Having entered the Tour of Merseyside 2014, I was inspired to join a running club. In July 2014 I joined Helsby Running club and throughout the last year I have completed my 3rd Marathon and 1st London Marathon along with several half marathons 10k's cross country/trail runs and lots of parkruns.

The tour of Merseyside is my favorite event . I grew up in Wallasey, not far from where the Tour comes to its end. The BTR events are great because most of them have significance to where I grew up.

The Tour of Merseyside gives me a great opportunity to gauge my progress during the last year.

Below is a graph from my runbritrain records which shows significant progress over the last 12-16 months

Tour of Merseyside July 2015

Introduction

Here I am again for my 2nd Tour of Merseyside. I had the pleasure of travelling to the race with local running legend Terry Forrest who has entered this year’s tour with a chance of winning it! Although the unique tactic of starting from the back of each race may prove to be a disadvantege! Terry is in the top 1000 runners in the whole of the UK with a Runbritain handicap of -1.9.

My lovely wife to be, Ali got up early with a mini hangover to come and support us.

Having left it late with a bit of an early morning panic, we arrived at Southport at around 8:30, just in time to pick up our race numbers and soak up a bit of the atmosphere with all the tour runners (tourists) who were going crazy for a group photo as we were heading to the BTR tent. It was great to see so many familiar faces from last year’s tour of Merseyside.

Knowing that the placings for the tour of Merseyside are done on gun time not chip time, I tried to start as close to the front as possible (learning from a mistake I made last year of starting too far back). We got underway and I got into a nice pace quite quickly and comfortably. I ran quite a bit on the grass adjacent to the footpath to keep progressing at under 7min/mile. I ran really well along the long, straight, slightly boring slow incline next to the sand hills with a u turn back along the same road at around 4 miles this time a slow decline.

Passing the halfway point at around 43 minutes meant a 1h:30m and PB (currently 1h:30m:13s) was very unlikely. I lost a bit of pace at around 8 miles before picking it back up near the end. I kept going and concentrated on what was in front of me rather than looking back. I didn’t quite have the energy left for a sprint finish so I lost a place on the final stretch to the finish line taking 11 minutes off last years’ time, achieving my 2nd quickest half marathon.

After the race I headed to the BTR tent to collect my race number (84 the year I was born) and have my race recovery drink etc. The tour is filmed by Colin Bailey with selected clips going on to a DVD which is presented at the end of the week. I got caught in his tracks and did a very cringe worthy interview not knowing what to say being a bit camera shy!

I caught up with a few tourists, some of who noticed my improvement from last year.

After this we headed home to prepare a diet strategy for the week for the remaining 5 races and 40 miles.

Normally a free sunday afternoon would involve the pub and several pints, but not today, must stay focussed!

Day 1 – Sunday 5th July 9am

Southport Half Marathon – 13.1 miles

Weather – Hot and sunny

Southport Half Marathon gun time: 1:33:29

Tour Position: 30 / 275

Improvement from last year: 0:11:09

Day 2 – Monday 6th July 7pm

Thurstaston Trail, Beach, Hill – 5.9 miles

Weather – Wet and windy

After a day in work it was out to Thurstaston for what is a lot of the tourist’s favourite race. Me being a bit obsessed with these 7 min miles it’s not my favourite. On last year’s tour this was my first ever non-road type run so this time I felt that I was a lot more prepared.

Last year I could not run any distance without carrying a bottle of water, wore road shoes on this course, wore swimming shorts with zipped pockets to keep my phone in to track the run and wore normal sports socks.

This year I return with a Garmin, free hands and trail shoes! Add to that the trail / x country / fell type running experience I’ve had with Helsby Running Club since joining after last year’s Tour of Merseyside.

Being back amongst the tourists chatting away before the race, we approached 7pm and lined up to start the race. I got underway down a short trail at a nice pace, then onto the slip road to the beach.

