Traveling to Liverpool from surrey is both a big expenditure and time consuming but the moment we boarded an overpacked train the atmosphere was amazing. So many friendly people wishing you luck etc. I had entered the 5k on the Saturday and half marathon on the Sunday. I opted in my booking to have everything sent to my home address so no need for registration queue for me. My running buddy did need to queue and with the bombing in Manchester,  security was higher. Even with this no real queue to collect race packet, armed police patrolled the expo and surrounding area which was a comfort while still relaxed. 5k race start was electric, music playing everyone joining in together. After a minutes silence we were off.after a small section we were on the closed roads with lots of support, police and spectators. It gave a bit of a site seeing tour for us non locals which was lovely. It was very hot and had no planned water stop, a local bar was handing out bottles of water which was a nice touch. Not knowing the area the finish crept up on my and we finished in complete darkness at the echo arena. It's quite hard to see bottles of water, banana and crisps which were on offer on darkness. I made my way into the expo fromthe arena which was lit to wait for my friend. Sunday was half marathon day and we arrived in plenty of time. Luckily we weren't using bag drop as our friend was there as the queue for bag drop was gigantic and weaved all over the place. Toilet queue was just as long but that's normal. Race start was delayed by 15 mins but announcements were made. Entered pens for start and we moved steadily to the start. We were off, to big cheers and support from crowds. Lots of bands on stages around the course which followed some of the historic parts such as the cavern, the dockyards, liver building etc. So many people came to support and had hooters and horns. Route was really well marshalled and fuel stops were appropriately distanced apart. The off race section thru Sefton park was beautiful and there was only one section which meant you came back on yourself with faster runners in the opposite direction, which can be demoralising. The finish line was where the 5k started the day before and you then made your way into the echo again but this time it was lit so you could see what you were doing and wait for friends running behind you.  The queues for both the additional medals if you ran two races that weekend and the free pint queue was very long but they have ample staff to direct you to further pub sections, so you felt happy about waiting. The atmosphere after the race was amazing like being at a concert. Will definitely go back even though it's a long journey. Absolutely worth the money