I’d heard about how popular this race is, and seen loads of people with various years’ Mad Dog running tops, and thought it was about time I entered! Online entries for the 2018 race opened on a Sunday evening, and the race was sold out within 2 hours. My husband and I both got in, and were excited about our first Mad Dog event - “Hairy Potter and the Half Bred Pup”!

In the last couple of weeks leading up to the day, there were regular emails from the race director (all dog themed!) giving updates and race information. I loved how even the bib numbers are dog themed - fastest runners being allocated the “greyhound” corral, with “dalmatian”, “husky” and “bulldog” amongst the others.

On the day itself, parking was free at a car park a few miles away from the start point. I would advise getting there in plenty of time before the start, as there was quite a long queue to get into the car park. From there, there were regular free shuttle buses taking runners and spectators to race HQ. At race HQ, you could pick up your goodie bag and T-shirt (more on this later), get some food/drink and head for the toilets. Although there were a lot of runners, there were plenty of portaloos - with a less chaotic queuing system than you normally find at races, so you weren’t waiting too long!

Loads of people got into the “Hairy Potter” theme, with some amazing outfits - spotted a few Harry Potters, Quidditch players, some Dementors, a Patronus and even a (very tall!) Hagrid.

The race start was a few minutes walk from race HQ. At 10am, the “Crazy Pups” fun run started - a roughly 1 mile out and back for the younger runners! We entered our 5 year old - only £8.50 and she got a T-shirt and medal, bargain!

At 10:40am, the main race started - courtesy of Olympian Jo Pavey starting us off! The course itself is really flat and fast, with great PB potential if the Southport winds don’t work against you (and in fact I got my 10k PB here today!). There are bands/singers every mile, with acts this year including “Pelvis Presley” - couldn’t help but giggle as he serenaded the lady running in front of me with “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”. The run itself is really nice, especially once you start running back along Southport Promenade. There’s also a nice fast downhill finish to the run.

Although it’s quite an expensive 10k, you get a lot in return for your money. The themed medal is awesome, the technical top is even better - plus I’m always a big fan of races which give a ladies option for running tops, rather than us having to just go for whatever the smallest unisex size is and hoping for the best! And as for the goodie bag - I’ve never had a race goodie bag with so much useful stuff in it! This year we got a Mad Dog themed buff, hat, backpack, folding water bottle, Event Clips, and running belt (with light), plus various snacks and drinks.

Afterwards, it was a quick bus ride back to the car (buses were already waiting at the HQ, so no waiting around for a bus).

Overall, a really well-organised event with a great atmosphere. Would I do this one again? Absolutely, without a doubt.