of hundred out. By the time i passed him he had given up that idea and had was going for a weak, encouraging smile! Can’t say i blame him, i bet his hand hurt! 😉

The race incorporates both a half and a full marathon. Whilst i have toyed with idea of entering a full marathon. I know that i just dont have the time right now to commit to the training needed to do 26.1 mile justice. Its something i might aim for the in future but i can just about manage the training for a half and even then its not always possible to get in those long runs every week. I do fully intend to run a full marathon ( you heard it hear first!) and i did contemplate entering one this year. But at the moment I will stick with the distances i know i can do justice to. I dont want to kill myself over 26.2 miles just to say ive done it. I want to enjoy it the way that i have enjoyed every race i have had so far. The marathon runners started an hour after the half runners and i did wonder if i was going to suffer the humiliation of being lapped by a marathon runner on the route but they headed out to the north of the city first and then came back to the city to join their second 13.1 miles that was our entire race!

We started in groups of estimated finish times. I couldn’t even remember what i had put down and as i arrived at the start 5 minutes before the gun went (a little too slack on travel arrangements!) I just joined a group half way through the field and went with them. They very deliberately staggered the starts which i think is a really good idea. In my previous half marathon they hadn’t done that and it felt very crowded for a lot of the time, in particular at the start.

I think at the start of this race it did have a bit of ‘get the job done’ feeling about it. I had such a busy week ahead and was a little pre-occupied about flying to Sydney the next day! The races are called rock’n roll as they incorporate music by showcasing local bands at mile marker points around the course and then at the end of the race have a headline act to finish. We set off around the city to take in the music historic site of the Cavern Club where the Beatles started out. It was a little odd to be running down the high street in the city as usually they keep to the roads but we passed through, past the shopping mecca of Liverpool One, which in the early hours of sunday morning was totally silent. We turned up past the business district and law courts and headed out to the south of the city passing through chinatown. This was pretty much the only part that the route deviated from the previous race i had done and i really liked it. We actually went through an area of the city that i have never been to.

We turned right and headed up out of the city taking in the giant Anglican cathedral and up probably the most sizeable hill in the route. The last race this had been almost at the start of the run, as we didn’t do the route around the city, so i think i was fresher. But its a short hill and so i dug in and maintained my pace up to the brow of the hill. Swinging right and passing one of the first live bands, the route straightened out for a while. Time to tussle a little for places, the pavement is raised in that part of the city so trying to get past people was a little tricky and i didnt really want to start jumping on and off pavements and risk twisting an ankle. Coming to the large bend in the road and heading into one of the many parks we would run through I settled into a good pace just in front of a runner with a helium balloon tied to his back!!

Time to settle in for some miles and at this point i have found, both times,  that the blustering and buffering with other runners settles down and folks are focused on getting the job done. Its also time when the water stations start to get busy and i always try to keep away from the groups stopping unless i want to myself.  I start off with a bottle of water with me so i don’t have to stop at the early water points. It was about 9 miles that i finally discarded my own water bottle. I made my OH laugh when i told him that even though it is totally acceptable to down your drink and throw the container to the side of the pavement to be cleared up by the amazing volunteers..i still waited till i past a bin and popped it in there. Too many years of telling my children not to litter..just couldn’t bring myself to do it!! 🙂

Turning into the majestic Sefton park it was time to take a toilet break. I  have managed on my other runs to totally avoid this, my kidneys and i we have an agreement that they will function quietly in the background once the gun goes. Usually i can make sure this happens by a quick, pre-race wee but given my very late arrival at the start line i didn’t even see the loos let alone get a chance to get near them so i had to start knowing i would need a little potty stop! 🙂

I chose to use one with no queue, minimising time lost to standing around and that was right on the race path. A timely hover (no-one really sits on a porta-loo do they?!) and a pause on my watch saw me heading off in less than a minute lost. Heading towards the 7-8 mile mark we went past a band who were properly  rocking it. I actually was pretty sad i couldn’t stop and listen. I need to find out who they were. Some of the bands were little tents with a DJ and a few speakers and others were full on bands blasting out rock, high fiving the runners and pumping their fists as we ran past. It was an incredible boost.

I was dreading the last part of the race, out onto the prom which can be notoriously windy and cause a real problem. A quick grab of some water and a power gel thing. I hadnt seen these before i so i thought to give it a go. It was like a cross between baby food and jelly. It was horrible. I almost gagged. Chasing it down with some water that i sitll had with me I managed to get the rest of the packet down. I think next time ill stick to jelly babies!

We turned and headed for the prom. It was a real surprise to find it with little wind coming in off the mersey but the sun put in a massive appearance at this point and the temperature went up a bit. I was still at a comfortable pace but aware of the sun and needing to top up on water a little more often.

We past the 11 mile marker and i really started to think of that finishing line. The route along the prom can be a little tiring as it is so long and boring. I get that its the best way for the route organisers to get 30,000 odd runners back into the city without massive disruption to the roads but it is a long 4+ miles of running in a straight line. Its totally open to the elements and as it is coming to the end of the run people can be at their limits. Within the last couple of miles the red cross volunteers where having to attend to a few runners, one of which appeared to have collapsed entirely. Scary stuff and it was a reminder of how important it was to look after yourself especially when it starts to warm up a lot. The last water spot before the finish was busy. Skipping in right at the start i managed to grab a bottle and tip most of it down my top. I haven’t really perfected the art of drinking and running at the same time!! The lady handed me the bottle, smiled and shouted after me ‘keep going, you are almost there!’ ahhhh the words you so want to hear!! 🙂

The last mile I dug deep, mustered some energy and hammered home to the finish. Not too fast to not make a swift detour to high five some little spectators who held their hands out for countless runners who went past ignoring them. I love the interaction from the kids on the side lines, their cheers, smiles and encouragement. Its funny how much it can change the way you run, like their positivity attaches to your feet and lifts you on just that little extra bit.

I crossed the line, feeling accomplished and happy but not burnt out. The volunteer placed the medal around my neck rather than just give it to me which made me feel like a champion!! We all peeled off into the echo arena to collect our goodie bags, t shirts and free beer! I love the fact that nearly everyone pops their finishers T shirt on. That gradually people change from being a myriad of colours to united in the same. Wearing their achievement right on their backs regardless of finish time or place. Still the achievement is the same.

There is something so rewarding about having done a really long race. To have started filled with excitement, endured the tussling and tangling for places, finding your pace and bedding down for those middle miles and rounding into the last miles where the spectators are shouting you on and that finishing line is in sight. It makes those endless early morning starts and training runs worth it.

Ive already signed up for the next one!!