' 300 Spartans? Paah!....who needs Spartans when you have 300 'Tourists'! Part 2.

The Tour of Merseyside 6 stage 52 mile week funfest of good friends and fellow fun loving 'Tourists'! Part 2

Stages 4-6

Foreword....

So here we are on Part 2 of my week long blog about my participation in perhaps the greatest relatively unknown running event in the UK. If you like me are on the Tour you like me will now probably be feeling a little worse for wear or a tad tired, but also buzzing on the excitement that the tour brings to our lives during the week, or perhaps it's all the sugar in the gels and the Lucozade we've been drinking? :)

As time is of the essence as I have yet another run in T-minus 4 hours and I'm currently sat with my feet up trying to rest them as I type this blog entry...I will swiftly move on and start with the next stage in our week long adventure and the one a lot of the funsters had been looking forward too all week. I give you...

Stage 4 - Day 5 - Otterspool Red Bull Rage 5 miler. 

Well as you see from the picture above , the Red Bull Rage 5 miler is in fact optional fancy dress day on the tour, after it was first started last year at the Hale Village 5 miler which was Stage 4 last time round. 

Hale Village decided we where just a little too much of an inconvenience I guess, but we managed to leave in true 'Tourist' style last year with the fancy dress tourists showing them all how to have a bit off fun and lose that 'bug out of their a**!' as the Americans so politely put it.

The trip....

My lift for today was yet again ever helpful David Marsh, and we were swiftly on our way by 4.45pm. Weather was a bit undecided and after a few bits of light rain as we approached our destination it started to brighten up again. I was glad for one that the forecast had been accurate as I had nothing other than a vest and shorts along with my trusty Hoka Clifton 2's. 

After managing to get parked up without falling through to Austrailia care of the mahoosive pot holes in the car park, we walked the short distance to the Riverside Police Club who had kindly agreed to accommodate us all and it became quite a challenge to recognise people we knew.

Especially when the majority were obviously in fancy dress. A lot of the costumes where full on, and with make up or head cover it was near on impossible to recognise the usual people we chat to. 

I was trying to keep my head down and be as inconspicuous as possible as I wasn't wearing fancy dress. I'll be truthful here I suffer with fairly low self confidence as I was skitted a lot at school and it pretty much scarred me into my adult life.

I still find it hard to blend in and not feel out of place within groups of people, which is why a lot of the time I come across as very distant as well as quiet obviously. I find it very difficult to accept compliments all though I do appreciate them, so I would like to say THANK YOU to every one I know among the 'Tourists' and the 'Cakers' for all the friendship you offer me :)

Any way I've drifted of topic and time is ticking until the next race....

After a period of photo time and chat time and the obligatory toilet time we were pretty much good to go. There was an abundance of great costumes, and I obviously cannot post pics of them all, especially as there were so many and I'd have to ask all their permissions before I did. I'll post a few pics randomly as I go.

The start....

So as the norm the group picture was taken, but this time just the fancy dress brigade (See main blog pic) and after Alan's announcements of the official race leaders positions and race vest giving it was time to line up and get ready for the off....

We started in the field at the Police Club and then ran down to the Prom and took a right turn at the infamous 'Red Bull' and off we went, and what a sight it must of been, especially if you were merely walking your dog down the Prom or out for a quiet walk or run.

There were some ingenious costumes that a lot of effort had been put into, and it was going to be interesting to see which ones held out for the duration of the 5 miles, including fellow 'caker' Sal who had come as 'Table dancing Sal' an amazing amount of effort, and it appeared to be holding up well.

The course was 2.5 miles out and then 2.5 back so pacing this was going to be fairly easy if you could prevent yourself from going off like a startled rabbit as we always do on the 5 miler. After a days rest on the Wednesday a lot of us feel fully refreshed at first at least.... and usually go off too fast, but eventually we learn and settle down a bit.

