Being on my home turf it would be rude not see in the New Year with a little bimble down a well troden path for me. I run sections of this route almost daily, so have a good knowledge of each landmark and distance pointer. Not sure if this can be a help or hinderance after an injury hit Christmas full of indulgence!

I was only made aware of this race via a friend in November, it would be great if Marathon Trails and The Viper Series could publish more info. A lot of people I know missed out on a place due to lack of publicity, that said, it was a full quota!

Due to the narrow route, several road intervals and the Wirral Way being open to the public, athletes were set up in 10 different waves or groups at the start. This was based on when you entered, not your predicted time. Each group had around 60-70 people in and went off 15 minutes apart. This worked incredibly well! It meant that the course was not congested and other users could enjoy the local route and offer encouraging support. The road intervals were very well marshalled, who operated a stop/go system for the traffic. No interruptions or delays to runners here. All the marshalls did a great job and the route was clearly signed. 2 water stations were placed around the route at roughly 5 and 9 miles.

The race began at the start of the stunning Wirral Way Country Park at Hooton (technically Cheshire), the route is a former rail way line, not used for passengers since the 1960's and freight since the early 1970's. The route navigates the west coast of the scenic Wirral peninsular, with breathtaking views in sections to North Wales across the Dee Estuary. From Hooton, the route takes in interesting sites such as the original Hadlow Road train station (not in use), on to the market town of Neston and ice-cream lovers paradise Parkgate, on to Lower Heswall, Thurstaston, Caldy and finally Cubbins Green in West Kirby. The race then doubles back for the final 2 mile push to the finish at Thurstaston Country Park. The entire trail is straight, flat and smooth. Being January it was a little muddy in parts, typical of any trail race. There is a real mix of scenery on this route, from wooded areas, to open fields, passing impressive houses of Lower Heswall and views over the river Dee.

The atmosphere was good. The first 2/3 miles I didn't really see any other runners, due to the 15 minute wave system. It didn't take too long to catch others up though and at the turn around point, there was great interaction and encouragement from other runners passing. Locals and families came down to Thurstaston in their droves to support.

At the finish line, we were greeted with a bespoke medal, t-shirt, water and best of all........a fabulous, free hog-roast! The hog was a first for me at an event, definately a crowd pleaser!

The race was fully chip timed and results were posted within hours. I was pleased with my 1:34:19 while still carrying an injury. I really hope this event is now a regular in the diary. It was exceptionally well organised, a great turn out and brilliant atmosphere. I will most certainly be putting this in the 2018 diary.

Thank you to the organisers for a superb day. You all did a fantastic job

Thanks for reading, Mike