Btr Tour of Merseyside my story so far....stage Four :)

Well here we are again and after a day off for me and the fellow tourists it was time for the next stage, so where did we run tonight? and more importantly what stage is it guys?...

   Four of course :)

                                                                


Stage 4 - Hale Village 5 mile road race Thursday 10th July 2014.


So tonight's run was to be over at Hale Village near Halewood and Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and thankfully tonight's run was the shortest one of the Tour with it being only 5 miles compared to the rest.

Normally the thought of the shortest run would fill most people with joy but I think I was not alone in thinking that this would be one of the hardest as we knew almost everyone would go out as fast as they could with it being shorter and it would have to be run at our highest pace available for 5 miles.

It was also a hot day and night and hydration prior and during the event and race would be vital so I took on plenty of water during the day and pre race.

As ever my main concern for the evening was my fellow competitor and female running nemesis Sarah who was gunning for a win tonight, and to be honest I was a little worried as I knew she had done a fair few 4 mile training runs and I knew her pace was admirable. I also knew she was going for it tonight pace wise so would be pushing me and not allowing me to run a more comfortable pace to the last half mile and then sprint like I had done on other occasions.

Transport for the night was provided by the ever reliable Mr M and a comfortable and efficient trip got us there easily on time and straight into the car park at the pub next to the start/finish area.

The usual hello's and welcome's were given as we were all happy to see good friends again and the chance to take a few pictures as per usual and also a chance to see what the game plan was for other runners.

Catherine and Sarah.

                                                             

Sarah, Stan the Man and Catherine :)

                                               

My main concern as said before was Sarah as she had been psyching me out throughout the day and it continued with the butter wouldn't melt smiles and questions of whether I was nervous or not lol.

It was now becoming apparent that it really was warm and it was time to put a hat on to keep the sun off my head, some chose the shade of the Btr tent. Sarah and Catherine went for this option and Sarah jokingly suggested I stayed out in the sun :)

Toilets for the evening were in the pub so it was a quick visit up some steep steps to the loo's and we were all good to go and feeling comfortable, apart from a niggle in my left calf which felt like I had been jabbed with a blunt instrument so I was wearing calf sleeves to help alleviate any issue.

It was now time to line up for the start and the usual notification of the race leaders positions, which tonight were the same as the prior stage result.We also had the honor of the Mayor of Hale to make a quick speech and then to count us down for the off at the usual 7pm.....

  Official starter the Mayor of Hale :)

                                                

The legend that is Danny aka Mr Fist Pump :)

So off we went through some of the residential roads of Hale Village and avoiding speed bumps etc as we went and tried to settle into a decent pace.As expected most of the plans went out the window and most seemed to go hare arsing of down the road, and the foolish amongst us followed ( me ).

I spotted Sarah prior to the mile 1 marker and managed to at least subtly pass and ran a little ahead as the pace at the time was quicker than we really should of been running.
I then caught up with Mike and ran with him for a little and his first question was "where is your competition?" as I indicated that Sarah was infact right behind me.

It's good that me and Sarah have been able to have this little battle between us as it has driven us on and improved both our performances as it has not let either of us sit back and run comfortably through the Tour itself, and It's been great with all the friendly banter between us all about the battle and being able to write about it in the blog. Also being asked who won after races is great in itself as usually after races I tend to struggle to stay involved in after run banter and the little groups of friends that gather, especially with me not being in a running club, so I am truly thankful to people who make an effort to include me.

Anyway back to the run....I was still running with Mike, and Sarah was just behind as we passed mile 1 and Mike exclaimed that "this is suicide pace!" and he was right we had just hit a 7:10 min mile and mostly I'd planned 7:30 avg so I was trying to slow a little but with Sarah right behind it was hard.

Next I saw David Marsh ( Mr M) and again first question was "where is Sarah?" and again I answered "right behind me" with a smile and possibly a slight hint of panic and nervousness as I was truly feeling the pace at such an early stage.

The Determinator.

                            
                                                                           


I pushed on and pretty much followed the pace of the person infront of me as you do and if they slowed I went past, but mainly they maintained pace.At one point I'd been running alongside one guy (Tom Forshaw) at mile 2-3 and he asked whether I was running at his pace or was he running at mine? he was right, it is hard to work out whose racing or running with who especially if you are pretty much running at your limit or threshold at least.