As per usual I had done the same, I'd gone of fairly fast and I wasn't helping myself by slowly and steadily overtaking a steady line of people which seemed to go on forever as you forget 300+ tourists is a lot of people in one place. I eventually started to catch sight of the usual suspects i.e. running nemesis's, we all have them. Fellow runners who we know run either just above or just below our usual pace and we know we should be there right with them at least.

The first one I saw was 'Dennis the Menace' who I actually thought was Simon as he was dressed in the same outfit. As I drew nearer I suddenly thought he seemed to of grown a bit. That was when I realised it was Darren, so I gave the usual 'Hello' or 'well done' if it is the later stage of a run.

Onward I went and huffing and puffing a little, and next up was Ian who was dressed as Indiana Jones and a great costume as well. The costume did play in my favour run competitor wise though, as he was struggling with the heat of the extra clothing and I could hear him muttering with discomfort. I slowly ran behind him knowing I could afford a breather for a while.

Further we went along the Prom and passing great costumes as we went and I passed a few others I knew who were running well and said my 'Hello's' as I passed. My breathing was a bit more comfortable now so I pushed on past Ian and started to look out for who ever else I knew had beat me on other stages and that I knew I should be trying to friendly compete with.

At some point I went past Chris who is doing well run wise in recent months after setting up his Runsomniacs early morning running group. A credit to him and his hard work and commitment, it's good to see him knocking out PB times again.

We eventually went past the Britannia Pub on the Prom, and knew full well the turnaround point was coming up soon. I was currently chasing Sarah who I have always had friendly tour competition with and she was doing well ahead of me. She was also doing well in the tour itself and was well within the Top 10 ladies at this event, a testament to all her hard work throughout the last year.

First off I managed to spot a rather bright as always 'Ultan' in bright orange trousers and a Hawaiian shirt. I think he had regretted his choice as he was looking rather hot and flustered.

I eventually got past Sarah after the turnaround and tried to push on, but not too much as I wanted to wait til mile 4 before I pushed on harder. Slowly I managed to pass people, and people I am honestly struggling to recognise, the challenge on the tour is as much about getting around everybody and saying hello or merely remembering their face for when we are all on Facebook later etc....

Eventually I spotted my ever friendly running pal David and slowly... slowly... and ever so  slowly tried to catch him, but b*gger me he is getting faster every time I see him. He was the last of my running nemesis's and friends that I was trying to get past and I was very happy when I finally got past just after 4 miles, or what I thought was 4 miles as the GPS 4 mile point and the 4 miler marker were clearly distant relatives and quite far apart....

After eventually getting past the 4 mile marker I tried to push on as the last mile is usually the one you save something for and can usually get through just about in one piece. I carried on making up a few places but it was a struggle. We eventually caught sight of the good old Red Bull but then remembered we have to run past it and do another switch back. Question was how far past? with the GPS and 4 mile marker blip I wasn't sure where I was distance wise, although common sense should of told me to follow the GPS distance.

On the switch back finally and I saw another fellow running friend Barry, and one who is always ahead of me, and yet again he was too far ahead and I had no intent in trying to catch him as he is just one step too fast for me at the moment. I wasn't too sure if his 'minimal' costume was aiding or hindering him tonight ( see above pic) he was clearly streamlined and using wind resistance :)

Finally the right turn of the Prom approached and we were welcomed by a nasty incline/uphill subject to how often you run up hills. I was honestly knackered and trying to hold my position. Up the road a little and past a smiling Keith and a right turn into the field and of towards the finish line...

Finished..... 

I finished in a very knackered 36:33,  66th and 8th in my category, and was just 3 seconds faster than last years PB at Hale Village, and that one had a 1 mile downhill into the village, so I reckon our efforts will of been harder tonight, especially with that little uphill at the end.

Quick bit of refreshments and handshakes and well dones to other runners, and it was time to watch everyone come in safely, and to get a look at all the costumes and whether they survived the course or not.