The first challenge was the pebbles which were potential ankle breakers that slowed me down significantly, losing a few places to more experienced multi terrain runners. The next challenge was a stretch of sinking sand / mud which got worse as more runners went over the same section, then as soon as we got a nice stretch of solid sand, the headwind hit. It was starting to become a real test of mental and physical strength. We left the beach at around 2.5 miles and headed uphill on a quiet road into the woods at around 3.5 miles.

Approaching the 'steps of doom' (I think thats what they have been nicknamed) Experience gained with Helsby Running Club, running up and down Helsby and Frodsham Hills in the summer prepared me nicely for this section and I kept up a good pace, making up for some lost time earlier on. I even managed a good sprint on the downhill section, overtaking a couple of runners.

The final stretch was a 2 mile run along a flat trail, I managed to get a really good pace here and overtook a couple more before being caught up by one and overtaken with a mile to go. I dug in and held my position to the end where Terry who finished 2nd came and assisted me to a sprint finish.

On last year’s tour I found a bit of competition with a few fellow tourists and after today’s race I found my competition. There are around 3-4 of us all around 7min/mile average pace battling for a top 30 finish!

Thurstaston 6 mile trail gun time: 44:11

Race Position: 29 / 275

Improvement from last year: 0:03:36

Day 3 – Tuesday 7th July 7pm

Sustrans Cycle Trail – Walton – 10 Miles

Weather – Overcast

Tuesday night, home from work at 5pm and straight onto my pre-race snack of peanut butter on a cracker bread (anything more than that before a race will almost certainly result in a side stitch).

We arrived very early at this one, not taking any risks travelling over the Runcorn Bridge, so hung around, and caught up with a few guys including Anthony Taylor who, currently in the lead again has won the last two Tour of Merseyside events.

When we got underway, the weather conditions were ideal, cloudy, decent temperature but not too much wind. This race is 2.5 miles out, 2.5 miles back and the same in the other direction. Very much head down and go for it whilst trying to avoid anything left by dogs on the trail. Despite a bit of fatigue I got into a nice pace and found my place in the group within 5-10 minutes. Unfortunately at 2 miles, one of the guys, Darren slipped and fell in a very dark tunnel.

I stopped to assist as best I could, Darren told me he was ok and was getting up so I continued on. I passed the water station at 2.5 miles and headed back towards the start point. This was quite a lonely section of the race with a good distance both in front and behind but the locals were great supporting shouting out my name as I passed. Passing the 5 mile marker, I grabbed a water, took a swig and carried on. Here I could see a couple of runners in my sight including Alan who yesterday I identified as one that would be a close challenger. I caught up with Alan and we both took over one more. Teamwork!

There was now quite a gap in front of us but I kept saying lets go and get the next guy! We turned around at the 7.5 mile point where I’d edged in front a few yards, I overtook one more and then found myself on my own again before one more went past me.

At this point I could feel a sign that cramp may attack in my right leg so was very nervous with 2 miles to go. I kept the pace up as well as I could. I took my mind off the issue by identifying all the passing runners on the other side by their name on their race number and encouraging them with “C’mon’s” and “well in’s” and all that.

I held on to the position until the finish where terry, again finishing 2nd bought me over the final 100 yards to the finish. No sprint finish this time but a solid 7 min/mile run what I was aiming for.

Sustrans Cycle Trail 10 mile gun time: 01:09:36 (PB)

Race Position: 27 / 275

Improvement from last year: 0:04:51

Day 4 – Thursday 9th July 7pm

Hale Village – 5 Miles

Weather – Sunny

After a day off where some decided to run and others rested. I chose a swim, sauna and a Jacuzzi, as I ran last year on the Wednesday and had my worst race at this "flat" (yeah right!) 5 miler, so hopefully the rest and chilled out wednesday would have me ready to go this time.