I was by now having all kind of issues with stitches appearing due to the increased pace I suspect and I had to change breathing patterns several times and also try belly breathing and indeed deep breaths  in and quick outs, it seemed to help but I was also undecided to drink sips of my drink or not because sometimes that can effect my stitches.

The stitch eased a little and at mile 3-4 Sarah appeared on my shoulder and not so subtly passed me ( panic face) I now had to stay behind her to ensure she didn't get away but I was already struggling. A water stop approached and either before or during the water stop I must of edged ahead as I don't usually have to slow or stop at water stations as I carry my own handheld bottle.

It was now a case of trying to hang on and stay ahead and luckily for me a female runner was just running ahead of me and a little faster so I tried to maintain her pace so as to stay ahead. Funnily enough it was Sarah chasing this same lady that got her right back up and level with me in the first place.

We came into the turn from the main road and it was mainly a long slow and gradual downhill approaching mile 4 and as this was the road route into the village itself I and pretty much everyone else was familiar with the route and elevation etc from that point to the finish, so this was a bonus but still I was hanging on for dear life and dreading Sarah running past again, I couldn't even bring myself to look over my shoulder at this point.

The village approached and the pace quickened a little as the lady in front was still giving it some pace wise and was slowly overtaking a few others, and then all of a sudden the stitch made an unwelcome return and I felt like I'd just been stabbed in my gut and now panic stations were setting in as I thought I'd slow and might have to actually stop if it got worse and what if Sarah caught up? could I still sprint to the finish to out run her? I miraculously seemed to still be running at the same speed and the people in front didn't seem to be getting any further away and people were not passing me, so I was determined to suck it up and suffer the pain and hope to hang on for the remaining third of a mile or so.

  A welcome downhill approach to the village.

                                       

On the chase...

                                                                   

Thankfully after a quick glance over my shoulder on first look I couldn't see the florescent yellow top that Sarah was wearing so I managed to push on to the finish, and after another quick look over my shoulder as I could hear people cheering those behind me I could see (panic over) it wasn't Sarah, so I managed to cross the line first but in a hell of a lot of pain.

  look better than I felt lol.

                                                       

Closely followed by Sarah, is she texting? lol

     
                                       


Sarah was infact only two places behind me and came in a mere 17 seconds behind me which was amazing as I had pushed as much as I possibly could within my limits and had run my a**e off to beat her, so massive respect to her.And It was good to see Sarah stayed ahead of her nearest rival on the Tour and has remained a top 10 lady :)

It was customary handshake time and well done time between Sarah and myself as we both tried to recover on the floor for a bit, and then it was stand up and watch the others come in one by one. As ever Catherine came in all smiles and it was time for quick pics with friendly rivals and friends and the usual group shots etc many of them courtesy of our now unofficial tour photographer Sophia who was making the most of being out injured and taking much valued pictures and offering support.( Thank you Sophia x).

  Catherine finishing :)

                           
                                                          

Sarah still smiling :)

                                                             

The usual finish regroup shot :)

                                                  

  A few tired looking finishers.

                                                                                        
                                                 

and more..

                                                                       .

Well done all from the mayor.       

                                                    

  True tour hero's.

                                                               


Refreshment time as always at the Btr tent with the usual fruit, water, Lucozade and chocolate snacks, a much more sensible choice than the alcohol being served at the bar in the pub, and as recovery needed to be priority it was the sensible choice for me.

                                       

More pics and various antics for the camera's   including picture with the Mayor for many...

                                 And of course the usual group shots of good friends.......

Obviously the vital stretches are required at the end of our runs and Dolly pip as ever volunteered to show the girls some.

Catherine, Dolly Pip and Sarah :)

                                                

Obviously while they did that us blokes just watched :)

                             

Oh and another major turnaround, Adele managed to run pretty much pain free and loved the run :) xx

So it was sadly time to go home and it was hugs all round and the usual see you tomorrow's and it was back in the car courtesy of Mr M again and a comfortable journey home to sunny Southport and the welcome thought of getting a refreshing shower and putting the good old compression tights on for recovery ready for the next days run.

I was also looking forward to logging into Facebook etc and seeing all the pictures and comments about the nights events seeing how good a time we had all had, and making mental notes for the blog writing the next day:)


                                                     
Oh and of course in the Les v Sarah battle: It's officially  2-0 as we are calling Southport and Walton a draw :)

                                                                

See you at Stadt Moers Park everyone for stage 5 :)

My results for stage 4 : 37 min 58 secs chip time, 38 mins 05 secs gun time

Stage position : 64 (male), 73 (mixed).