The cakers did them selves proud with their costumes and they all came in safe and smiling which is a good sign that fun was had. The fact that there was a bar at the end seemed to help their spirits as well.

I promptly left them there and got my lift back with David Marsh who thank fully still let me in the car after beating him!...

So that was it for another day 'Tourists' fellow 'Cakers' and 'Running with Gru' blog readers. I now looked forward to seeing everyone at Stadt Moers for the Friday night 6 miler cross country which I had warned is a sod of a run, but not as hard as getting up for a 10am 12 miler on Saturday morning with practically no rest or sleep!!

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 Stage 5 - Day 6 - Stadt Moers 6 mile cross country.

Pre race....

So It was Friday morning and the morning after the night before which in this case was our shortest run on the Thursday night. A night most of us gave it our all, and today was Friday and 5 days into our week long event. Tiredness was creeping in if we hadn't slept well and physical strain was showing as some people were slowing and being hindered by niggles old and new.

Sadly some people were unfortunately too unwell to continue and apparently the DNF and DNS list was growing as injuries were appearing among our group of 300+ strong Tourists.

I awoke feeling very refreshed and thought I was nicely recovered from the previous nights adventures, but as I nipped out for some pasta from my local Scoozi pizza & pasta shop I discovered all was not well. I had a new and nasty twinge in the bottom of my hamstring and into the knee. I've had hamstring issues since June 2015 and it went several times on the Tour last year. Some races you saw me limping and some you saw me racing and getting PB's, it was a weird week to say the least.

Stadt Moers last year was the race that my hamstring problem shot me down twice in one night, I started to run up the first hill and after a mere two to three steps got snipered in the back of my leg as my hamstring pinged and seized and wouldn't move through the full motion range it should do. I hobbled up the hill and carried on as it went numb and eased a little as it warmed up and loosened up. I actually had a good race until I got sniped again as I sprinted to the finish!

My Tour was almost over at that point last year, I did not want a repeat this year at the same event.

The trip...

Transport yet again was ever reliable Mr Marsh who continued to let me in his car despite me pipping him at the end of a few recent races. We did discover on the way there tonight that on the overall standings there was only 30 seconds between us! The competition was going to the end.

We arrived and parked up, and set off to the start and finish area, picking up Sal And Darren who had parked nearby as they got there fairly early as they had traveled from Anglesey daily and had apparently covered near on 700 miles during the week!

We got to the start/finish area and watched the area getting finished off by the Btr crew and volunteers who had done an amazing job all week in setting up a fantastic start/finish and hospitality area for us all each night. Well done guys and THANK YOU!

Fellow runners were now amassed and taking the usual group pics, including my fun loving 'Cakers' who don't need an excuse for a group pic, a selfie or a bit of hilarity..

Tiredness was showing on a fair few faces, and tales of niggles and woe were abundant among us. Especially as now the realisation was kicking in that shortly the night would be over and then we were up again for a long and slow 12 miler with hardly any recovery or proper rest.

I tried to stretch my hamstring and legs in general without putting too much into it as I don't like stretching niggles, but rather just try and warm the area up by moving around. I even did a few runs up the first hill at the front to check everything was OK. It wasn't really, I could feel a pain on and off in the hamstring, but a bonus of it going slightly numb was encouraging!!



Race start... 

So it was pre race photo time, and I had seen Paul Cooper our official Btr event photographer for the week loitering around up the hill in the distance and I was wondering exactly what he was doing as he was there a fair while. It appeared that he was practicing getting the right distance for the vital group photo as it was due to lash it down on Saturday morning and he wasn't very hopeful of getting a decent group shot done.

So we all lined up at the start, but not to race, but to get the vital photo in. We all squashed in bit by bit, and Paul stood further and further back until he was almost in the bushes up the hill!

Then Alan did his usual pre race talk and gave us all the race standings as we clapped 1st, 2nd and 3rd in both the male and then female categories, and then it was line up and we were off....

