Review: Rock'n'Roll Liverpool Half Marathon

My second half marathon was greeted by an amazing weather. Unlike the previous few days of hotness and sun, Sunday morning had cloud covering the sky, topping the temperature at 16 degrees. So it goes without saying that it was the perfect race day condition.

The race started at the famous Albert Dock in the city center. We got there around 8:20, before the race time at 9:00. Tip: there is no need for you to go one hour early as the race information suggests. Getting there forty minutes before was already long enough wait. I went to the toilet, foam rolled a bit, and then just chilled with my boyfriend, Alex at the Jury's Inn hotel. It's definitely a good place to wait around.

I got down to my corral at 8:50 or so. My corral number was 8, but it seemed like no one cared about that. If there were two things I could change about the race, it's that I'd wish people stick to their corrals and that the race begin on time. I don't think it was until 9:23 my chip time started and even then, for the first 10 km or so, there were people clearly slower than me and I kept running past them. Note to myself for next time: don't overestimate my finish time, underestimate it so I can be put in the right corral and finish faster!

The first 4 km or so was around the city center. The course was extremely flat. Alex surprised me around 4 km to snap a few photos of me.

After I left the city area, the route went through a few nice, flat parks. It even extended down to Penny Lane! The last few miles however, was difficult. It was just a long stretch of road by the water which was very breezy. I got an ice popsicle from one generous supporter though! Along the way, there were so many wonderful music performances that made this event in this city very unique.

I saw Alex again at the end near the goal. This race definitely has better fans than the North London one!

My time was 1:48:04 which I did not expect. I shaved 13 minutes from my last one and came 18th in my division out of 252, as well as 224th out of 4561 women! Top ten percent for my second race is not bad I think! I certainly enjoyed the music and the free beer afterwards, after I reunited with Alex at the Jury's Inn. The shirt is also super cool and I'm definitely glad I ran this. Rock'n'Roll series is amazing! I'd love to do more of their races!

#halfmarathon #race #running #travel