Overall tour position : 45 (male), 54 (mixed).

                                                                               

Btr Tour of Merseyside my story so far.....stage three :)

Well here we are again and three days into the Btr Tour of Merseyside.So where did we all go today? and what stage is it today guys?.......

   Stage three of course :)

                                                         


Stage three - Walton Hall Park Sustrans cycle trail 10 mile run Tues 8th July.


Well for today's run it was over to Walton Park in Liverpool for a 7pm run on what appeared to be a warm night and it looked like it was going to stay like that for the evening so sun protection lotion definitely required and lots of water.

My lift for tonight was supplied very kindly by Catherine who picked me up at Freshfield train station and then it was onto Aintree to pick up Sarah. Also in the car was Sophia who was unfortunately injured on the first day's run at Southport,  so had to be sensible and withdraw from the rest of the Tour, but she was good enough to come down and support us all for the evening.

As you can imagine the banter had already started in the car once Sarah had got in as we where both in the back of the car, so instructions of no hair pulling or kicking each other were given by Catherine :)

Interesting enough the postcode supplied for our destination was incorrect or didn't actually exist according to the sat nav, but once in the general area we seemed to find it rather quickly after a couple of twists and turns.

So there it was the gloriously green looking Walton Park in the sun and into the car park we went and expertly guided into a space by the car park marshals, although Catherine's car looked like an abandoned shopping trolley when we looked back and laughed at her parking :)

Toilet worries were quickly relieved literally when we spotted a row of porta loo's kindly supplied by Btr and then it was time to mingle and say our hello's to our fellow friends and tourists, one of the best parts of the day.

Photo's as ever were taken to remember and mark the occasion and I've included several throughout the blog for you of course to get a feel for the race and the people there.

Sarah, Catherine & myself.

                                                     
                                                       

  The three fingers signifies stage three by the way :)

      
                                  
                                                         

The Tour has a video man (Colin) who films snippets each day and interviews various tourists as the week goes on, and today was the turn of Sarah and myself as Catherine had given him a subtle prompt about the rivalry between us both and the little battle we were having.

After a couple of questions to find out exactly what was involved he did a quick interview and asked what it was all about, and asked one of us to explain. I promptly volunteered Sarah to explain as I got stage fright and panicked as I realized that anything I said would be taken down and used against me on presentation day lol.

I honestly don't know what I said, especially as I tried to play down my ungentlemanly sprint finish at stage one in Southport and I wait with baited breath for the boo's on presentation day :)


So after the usual race leaders announcement and vest presentation it was off to the start/finish area on the Iron bridge.

The race route this year was slightly different than last as it was 2.5 miles out and 2.5 back one way and then 2.5 miles out and 2.5 back the other last year. But this year it was 4 miles out then 4 back and through the start/finish area and supporters and then 1 mile out and 1 back to the finish line again.

Luckily for us all the longest stretch the 4 out and then 4 back was pretty much shaded for most of it so keeping cool was not too hard, and I'd decided to wear a hat to keep off the heat and sun anyway so this helped.I'd taken my running shades as well just in case.


 So 7pm arrived and we were off.......

..... and for a little while it was quite tight as the path is not too wide and people were trying to get past as people were settling into their ideal pace, and quite a lot of people shot off ahead. I got quite alarmed at how many were going past me but I decided to look at the big picture as I knew 10 miles here would be hard on the legs, and my main target or aim was to keep Sarah insight and make sure she didn't get a lead on me as i tried to settle to a decent but comfortable pace to start.

It became apparent that my legs were actually fairly stiff and didn't feel loose enough to be happy and my right quad was a little painful which I don't usually suffer from, so damage limitation was also key. This meant no trying to get past Sarah or indeed other runners and settle down running just behind her.

The run progressed through miles 2,3 and onwards and by now Mike had appeared alongside us both and we said our hello's and happily ran with each other at a mutually happy 8 min or so pace.

Onwards we went passed the local and bemused chav's who had congregated in several areas and I was waiting for smart a*se comments but seemed to be lucky enough to not receive any, I did worry a little about some of the ladies running alone though but there seemed to be a fair few marshals around and what seemed to be a fellow runner or volunteer in all his running gear who  stood opposite a big group of them.Fair does to him for keeping them in check and making people feel more comfortable on their run.

Mile 4 now and it was water station and turn around time as we got a little treat of a steep incline for 20-30 feet as we turned and then a 20-30 feet decline which was welcomed after the brief climb.