This is a two lap course so lap one is the live and learn lap, if you go of too fast and don't know the course, you are in for a shock as the first half of loop one is up, down, up, down and up, down a bit more, then a bit more again (getting the picture?).

The problem with this course is if you are having friendly races with your nemesis's then it is easy to lose sight of them as the course winds around and around.

I was extremely lucky to get up the first hill and up and down a few more and discovered my hamstring had settled in nicely and was playing ball fingers crossed.

I sat back as it got crowded as people stuck to the newish trail path that had been laid over the year but I saw an advantage when a downhill appeared and a couple of my nemesis's bunch up as the runners slowed a little going down. That was my cue, I stepped aside and ran on the rough grass alongside down the hill and passed a dozen people and just about managed to tuck back in again as the leaders came back in our direction.

I then had to recoup and sit a bit with the runners in front of me and follow them as their paces seemed good and pretty much what I wanted. It's easy to get carried away here and rush off but you fall foul to the hills later on and get caught again so it is pointless.

More and more twists and turns and ups and downs and then another downhill and a few more places gained as people slowed downhill, and then I passed Ann-Marie taking photo's and then a little downhill and then up past Keith Peacock who was marshaling.

Around we went and eventually a nice long downhill and yet again a very over cautious line of runners who all went precariously down the hill. If it was wet then fair enough, but if it's dry just let the momentum take you effortlessly down the hill. It's a tactic that will serve you well if you practice it, or in my case wear cushioned Hoka's so my knees don't get battered running downhill.

Luckily for me one of my fastest nemesis's Sarah was on this downhill as I sped past, but I was so busy trying to go down safely and take deep breaths in I couldn't get a 'hello' or 'well done' out as I passed by.

A tarmac section and part two of the first loop soon came round and I now had the problem of maintaining pace as the road runners among us (not me) would start to pull back time and places, especially if they had taken it easier on the hilly bits.

A hung on to the pace of the guys in front of me as comfortably as possible, but I was a tad pushed and hanging on. I reminded myself this was merely lap one and had another to do yet.

The halfway mark soon came round and after another precarious dash down the hill onto the straight I was soon at the start/finish area ready to start lap two...

Off on lap two and I was now trying to maintain the pace of those around me and sit with them instead of trying to pass. I had gone past all my friendly nemesis's  so now had no target other than staying ahead of anyone I had passed, and I was fully aware Sarah and indeed Ian would not be far behind me as I had purposely slowed my pace to recoup energy for the last mile.

Another big downhill came and I used it to pass the group of 4 or 5 runners I was running behind, it was a risk as I was fairly confident they may chase me down again, but thank fully they didn't. I think most of us were just trying to get around safely tonight and conserve energy for the big push tomorrow.

The course continued as per the first lap with the flatter tarmac sections being a chance to try and settle the pace a little and reserve some energy for the last mile again.

The last mile approached and I hung on to the guy in front who had gone past me earlier and I was confident the downhill would be to my benefit again. It was , and I passed but was wary of a retaliatory sprint finish. I checked over my shoulder and thankfully didn't need to sprint to much, especially as at this point last year that was where my hamstring got snipered again!

Finished....

So I was safely finished with my hamstring intact, and a decent time for me as well, as I managed to take off two and a half minutes off my time last year with a surprising 57th place, 9th in my category and a time of 44:10 which was a new course PB.

Sadly as I crossed the line one of the first people I saw was David Marsh who had had to pull out on the first lap due to a problem with his hip, he was now sadly out of the Tour. I was genuinely gutted for him, but tried not to show it as over emphasizing someones injury and it's upset I feel makes them worse.

So we clapped our fellow tourists in one by one and cakers who all came in safely and did them selves proud, and then it was food and drink time as recovery time was limited and every minute counted ready for the morning.

