Bbbbrrrr... it was cold! 🥶 But wow, what a fantastic event!

Looking at the weather forecast over the weekend Saturday was horrendous. Luckily Sunday morning the weather was on our side. 

This is the 10th St Helen's 10k but the first time I'd ever entered it. I decided to drive with it being only 8miles from where I live in Wigan.

It said race start would be 9:30 but required you to be there no later than 9am. 

Parking was simple, with plenty of multi storey parking 5-10min walk away from the Totally Wicked Stadium. Free parking on Sundays and Bank Holidays. 

Head towards the west stand were inside theirs plenty toilets, stalls to purchase running gear. They also had one of the stadium bars open where you could get a refreshments. If you're not there early the bag drop off queue can get quite busy,  luckily I had a few friends running and spectating, which saved me the hassle of bag drop off.

Once 9am came they advised everyone to get to the start line for warm ups. Which is located through the other side of the west stand and back outside. The cold hits you hard once you step outside  Pace markers were clearly visible on the walls as well as the pace runners stood out in their orange tees. Waiting in line it was awful trying to stay warm. The wind was blowing but to help keep you warm they had a fitness instructor. The only problem in the line, it was very difficult to follow the instructors moves without banging into others. I decided to step out of the line to do a few more stretches. 

Once we got underway the route it's clearly marked with plenty of marshals out on course. The route itself is basically heading towards north road... Now I know why St Helen's 10k were using #NorthRoadSuvivor. North road is a continuous up hill climb. Its quite a killer!

Once over and down north road you head over to Victoria Park. Which if anyone is familiar with St Helens Parkrun you'll know this part very well. Its basically the parkrun route up and down the park until it swings you round out of Victoria Park back onto North Road. 

Yep... you guessed it. It's back up North Road the opposite way. Once reaching the top of north road you've hit roughly 7k. From that point on its it's a down hill, flat run through the town and back to the stadium. 

Theirs plenty of spectators throughout the course but what I loved most about it was the finish. Running the Totally Wicked Stadium in front of a stand full of spectators cheering you on. It was fantastic!

Once finished the goody bags are easily located on the west stand terrace set out in sizes. 

The goody bag consisted of a great looking tshirt and medal. Bottle of water,  chocolate bar and a few leaflets.

I then made my way into the stands to sit with friends and cheers everyone else crossing the line.

Overall it's a fantastic and well organised 10k. With some great sites of St Helens. Its possibly one of the best 10k I've ever done, but maybe not the best for beginners with how hilly it is.

I will most definitely be signing up again next year!