Last year I had to drop out of the first Run Liverpool marathon because of a heel injury. Therefore I felt I had to return to set things straight. This time we had magnificent autumn weather. Chilly but very sunny and no wind worth mentioning.
The Run Liverpool is a relatively modest affair: not the crowds, the media attention, difficult registration conditions (for foreigners) and the staggering fees of the London Marathon. Liverpool has about 4.000 runners. The organization did well on all the major points: it was easy to get to the start, enough toilets, an acceptableregistration fee of about $ 60 and that included a technical shirt, enough stands with drinks (and even some with gels, which is unusual for Europe).
The start location, Birkenhead Park, looked glorious in the golden sunlight which compensated for the wetness of the grass in the park. We were sent off at the correct time (last year we had to wait for more than an hour). The course gives a varied view of Liverpool and Wirral: pretty parks, the centre of the city, the coast line at New Brighton, somewhat depressing neighborhoods, a marvellous view of the city from across the Mersey and the long stretch (2 miles) through the tunnel.
This is not necessarily a course for PR's. Especially in the second half there are some hills and inclines that break the rhythm. Crowd support is great in the city centre, outside it was rather sparse. However the volunteers were very supportive and everyone seemed to enjoy the race, runners and spectators alike.
I may not return to Run the Liverpool marathon soon, but I can certainly recommend it.

As this was the first year of the course, I was prepared to tolerate imperfections. However, this race was a total disaster I feel robbed me of 6 months of my life! For starters, up until the week before the marathon, the organisers had failed to source sports drinks, which was absurd given the nearly £50 entrance fee. They did finally sort this out. However, race day was a misery. The start was an HOUR late, apparently because they forgot to secure part of the road. However, those of us waiting in the corrals freezing our butts off had no idea what was going on, as we stood there for an hour not being able to hear any announcements whatsoever. After preparing so meticulously for a race, this was totally unacceptable. I was freezing and had already left my kit bag, so had no access to food or clothes to keep me warm.

Once the race got going, things were OK. I was expecting a headwind out towards the bay, and was not disappointed. After 10 miles of drabness, headwind, and barely any spectators, we entered the Mersey Tunnel. After a mile long descent in the tunnel, the climb began, which was tough but manageable, if not a little dull. I was expecting this part of the race, and that was fine.

The highlight of the race was exiting the tunnel, where the bulk of the crowds were waiting and screaming. This gave me a slight lift. At which point I was expecting the course to level off a bit, but no! Up and up the course kept climbing, for about 5 straight miles, out towards Sefton Park. At this point, there had been none of the advertised toilets.

From here, the course wound around and around and around and around Sefton Park. I didn't manage to get out of Sefton Park. My nutrition plan for the morning having been shot by the late start, I felt ill and nearly collapsed. I sought medical attention, which did not arrive despite repeated calls to the medical tent and me slipping into a hypothermic state. I then had to walk, shivering, across muddy Sefton Park to the medi-tent, where I waited 3 hours to be driven to the finish.

Needless to say, I missed my train home.

I trained really hard for this race and was excited to run a small city race in the UK. This was an embarrassment to the nation.

One final note - the course organisers disingenuously spread the course profile over two pages on the website, making the incline out of the tunnel appear much shallower than it was. Had I known this when I signed up, I would have chosen a different race. At least be up front about how challenging a course is going to be.