The usual group pics and smaller group pics ensued along with handshakes and well dones, and then it sadly it was goodbyes, and see you in the mornings as we all went our own ways until the morning....

  

*** 



Stage 6 - Day 7 - Wirral coastal path 12 miler.

Pre race....

Well what can I say about Saturday morning? I was knackered as I'd stayed up til 2am to write Friday nights blog and get it posted in time, because I knew full well I wouldn't have time on Saturday. I also knew I'd have todays blog (Saturday) to do as well and I couldn't retain two days worth of tourist antics and memories without forgetting bits.

So up I got at 6.30am after not sleeping much, but physically my body felt OK. There was no sign of my hamstring pain or twinge and I was confident that apart from falling asleep on my feet and running into the sea, I may actually be good to go again!  

Two pieces of toast  and a coffee was all I could eat so I took some snacks with me for pre run if I needed. Clothes for the day were the most difficult decision as the weather forecast was the pits...or New Brighton on a rainy day, which ever is worse!

I decided on t-shirt and shorts and my Hoka Clifton 2's again as I knew it was flat and a hard surface so needed cushioning. I also wisely took my new Innov8 waterproof ultra jacket which was incredibly light for use with ultra's etc so it wouldn't weigh too much in running back packs etc. Today would be a good test for it as the forecast was still quite warm, so it's breathability would be vital,

The trip... 

So transport today was courtesy of Vicky who was giving me and Maddy and Annie who are all fellow cakers a lift there. It was a straight forward enough trip there, and fairly quick, and we rolled up about 9am and fairly early. On a good day this would be ideal, but on a wet day on a seafront with no shelter? not so much....

 

We eventually got out of the car with about 30 or so minutes to go and walked the 5 minutes to the Btr tent and the start/finish area, to say hello to our friendly fellow and now damp looking tourists, mostly who had wisely chosen a waterproof covering or bin bag at least.

It became apparent that we were going to get quite wet as there was no where to stand out of the rain, which I did sadly feel was a bit poor as there was obviously no place to change etc if needs be before or after the event. On good days this is no problem as you come in your running gear ready to go or get changed outside, but when the weather has been forecast to be cr*p and guaranteed heavy rain for hours you should really provide an extra little gazebo type shelter.

I stood in the rain in my waterproof as did the other 300 odd tourists as only 15 or so lucky people could fit in the baggage tent which was no longer for bags unless you fought your way in to put it in there.

My waterproof kept my top half dry nicely but after 10-15 mins I may as well have gone for a swim in my shorts and trainers.

Luckily we were just about all in good spirits from the weeks events (see pic above) and seeing all our fellow tourists and friends kept us all going and it's only when I'm writing the blog I'm raising the 'shelter' issue.

Race Start....

So the final stage and the final day was upon us. Alan did his speech and announced the leaders etc and we were more than good to go as we edged towards the start line ready for what most of knew would be a long hard and uncomfortable slog out and back along the Wirral coastal path and promenades.

Off we went and at quite a pace in parts as a lot of us tried desperately to gain some ground quick to prevent being trapped behind a lot of us as the path narrows in parts. I wasn't the only one running along the slanted section of the upper seawall that the path ran along. It was ideal to run unhindered without zig zagging left to right to left again dodging trailing feet and the odd bit of doggie doo's etc..

The usual suspects were ahead of me, and I managed to catch up with them fairly quick or within the first mile or so at least. I carried on running pretty much with Ian and just infront of us If I recall was Chris as well. Neither myself or Ian had any intention at that point to push the pace as we had a long way to go still.

After a comfortable few miles and feeling good I suddenly felt an energy drop in my muscles in my legs and felt slightly light headed. I can occasionally get this early in runs if I haven't got my nutrition right and have drained myself the day or night previously or not had something for breakfast that my body could actually digest and use quick enough for the early stages of the run. 