It was now a 4 mile slog back towards the start/finish area and a chance to see our fellow runners and friends and receive and indeed offer encouragement to each other as we passed each other.The miles were getting a little tougher now as we continued on our 8 min pace ( or so we thought ), It appeared that the mile markers were way out, but they weren't, the trees and the switchback were playing havoc with our Garmins and they were bleeping at completely different points to the mile markers, and at the time I didn't realize that infact our alleged pace would not be accurate either, but we didn't twig.

I was now starting to feel it but still keeping up with Mike and indeed Sarah as they took turns hitting the front, well the front of our little group anyway. I happily sat at the back as I didn't want to push the pace any further and we carried on through miles 5,6 and 7 pretty much the same all the way.

We passed the bemused chav's again and I heard a couple of "where's Wally?" comments aimed at a Knowsley runner no doubt but apart from that seemed innocent enough.

It was now the approach to the 8 mile mark and the start/finish area and it was full sun time so the shades went on at last, especially as I'd been holding them for 7 miles lol.
It was a welcome sight to see the Iron bridge and the start/finish area and indeed our supporters and a welcome water stop although we ran through it obviously, I carry a handheld bottle so don't need to stop or slow but I slowed here as Mike and Sarah grabbed water so we could still stay together.

  Clearly too happy to be in front :)

                                                 

Staying on the chase :)

                                                          

By now it was only 2 miles to go, 1 mile out and 1 back but the mile from 8-9 seemed to go on forever and felt like 1.5 but a lot of it is your perception of distance when you are tired and we certainly were.Mike however had energy left and said he was going ahead so we let him, and Sarah and myself continued shoulder to shoulder now continuing to push each other to keep the pace up.

Mile 9 and the final turnaround was a welcome sight although I realized I had to relive the feeling of a 1.5 mile slog back the way we just came. But it was near the end now and Sarah although running with me or against me was obviously as tired as I was as I didn't sense the pace being pushed to get ahead, we were clearly trying to fathom out what each others plan was for the finish approach.

We did spot Rosemary ahead which was a good thing as I know she is a good female runner as well and has great results at this event and I knew she was one of Sarah's closest rivals in the overall standings.I think Rosemary was aware as well as she said she was sticking on Sarahs shoulder as she clearly knew about the standings as well.

We actually now managed to overtake a few people as I was confident I could push a little at the end and indeed bring Sarah with me, I wanted her to keep her position in the standings as she is doing really well and was in the top 10 females.

Again I faced the horrible decision of what to do in our battle to win against each other, and I had sensed and felt that Sarah pushes hard up slopes and hills and I knew we had a nasty one at the approach to the finish which would make a long sprint awkward.

We were now at the final approach and the slope so I went ahead to get up the incline and then looked behind me and saw Rosemary and Sarah at least 10 feet or so behind, so I slowed a little to regroup and push her over the line as I felt we had worked together as a team and didn't want to be a **** and sprint off again.I crossed the line at least a foot ahead just incase she sprinted past me, as we hadn't agreed anything and she could of sprinted past me if I wasn't careful :)

  Ok maybe a bit more than a foot....doesn't explain identical gun time though??)

                                               


Customary handshake and well done , and then it was wait for fellow runners time, and urge them on which is one of the best bits in my opinion as it's good to see the elation in everyone's faces as they finish and the genuine true cheer of the fellow runners as they clap in fellow finishers.

We still had runners going past from the left as well as the finish from the right as it was obviously the 8 mile point as well as the finish so we were kept busy looking both ways and cheering on.One by one they passed and indeed one by one they finished and as ever we looked out for smiley face Catherine and took pictures of course.

Always a smile.

                                                          


Now it was time for the return to the Btr hospitality tent and the welcome sights of bananas, apples, Mars bars, Snickers and sweets and water and Lucozade of course, as ever it is vital to restock as quick as possible in order to get a head start on the recovery for the next race.

As ever pictures and photo's were taken in abundance and it was mingle and chat time as we each congratulated each other on a successful finish and indeed on finishing 3 days in a row. The friendship is one of the highlights of the Tour to me and I feel part of a real running community and family as I said in last night blog as well.

  Good friends as ever :)

                                                        

   Good friends all :)

                                                           

  Photo bombing Stan the Man :)

                             
                                                 

  Sarah, `Dolly pip` & Catherine post race stretching.

