Last marathon for 2023!
I've never run a marathon in Liverpool before, which being half-Scouse myself, needed correcting. Being home for Christmas meant it was quite a short drive to the start, at the Mersyside Police Social Club, on the River Mersey, just outside Liverpool.
Andrew and I woke up at 5.30am (which was a relief, as I was having a nightmare about chairing an online meeting, wearing just underwear, with all the Big Wigs at the Whittington, and the microphone on my computer wasn't working, so I switched to my i-pad, but in the process the i-pad slipped so that everyone could see I was just wearing underwear).
It was a relief to wake up and run a marathon, to be honest.
The course was 4 laps, along the river and back. It was really nice, running along by the sparkling water, looking at all the new views and landmarks. The other runners and the the public were all so friendly, it was really good fun.
It was very windy, making running in one direction very difficult, and the the other direction quite nice (like all runs of late). The rain mostly held off, which was a nice surprise, given the weather of late.
I fell over once, on the second lap, and landed very gracefully (if I say so myself) by sort of sitting down (any excuse for a break), and on the third lap ran into a bollard at the exact same place.
It was great to see lots of familiar faces up north!
It was nice to round off the year with a marathon. 2023 has been a great year of running adventures, I've just been looking at my spreadsheet and thinking back over them all...many with Sarah, and lots with Andrew. And been lucky to spend time with many friends along the way. I ran 54 official events this year, of which 27 were marathons (3 in Spain), and 27 were ultra marathons (including 2 x 100 miles, 1 x 112.3 miles in 24 hours, and 1 x 200km). Plus plenty of "non-offical" running adventures too (am up to almost 80 non-official marathons/ultras now) with Alan and Tara!
Happy New Year to all, and may 2024 be filled with the happiest of times and all good things! 🧡🩷💛💚💜💙🩵❤️
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