With foresight I should of had a gel before I started just in case, I had one gel in my hand but that was for mile 6 and the turnaround to ensure my legs wouldn't lag on the return trip, but I couldn't risk having it this early as it would not last the entire run. I started to drop behind Ian and let him go ahead as I decided what to do.

Luckily for me a guardian angel or two in the shape of Steven and his partner Kareen (fellow Thunder Run teamies) had set up a little sweetie stop and choc brownie stop at mile 4!! Thank you guys, you saved me. I stopped to eat some and Steven yelled 'It's only mile 4, get a move on, eat and run'. So I left with a choc brownie in my mouth and a couple of jelly sweets in hand.

After half a mile or less it started to work and I slowly regained my legs and promptly caught Chris again, and could see Ian and also Sarah not too far in the distance as we eventually approached the beach section at mile 5 or so.

The beach was an eye opener to say the least, and I was not expecting to find the tide had not long been out and that we would be running through loads of water, puddles, seaweed and whatever else was on that beach. Some people clearly found the puddles perhaps just a little too much fun ( see picture below).

Once my Hokas were soaked again and my socks I gave up and just ran through whatever was in front of me. I started to regain ground on Ian and Sarah who I don't think were particularly enjoying their time on the beach this year :)

6 mile turnaround and aid station was a pick up on the beach, I took a water bottle and walked a little while I opened my GU gel, washed it down and set off on the chase.

Back on the prom and it was time to say well done to fellow tourists and cakers as we passed each other, even time for a hug stop with Jay and Sal which was a new experience mid run for me.

The miles slowly passed and the gel had kicked in and I started to push to slowly catch and overtake people in front. It was slow but methodical and all to plan. I caught Ian and Sarah pretty much at the same time and I briefly chatted with them both, firstly checking on Sarahs race position in the ladies top 10. She was doing well and as far as I could tell was in a comfortable position in todays run. 

Ian was taking in a gel and I knew this meant the chase was on for him as well once it kicked in, so I pushed on to slowly build a bit of a buffer if I could. I felt good and my legs felt strong and I had to keep telling myself to steady the pace a little as there was still at least 4 miles to go at least, and indeed time for the gel to wear off and the legs drain again.

Thankfully I was slowly overtaking again and both Ian and Sarah remained behind me, I'd also now bagged some more sweets from the now 8 mile pit stop run by Steven and Kareen. This topped up my energy and I pushed on.

Final miles and at mile 11 I saw a friendly face in Martin McConnell who was taking pics, so I gave a quick smile (I think) and I was now in my last mile and on the last push as I always leave a bit for the final mile and the possibility of a sprint finish if required.

I squeezed past the final few that I could reach including the gent I just about passed at the end of last nights run, and after passing David Limbrick with his camera I managed to sprint in (or maybe slow sprint) to the finish and finally cross the line after a testing and momentous 52 mile week of fun, frivolity, friends and frolics?....

Finished....

Well I finished with a new PB on this course of 1:34:48, a PB of six and a half minutes over my best time in 2014. I finished 9th in my category and 73rd overall. In the overall finishing results I was now 11th in my age category narrowly missing 10th place to Ian Raymond, and I was 75th overall for the Tour with a gun time of 6:51:30 taking a mere six minutes of my best Tour completion time back in an injury free 2014. I was happy with that, and I also felt strong still and not completely knackered like previous years.

It was now clap your friends, competitors and fellow 'Tourists' over the line time, Photo galore time and stuff your face with cake time for the cakers as Barry's wife Marina had been good enough to bring along several trays of cup cakes for us to treat ourselves!!

More and more of us came in all smiles and with a huge sense of achievement and phot's were carrying on as people shared their pride and friendship with their fellow unique 'Tourists' as anyone now with a medal was an instant new friend!

Occasionally you would see runners who had finished, walking or running back out on course and down the prom to run walk or clap in fellow friends who may of been struggling in the final mile or half mile etc. 