                        
                              


This again is one of the best bits about the Tour as new friendships are made amongst people who are more friends than rivals and getting a group picture is fantastic for keeping the memories alive after the event, and indeed one of the main reasons I write these blogs to share with you all.


So it's rest day on day 4 so no blog that day, so hopefully everyone will be nicely refreshed on day 5 and not done anything daft like going out for another run on rest day as I know several were planning and indeed from latest reports ( Thurs) several people did.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday at Hale village for the 5 mile road race and indeed my fellow competitor and running nemesis Sarah who is thankfully still talking to me as I take it to a 2-0 lead although we had identical gun times as the clock did not record split seconds so I may need a bigger gap as I may have to call Walton a mutual draw again and stay at 1-0 :)

My overall results :

Stage 3 Walton : 1 hr 17 min 08 secs chip time, 1hr 17 min 15 secs gun time.

Stage position : 62 (male) 72 (mixed)

Overall position : 47 (male) 56 (mixed)

                                                         ******************

Btr Tour of Merseyside my story so far.....stage two :)

Well here we are on the next day of the Tour of Merseyside, day two infact and where will we go today? and what stage is it guys?

   It's Stage two :)

                                                                

Stage two - Thurstaston multi-terrain 6 mile run Monday 8th July 2014.


We went to the other side of the Wirral for stage two and over to Thurstaston over on the West coast of the Wirral and overlooking the lovely Dee estuary.

Weather forecast for today was pretty changing it kept going from expected sun to expected rain showers and back again but it was also showing expected temperatures of 19C which could make it difficult.

My lift for today was provided by fellow competitor and friend Mr M and as ever was extremely efficient in getting us there with plenty of time, although the car park was a tad busy but hey there's a nice little yellow box painted especially for us, so in it we went :)

It had started to rain on the last leg of the journey over so the temperature dropped to nearer 15C and the conditions underfoot were now due a little more consideration as in many parts of the multi terrain run this would change the chances of a sure grip in more difficult area's.But I was confident my trail/road Hoka's were the right choice as they have served me well on multiple terrains.

So onto the Btr tent and start/finish area we went to say our hello's to a smaller crowd today than yesterdays Southport Half as that was an event we guested at as `Tourists` for the day.

The crowd was now under 200 as several people had had injuries at the last minute prior to the start of the Tour and had deferred their places until next year.Also we sadly had a few injuries on stage one and had lost some fellow competitors.

It was time to say to hello to my fellow competitor and race nemesis Sarah and Catherine of course and to spend a while chatting and winding each other up about who was going to win this leg of the tour and indeed our little race within a race.

I did indeed need to be very careful as Catherine had kindly offered to drive me back to Southport when we were finished after the race because Mr M had to shoot off for a work engagement in another part of the country ( a very busy man). And I didn't want to find myself liftless if I won tonight's battle lol ( I'm kidding of course they wouldn't dream of doing something like that would they?).

Like butter wouldn't melt.....Sarah and Catherine

                     
                                  


Anyway it was now still raining and decisions had to be made on whether or not to wear a jacket and even a running hat, but thankfully it stopped minutes before the start so it was jacket off and hat's off and ready to go.

After a quick introduction and leaders vest presentation to the leaders by Alan the race director it was time for the off at 7pm....

So off we went, across a grassed area and then off down a country lane to a caravan park towards the beach.I was know starting to feel that my legs were actually not feeling as great and loose as I thought, as the first mile started to pump up the old leg muscles the little niggles and aches and pains started to surface as I could sense which bits had not fully recovered and repaired overnight and through the day .I slowed a little and they seemed to loosen up just in time to hit the beach.

The beach itself was not the kind of beach I was expecting. I was expecting a nice long flat sandy section that I could pick a hard or soft route over for 2 miles.It was infact pebbly, rocky and mixed loose sand and pebble, non of it easy.

This was good though, as this was a true test of runners ability to run on different terrains and conditions, there would be no sprinting off into the distance for fast runners here.

As we approached mile 2 we could hear the supporters cheering us from the hillside which was a welcome lift, although I suspect they were also laughing their a**es off at us struggling across the beach :)

I passed Sarah somewhere between miles 2 and 3 and I hadn't been aware that she was actually in front of me at that point. I slowly went past and we gave each other a mutual `blimey this is tough` comment as I went by but I wasn't exactly going anywhere fast as it was tough to get any speed at all.

