The city of Liverpool has almost everything. As the home of the Beatles and England’s most successful football team, it also boasts beautiful architecture, bustling nightlife, and a blossoming culinary scene… but there is one thing it doesn’t have: a marathon.
2021 marked the end of the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, and nothing has yet stepped in to fill its running shoes. Having completed the race in 2016, I can confirm that Liverpool, as a city, is one of the best race hosts around. It has a beautiful flat waterfront finish, plenty of green park space, and heaps of locals packing the streets to offer support when you’re struggling.
If you’re reading this article, you probably want to know what races in the Liverpool city region you can still take part in. Well, here are the alternatives…
Half-marathon, 10K, and 5K
Born to Run (BTR) Liverpool offer a wide array of running events in the city.
Taking place each March, the Liverpool Half Marathon and 10 Mile starts just north of the city centre at Everton Football Club’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. From there, it heads south past some famous landmarks before looping around and finishing at the iconic Royal Albert Dock.
The Mersey Tunnel 10K, which I ran in 2023, begins in Liverpool city centre and finishes in New Brighton across the River Mersey on the Wirral Peninsula. Since there’s no bridge connecting Liverpool and the Wirral, the race passes through the Wallasey Tunnel – providing a novel experience for even the most seasoned of runners.
The Liverpool Santa Dash is a festive 5K that sees thousands of Father Christmases converge on the city centre. It’s all in aid of charity, and competitive running is actively discouraged.
You’ll notice that some Santas in the above image are wearing blue. Liverpool has two major football teams: Liverpool and Everton. Everton play their home games in blue, and their fans wouldn’t be seen dead in red! The Santa Dash is a a very inclusive race indeed.
Liverpool parkrun events
The Liverpool city region has a great array of parkrun events – with the Princes parkrun the most centrally located – and is incredibly welcoming to parkrun tourists. If you’ve never partaken in a parkrun event, Liverpool is the perfect place to run your first 5K.
The Liverpool Echo newspaper has provided a handy list of the various parkruns in the area, and I’m planning to publish my own reviews of each event – so stay tuned for those.
Wirral Marathon
A short ferry, metro, or bus journey from Liverpool is the Wirral Marathon. Hosted by The Paul Lavelle Foundation, the Wirral Marathon is now in its second year. The course is incredibly flat – in other words, super fast – and has the idyllic Wirral coastline and iconic Liverpool skyline as its backdrop.
Visit Love2run for more information!
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