Being a CEP Pacer

There's just over two weeks left now until Dublin Rock n Roll half marathon, where I get the amazing job of being the 3 hour CEP pacer again. So, I thought that it's about time that I reflected the experience of being a CEP pacer at Liverpool Rock n Roll ready to give both pacers and runners at Dublin a heads up of what they can expect.

I was really lucky that I have the best pace partner ever at Liverpool Rock n Roll.  Me and Alison paced the three hour half at Liverpool Rock n Roll, crossing the finish in 2:59:35.  We were really pleased with how well we did but we weren't surprised, we check our times at every mile marker against some pace bands that I made the night before (And then using a pace calculator on my phone when the pace band vanished).  We had a small group of runners that we'd see every so often during the race but we just kept to our pace and let them do their own thing.  It can be hard to leave runners who you have been encouraging but if you can't keep them with you then you just have to keep going because you don't know whether other people in front or behind you are using you as a guide for a specific time.  After we crossed the finish a number of runners were waiting to say thanks.  They'd used us as a marker to stay in front of the entire time and we'd helped get them the time that they wanted.  It is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and I'd highly recommend everyone having a go at some point.

So, for those joining us in Dublin...

To the runners: Running with a pacer can make your race, especially if you're after a

specific time. We get to the race early and go through all of the prep stuff so that we can be waiting in the relevant corrals when you get there. We'll then do our best to try and get you round the course within the specified time (We're only human and we're still running a race too so sometimes we can have the same issues that any other runner can, so please be nice if thinks don't exactly go to plan).  Most pacers run an even pace throughout the race but your pacer should be able to tell you their plan.  You don't right next to us either.  If your pacer has a group of people around them that puts you off running with them just keep an even distance in front or behind.  At Dublin we'll be wearing a bright red CEP t-shirt and socks so we're pretty easy to spot in the distance.  We're usually quite a friendly bunch so don't be afraid to ask questions.  There is a 'Meet the Pacer' session planned for 1pm at the expo on the Saturday before the race but more details will be available on the Dublin Rock n Roll website, facebook page and twitter.

To the pacers: I'm be no means a pacer expert but I thought I'd share my knowledge.  These are just my opinions, feel free to ignore.

Medal Watch

No one likes a told ya so but...

So, let's go through me medal count:

1. Half Marathon medal
2. Fun Run medal
3. Encore medal if you ran the RnR Dublin half last year
4. World Rocker medal, if you've done a RnR half/full somewhere else in the same calender year
5. Double Beat Heavy medal, same as the world rocker but you have to register here

You do not have to do anything to get the first four medals other than turn up and run.

For more information about the races go here http://www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/

Medal Watch - Dublin is getting an encore medal

The RnR guys are trying to keep us in suspense by announcing another possible medal but the shape is oddly familiar.  Does it remind anyone who did both Liverpool RnR's of anything? Like their Liverpool Encore medal perhaps, awarded for doing the race two years in a row? That brings the possible medal count up to 5.  Five medals in one day has got to be a record.  It even beats EHM where gold runners can get four medals in one day.

2015 Liverpool RnR Encore Medal

Medal Watch - Dublin Rock n Roll

Rock n Roll Double Beat medal

Right, first things first, has everyone who has done another Rock n Roll event this year signed up for the Heavy Medal?  You need to register at the following link and then you will be sent the lovely Double Beat medal after you complete the Dublin half marathon.  This is additional to the World Rocker medal.  It's really easy to do, just click here and complete your details.  If you sign up for the Double Beat medal and do the 3k fun run it means you can get a total of four medals for the day if you have done another half/full race in the same calender year.

So, you will get the half marathon medal, the medal for the fun run and the massive World Rocker medal on the day ad the Double Beat medal will be sent to you after.

RnR Dublin have also just announced that as a good will gesture anyone who entered the shall we say disappointing Titanic Half in Belfast can get 50% off the Dublin Rock n Roll half marathon.  More details can be found here.  The t-shirt has been revealed too!!