After struggling on for a bit more past mile 3 we now left the beach and onto a bit of a footpath and then onto  a country lane that was slightly inclined.I had been warned there was a fairly long one mile climb up to mile 4 and the highest point of the course but I wasn't sure if this was it.

It was gradual and it did get a bit steeper and in a couple of parts a little climb and it was I think testing a fair few people, there was not a lot of people around me, with one guy I could see infront of me who I was following and a few behind further back.

We hit a few domestic area's and still climbing we rounded a corner to then see the leaders bolting past us on the return leg! wow they were fast.

We now hit some actual trail as we entered some narrow mudded path and a climb up a hill and the dreaded `steps of evil` as I heard a few call them later.They seemed to appear every time you had no energy left to lift your legs, and I was puffing and panting and at my aerobic threshold as I went up them trying to hold off any one behind.

Several turns and several batches of steps later we appeared at the top and at mile 4 and then a descent into woodland. Now this was `time to fly` as they say in Hoka land as they are indeed designed to let you fly downhill without worrying about your knees and boy did I fly. I caught a glimpse of Ian Raymond ahead of me and the back of the pack he was with so I knew I had gained a good distance on the down hill.

We came out of the hill and at some point entered a cycle trail as such, The people in front of me where roughly 20 feet ahead and I just tagged onto them. I did have to alter my breathing pattern a few times to try and maintain the pace without getting puffed out. This section seemed to go on for ever and my legs where occasionally feeling a little weak and I also occasionally felt a little dizzy briefly as I was pushing it to keep up.


Thankfully mile 5 came and went and I looked behind me as I heard someone catching up and for a moment my heart was in my mouth when I thought please don't be Sarah lol...

It wasn't it was a guy with some energy left in his tank as he sped past, but apart from him there was a nice gap behind me.

Coming towards the end now and half a mile out a nice friendly marshal advised we only had half a mile to go with just a little loop past the finish ( it turned out to be Keith Peacock, I hadn't recognized him at the time).

Ian and the others were still ahead and I didn't really feel like attempting to sprint to catch up as they would of just done it in return and burned me off at the sprint finish, so I ran in comfortably to finish.

It was a great course and tough and I enjoyed it and it was good to now turn around and concentrate on the other finishers and friends as they came in one by one.

I looked out anxiously for Sarah and she came in roughly two and a half minutes behind me, which was good going because the multi terrain suited me as I regularly run the Sefton dunes so had the advantage. A handshake mutually offered again,smiles all round and then we waited for the others and looked out in particular for Catherine as she always comes in smiling away :)

   Smiling as ever :)

                                                           


As always we clapped in and encouraged the runners towards the back as they truly worked hard over the same course as the rest of us and hats off to James and John the blind runner and his guide who did wonders to get through that course.

  James and John

                                                
                                                               


Hospitality and refreshments all round by the Btr team as we stuffed our faces with bananas and Mars bars and swigged water and Lucozade and enjoyed the friendly race banter and `get you next time` comments etc as we took the usual pictures of each other in group shots  for momentos etc.

There were now some good running relationships building as the tour progresses, some older and some newer and all giving each other friendly and caring advice where needed or requested, which is what it is all about in the end. We are all after all one big running family and community and all friends with a common link and I thank God I had the chance to meet you all and hope to call you all friends by the end of it all :)

  Adele and Catherine friends forever :)

                                     
                                            

   The Good the Bad and the Ugly or is it the Three Amigo's?

                          

   Here's to new friends

                                          

On a final note for tonight's run, I did infact manage to get a lift off Catherine and Sarah back to Southport along with some great competitive banter on the way, I had a great time in great company and wouldn't change it for the world.

My results after Day two / stage two :

47 min 14 secs chip time, 47 mins 21 sec gun time

Stage position 42 (male), Overall tour position 49 ( male and female).

.....and more importantly in the Les v Sarah battle 1-0 to me :)

Btr Tour of Merseyside, my story so far....stage one :)

Well we are three days in to the Tour of Merseyside and I'm still standing...well sitting actually but it's all thinly veiled as recovery :) and I'm feeling good I have to say and I think the worst of the runs are behind us, with the exception of the last one which will be a challenge on tired legs.

So let me introduce you to the world of the Btr Tour of Merseyside, starting with stage....

One :)

                                                                          
Stage one - Southport Half Marathon, 13.1 miles Sunday 6th July 2014.

Stage one was in my hometown of sunny Southport and it was the official Vital Events Half Marathon which is on it's 2nd year in the resort.We had a slight change of route and a different start/finish area this year and we started in the lovely Victoria Park which is a treat on a sunny day which thankfully we had on this occasion.

