After running this race last year and having some unfinished business with the course, I booked not long after registration opened.  This was to be my A race of 2017 and the course I was most likely to get a PB on (provided I didn't mess up the second half like last year). I had high hopes for the race, and Manchester Half Marathon did not disappoint.

From arrival the official car parks at MUFC seemed so much better than the previous year, staff were friendly and the space was not overcrowded.  Our car park happened to be just infront of Hotel Football too which was an added bonus for me as this was where the UKRunChat/VisorClub meetup was being held. Perfect!

It was also really close to my start pen (at the back!) so there was no chance of me getting lost.

The start line did annoy me a bit, mainly because there were spectators (some pushing pushchairs!) in the start area.  As we moved up towards the start line these people did get in the way a little.  The additional people meant that I couldn't get close enough to the 2.15 pacer (the very last one on the course) to stay with them which had been my plan.  I do feel like because the course is billed as flat and fast, the much slower runners get forgotten a bit and left to our own devices.  Guess what? We train hard too!  It might be an idea to have some pacers at 2.20 and 2.30 in the future as I think this would help those of us trying to target those times.  That said, we were over the line only 10 minutes after the gun which was better than I anticipated.

As promised by the organisers the route was nice and flat (there are a couple of inclines but they are tiny really), with plenty of on course support from residents and marshals (also a nice amount of entertainment).  The water stations had bottles with sports caps which were a godsend for running with and possibly the only gripe I had was the amount of gels that had been dropped near the gel stations.

The hardest part of the route for me was at about 11 miles, coming back up the Chester road as it is so long straight and boring.  To add to this you then turn the corner to the finish which you can see but seems to never get any closer for ages - it felt so good to cross it!

I booked the photo package a few days before the race with some trepidation as the photos I'd had the previous year were a bit disappointing (no finish line picture at all!).  This year was the complete opposite as I now have about 30 finish line pictures, some of which aren't great but there are a few favourites in there.  Well worth the £15.

Once over the line I was directed back into the race village where I picked up the finishers bag. This had water, a foil blanket, medal, t-shirt, and a sample size High5 protein bar.  Also a pint of Erdinger was waiting for every finisher and was very welcome!

It was amazing to finally meet up with so many RaceCheck/UKRunChat members at the end too (the visors and vests are very easy to spot!) and we were soon all swapping notes on our races and PBs - I managed to be over two minutes quicker than last year.  Annoyingly despite filling in my phone number at registration and checking it carefully, I didn't have a text as promised with my official time.  I had to check it when I got home instead.

Finally, the medal and t-shirt are both great quality.  The medal is probably my favourite so far, and I shall treasure it as a reminder of such an excellent day.

Will I be back?  Not next year, I need a break after two years and there are lots of other races I still want to do, but I wouldn't hesitate to book this race again some day.  Maybe I can knock another couple of minutes off my time?