The group on facebook had organised this one to be fancy dress. I wanted to do as well as I could in this race after a poor race last year so I opted out of the fancy dress. Being based at the Wellington pub, I promised myself a pint of Guinness if I got under 35 minutes (7 min/miles)

I tried not to get carried away at the beginning and got off to a nice pace. The first 2 miles were definately a long slow incline. I pushed it a bit at around 3 miles, giving me a slower finish on the decline section to back to the finish where I lost a few places. I had a sprint finish with one of the Liverpool Running Club guys but unfortunately lost out.

I finished in a time of 34:17, allowing me a pint of Guinness at the end… plus another one as it went down so well! As per the other races I indulged on the treats laid on at the end (mostly out of date but very nice Cadbury’s biccies) in true BTR style!

This was the worst placing of the week. It seemed that a few really fast runners had come from nowhere. Quite a few guest entries were taken at this race which could be the reason for a lower than average placing compared to earlier in the week.

Hale Village 5 mile gun time: 34:17

Race Position: 42 / 275

Improvement from last year: 0:05:24

Day 5 – Friday 10th July 7pm

Stadt Moers cross country – 6 Miles (2 x 3 mile laps)

Weather – Overcast, warm

Having dodged the traditional Friday morning bacon butty and avoided the usual treats around the office on a Friday, we headed to Stadt Moers Park in Knowsley. A few people will know this course from other cross country events throughout the year.

With it being a Friday night, the girls decided to take a picnic and a bottle of Prosecco. I knew I had to be strict with only a 14 hour recovery before the 12 miler tomorrow so none for me I'm afraid!

I’d felt a few niggles throughout the day so was a little nervous. I got off to quite a slow start but after about a mile, I found a good pace on this hilly course. Again, experience from all those Helsby and Frodsham Hill runs probably give me an advantage. By the 5 mile point, I was surprised to find that I was still on for a sub 7 min/mile race if I could really push myself on the final mile. I managed this and was very happy with my time, I thought the placing may have been slightly better but in the overall results I was still hanging on to 28th place with one race to go.

Stadt Moers cross country 6 mile gun time: 41:48 (PB)

Race Position: 39 / 275

Improvement from last year: 00:05:30

Day 6 – Saturday 11th July 10am

Wirral Coastal Run – 12 Miles

Weather – Sunny and very windy

Here we are at the last day of what’s been a brilliant week of running, banter, friendship and community. I was joined by fellow Helsby Running Club members James and Darren.

Back to my more familiar routine of running in the morning, I was quietly confident of a decent run. We set off for the final time and not before long it was obvious that a very strong headwind would be present for the first 6 miles of this out and back route.

With a strategy to set off at 4:20/km (7min/mile…yes I set my Garmin to km!), I was struggling to hit 4:45 due to the wind. I spent a long time in a group of 4 of us, trying to see if I could gain any advantage by running behind a group, but this didn’t seem to make any difference. Just before Meols at around 4 miles, I went ahead and caught up with the next guy and starting to run a little stronger.

We went down onto the beach at around 5.5 mile and turned around to head home for the final 6 mile stretch. What a relief, the wind was now behind! I continued at a steady pace, getting to those 4:20kms but at around 10 miles I started to struggle. I’d given it too much earlier on and paid the price. I was overtaken by 4 people who had paced more sensibly than me! After a disaster at mile 10-11,

I picked it up again for the last mile but was just overtaken by Natasha at the end who won the tour in the female category so that can’t be too bad! The time wasn’t what I’d hoped for but given the conditions and on the back of 40 miles I’ll take it. Having been the first 10 mile race since last year’s Tour of Merseyside it still turned out to be a PB.

After the race we stayed for a while to cheer on other runners, I then had to prepare for a gig with my band for that night, before heading to the Camp & Furnace in Liverpool for the presentation which was superb.

Bring on Tour of Merseyside 2016 with a sub 6 hour target already set!

Wirral coastal run 12 mile gun time: 01:28:33 (PB)

Race Position (not including guest runners): 32 / 275

Improvement from last year: 0:03:26