Start time was 9am and it was indeed warm and this was going to be a challenge for many of the tourists as we had a whole week of runs, so going of fast and heading for a PB (personal best) time was not really the best plan for the day.

Personally I had my own battle as I had struck up a good relationship with some fellow running friends prior to the Liverpool Half and Full Marathon recently whilst chatting and posting on the RDB Facebook page and somehow ended up in a friendly challenge with Sarah.

Sarah is indeed a talented and a good female runner, and runs very similar times to me so we are well matched for a challenge.The challenge being for stage one at Southport that the loser bought the winner a pint, and it snowballed onto all the other stages so we are looking at racing each other on each stage and competing for the overall lead against each other.This was rapidly encouraged by her entourage of friends who are a great and friendly bunch themselves, and many of them indeed competing in the Tour as well.

So we had kick off at 9am and a little video of it as well, see below......

We went off around the park a little and then out onto the Coast Rd towards Ainsdale for several miles, before we turned around at the Pontins roundabout and headed back down the same section again for several miles. This indeed although a long and arduous trek was actually quite nice as you went past the runners behind you, so you could say hello to your friends as you passed, and everyone could give each other encouragement.

It also gave me a chance to check on my competitor Sarah, who thankfully at this point was behind me, but there was a long way to go and when the sun was coming out from behind the odd cloud it was getting pretty uncomfortable heat wise.I had to use the water supplied to pour it over my head and neck and back in order to keep cool.

There were a couple of runners in fancy dress as well, mainly a guy in an actual Star Wars Stormtrooper costume and a guy in a Gorilla suit. kudos to those guys as they must of been boiling.

We also had a steel band trio to entertain us half way down the long stretch so we passed them twice, it went really well with the sunny weather :)


We moved on to the next section of Coast Rd and Marine Drive as we passed the Fairground and the Ocean Plaza complex and under the Pier, and then off around the Marine Lake.

One good thing about this race was all the other competitors from the Tour had a bib with the words `Tourist` on the back so we could all see who was ahead and try and keep up, or alongside them, or merely run past if possible and say hello as we did. At times I found we ran in little packs which was good.

I was from mile 7-8 slowing and struggling a little and hoping my legs would recover slowly as I went, and when we hit roughly 10 miles Sarah casually steamed passed me with a casual smile and continued to speed away. This was my wake up call to push myself more and not settling with taking it too easy for the day.I decided to stay behind her and I continued to keep her insight.

We all continued around the rest of the lake and back onto the Marine Drive and back under the Pier and past the Fairground again, at this stage we passed several friendly faces including Nikki and friends who are Sarah's friends and the instigators of the challenge.It was now a case of shouts of "he's behind you!" and mutual shouts of support for both of us lol.

Currently on the chase..

Currently happily in the lead....

Funnily enough while I was out running with a smile after hearing several people cheering "Well done Superman" and feeling really great and encouraged, I suddenly noticed that he was actually behind me and they were all cheering him not me lol.

 
We now only had a couple of miles left and as we rounded the outside of Victoria Park and a little down hill slope I managed to sprint up right behind Sarah without her noticing and stuck fast behind her.

One mile to go now and it was time to run alongside and see if she would run off ahead or slow. I was hoping for her to slow a bit knowing exactly where I was, she did a bit and I think we both mutually slowed a little to save energy, I also noticed that Rosemary who is a well established and older runner was just ahead and seeing her race times in general are very good for the Tour in particular I made a conscious effort to keep up and pointed out her capabilities to Sarah.

We entered the park still shoulder to shoulder and we pushed each other along neither one of us letting the other get ahead, and after several are `we nearly there yet moments`
we approached the final couple of corners.I was still unsure how to handle the finish, would I run of ahead if I could? or would I slow and let Sarah win? or would I continue on her shoulder and try and run in together risking her edging ahead and taking the win?

Well you guessed it being a bloke and otherwise always the perfect gentleman I decided that as soon as I heard a few cheers of encouragement of her friends ,that that was justification to sprint off over the line like a true competitive runner lol, to be fair to Sarah though I had to run my ar*e off to beat her, but a bets a bet :)

We shook hands at the end and were still all smiles so I think I was forgiven.


Next was onto the Btr hospitality tent to pick up our goody bags......

   Lots of little goodies, a Btr calender for example shown here by Jo....