Staying for the last one in was now an established Tourist family tradition although it was noted by many I spoke to that several had shot of before their fellow club mates and Tourists had finished. Something that myself and my fellow cakers will not do as the tourist slogan of no man left behind has been adopted by ourselves as it is the sign of a strong friendly and welcoming group of runners.

I can assure you all that could of my cakers stayed to clap all their compatriots in and to share their pride in each other and get pics together etc with their new top Tourist bling and t-shirts and to treasure the last of their time together at this great event.

Finally...The presentation!

So the hard part was over and we were mostly all over the water again back in Liverpool and eagerly waiting at the Camp & furnace with a well earned pint or drink in hand for the end of tour presentation and video recap of the week.

Anyway, presentation as always is done by Alan as he thanks everyone and gives flowers out etc to some of his vital helpers and support team included Yvonne of course.

Winners are announced in 3rd, 2nd and 1st order and the mens winner was this time round non other than Terry Forest who had finally managed to pip previous winner Anthony.

Womens winner was Jenny Claque who regained her winning position from 2014.

Well done to them and to 2nd and 3rd place in both categories...

So it was finally tour recap video time, this is always one of the major highlights of the week for me as the Tour Dvd that comes out afterwards contains all the video shown at this presentation and the final day video and the finishers which you don't see at presentations video due to lack of time to edit it and add it.

If you purchase the Dvd in the coming weeks it will have everything on including film of the presentation itself, so well worth buying and a great tour memento!

We all watched the screen avidly and some excitedly as we looked to see if we had made the video at any point, which is fairly easy to do if you make a mental note of where Colin is stood at the start or finish of the nightly runs as he film pretty much the whole start and finish.

Some are lucky enough to get interviewed if Colin thinks you have something interesting to say about the tour itself as the Dvd is also a promotion tool as well, so positive comments or feedback throughout the week is welcomed on camera.

Some people are picked to be filmed or interviewed purely because they are well known or genuinely funny tourists or lovable rogues etc. Some star purely because some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths is an example of true friendship and uniqueness of the tour atmosphere....and some because they can't help putting their foot in their mouth and are comedy gold!

I got on a few times passing the camera etc, and the cakers got on briefly. I also got a brief clip of my interview on while talking about whether or not I would return for yet another tour on sign up day.......needless to say he read me like a book as I signed up again today after saying I wouldn't.

As per usual the video was a blast and the sound track pure music class from a man with great taste in music and a talent for filming and editing obviously, well done Colin.

Well done also to Paul Cooper for the great Btr pictures which he takes and which get put on the official Btr page on Flickr on the web.

Presentation and video over it was now down to drinks with friends new and old.....some of us went home soon after as we were knackered, but a lot of those who lived in Liverpool and the surrounding areas obviously took full advantage and partied long and hard around Liverpool, as subsequent pics and video's that appeared online during the evening showed......

Thank you....

So that was it for another life changing week of fun , frolics and great friendships strengthened and new ones created as the tour lived up to all the well deserved hype and hysteria that rightly surrounds it in running circles.

Thank you to all at Btr especially Alan and Yvonne who none of this would be possible without, and obviously Erica who takes on a dual role of Btr crew and Tourist every year. Thanks to all the rest of the crew and the volunteers for all their fantastic hospitality throughout the week and indeed pre event and post event. Especially my good friends and fellow cakers Keith and new Btr adoptee Stan, and Lainey for all the pics throughout the week.

Massive THANK YOU to Colin for all the video production throughout the week and the Dvd when it's out. THANK YOU to Paul for all the great pictures that he takes throughout the week. Don't forget to check them all out on Flickr on the Btr page.

See you next year??

Question is...how many of you managed to get up in time for the 9am roll call after all your celebrations and well deserved lie in's? Did you manage to sign up for the 350 strong Tour of Merseyside 2017?  Will I see you there? Will the cakers be back bigger and stronger? Will you be one of them?......

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