                       

And a lovely tour t-shirt shown here by our Lovely Erica...

                              
Thankfully as ever Btr's hospitality was top notch as we have come to expect from Alan & Yvonne and Laura of course, and now the latest edition Erica and it was all about rest and recovery and after picking up our individual running numbers for the other stages of the Tour we were offered fruit, water, Lucozade and Powerbar snacks to help us restock while we chatted with fellow `Tourists` as we mingled around the tent and the comfortable looking grass for a nice little sit down as you will probably notice me doing in the last picture :)

Time for a few goodbye's and see you tomorrows to fellow tour runners and then if was of to the pub to meet up with fellow RDB peeps and several others invited for a couple of drinks in The Sandgrounder on Lord St, but not before a quick photo op with fellow running friend and fellow friend of Sarah the one and only always smiling Catherine :)

Almost forgot here is my results for stage one :

1 hr 45 mins 19 secs gun time ,and 1 hr 45 mins 06 secs chip time.

Position 252 for Southport Half, position 61 in the Tour results for my category (Male).

On another note you will be glad to know that as it turns out Sarah beat me on chip time,  and I beat her on gun time so we agreed to call stage 1 a draw :) see I'm not all bad.

I'm off on my jollies...around Merseyside and on foot mostly :)

Well it's finally come round to the time for one of the hardest and most unique events I have ever entered to do, the event is the Btr Tour Of Merseyside and comprises of 6 runs within 7 days in various area's of Merseyside and totaling 52 miles in total ( well actually 52.1 but don't tell anyone).

It also marks the passing of the halfway mark for my year of charity runs for Mind as I move to runs no.8 and onwards, it's been a good 6-7 months so far and I've enjoyed it all and met some great new friends along the way.

I have thankfully remained fairly injury free so far and have only had little niggles which have been dealt with swiftly.I thank God daily for helping me through this mentally and physically and for all the help and support I have had from friends and family.This has all put me in good stead for this event.

There will be a good mix of terrains at this one so it will be a test for all types of runners young or old, experienced or newbies and indeed fast or slow. Not quite sure where I fit into that but a mix of pretty old and stupid springs to mind as my category.

The event was created last year by Alan Rothwell as a Merseyside equivalent of a similar event up in Geordie land which has subsequently ceased to exist.

It started with 70+ members last year and this year will be more like 200+ so a bigger field this time round and a lot more competition, but also a lot more people to end the week with as new friends which is key to events like this as we runners are a friendly bunch you know :)

I was unsure whether I would be able to enter this event initially and whether I could afford the entry fee and justify the expense in order to add it to my 14runs charity running campaign, but true to form some good friends and some very generous people from the Running Discussion Board on Facebook took it upon themselves to pay my entry fee and I am truly thankful to them for this and indeed for Gods provision of such valued friends.

I have had to take a holiday of work in order to complete this challenge as rest is required prior to the event and indeed after each days running in order to try and prevent unwanted injury and of course serious lack of energy if I had to work as well during the week.

So I've got literally 12 days off in total so am trying to make the most of the holiday element of it as well as the running and fun and charity element of it, and of course there is always some serious medal bling and a t-shirt on offer at the end of it all :)

The week will comprise of 6 days running in total and are as follows:


Day one      13 miles at the Southport Half Marathon on Sunday 6th July.

Day two       6  miles multi terrain at Thurstaston on the Wirral on Monday 7th July.

Day three   10 miles trail at Walton on the Cheshire Lines Trail on Tuesday 8th July.

Day four     Day off...wohoo!!

Day five      5  miles at the Hale Village road race on Thursday 10th July.

Day six       6  miles cross country in Knowsley on Friday 11th July.

and finally....

Day seven   12 miles on the Wirral for a coastal run on Saturday 12th July.

Total distance covered 52 miles :)


This will be followed by the mother of all food and drink sessions at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton where the final run ends and we will be doing some serious knackered runners celebrating, and eating and drinking to our hearts content without the worry of it affecting our next run.

This will be followed by a video presentation of the weeks events with clips of the runs and indeed the stars of the runs, ourselves. And no doubt will be one of the highlights of the week as it has been proven that asking runners questions while they are on a run or after a run that they will open up and practically answer any stupid or personal question you ask them lol

So wish us all well, wish us a week of injury free running and wish those of us who are running for charities a fruitful week of worthy donations to compensate for our pain and suffering.

Almost daily blogs for each stage will slowly appear :)