Enteries for the two races on the 2nd August are still open.  The half starts at 8:30 and the fun run at 11:45 so it is possible to do both.  For more details go to http://www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/

Live from the Liverpool RnR Expo

The Running and Endurance Show, aka the Liverpool Rock n Roll Expo, is taking place today at ACC Convention Centre in Kings Dock Liverpool.  This blog will be updated throughout the day to highlight what's happening and you can see the schedule here.  The expo is open from 1pm until 7pm today but it is also open 9am until 5pm tomorrow.  It's open and free to all so you don't need to be running one the races this weekend to attend.

11:45 Stage is being built. Anyone else excited? 

11:50 Met my friends Cici from the Dopey Group. She's been on a tour of Euope to get here from Guatamala to run the marathon and 5k and she's even volunteering at the expo today. Classy lady. 

Signs are up. 

12:06 I just walked past Geo Melichar!! Starstruck!

12:29 This blog is brought to you by Starbucks, literally. 😀

13:00 People waiting for the expo to start

13:09 Number collections has began. Lines are not too bad and lovely Adrienne is manning the Solutions desk. Seperate desk for corral changes too. 

13:28 And we have wifi. They let anyone in here. Found Ken and Stan already. T-shirt collection is much easier than after the race. 

13:32 Katy Alex just finished singing. Love her, heard at the press conference earlier on in the year too. 

13:34 Rob is getting ready for press conference. 

Geoff Smith is on stage too now in his Boston Marathon jacket. Talk about a man who has earned the right to wear the logo!!

13:42 Timothy More, mayoral lead for sports and culture, talking about how the event is good for Liverpool and how it's a great place to have it. Liverpool really takes to heart the combination of sports and music. 12 thousand runners will take part, a 50%. 

13:44 Geoff Smith, true legend. Says Rock n Roll races are about going out and having fun. He just joked about how he would run in the dark so that people wouldn't see him running but now there's so many people out there doing it and it's amazing. Also, he's had two hip replacements so now is the time to beat him. "It's about fun and rock and roll", love him. 

14:08 You need to go and Jenkies, Frankie and Kenny are maning the photo booth and you can get some funny photos whilst holding you bib using the massive dress up box. I'll share my freaky horse photo later. 

14:23 I'm seriously in love with these No Show CEP socks. They were number 11  of my top ten picks at the Manchester Expo but I should have put them higher. £13.50 and really pretty colours. You get a free waterbottle if you spend £20 and the thrown is back. I'll link to the Twitter thrown campaign later for those who haven't seen #BeSuperior on Twitter. Good news for those who want a tshirt the same as the pacers too, CEP can order them into the country if you email them. They're limited edition and you won't find them anywhere else. 

14:51 So runner Lornah Kiplagat has done her own brand of clothing and it is so so so so nice but also its proper technical stuff and there's no ugly pink girl stuff in sight. There's a lot of print and bright colours and no two pieces look the same. The philosophy behind the clothing is that by making a woman pride it helps bring female runners together and creates support for each other. Very #thisgirlcan. It ain't the cheapest clothing, tops and shorts sart at around £45 and a jacket (which is amazing I want it) is around £85 but there's £5 off everything at the expo. 

15:05 Vital Events are giving out codes to get 20% their races including Southport Half marathon. 

15:12 Ronhill are hear selling their old clothes off cheap as always. 

15:15 Geo has taken to the stage. He is an ambassador for RnR races. He reckons the best thing about RnR racers is the journey together with friends, the ones you have and the ones you make, and the bands. Plus he is a big fan of water stations. He Couldn't finish his first 5k but rather than it defeating him it empowered him to train. He ended up doing a full instead of the half and was so nervous that he couldn't even remember how far he was running. He really believes that the RnR participants are a family that form a community to support each other and that they rock. Races are discoveries of new places to him but it's the people you see as you run as well as where you are running past which make authentic experiences. "This is a global party and I'm excited to rock Liverpool"

15:38 They've got the World Rocker medal here. It's Hugh!!

16:15 The Brist Triathlon Foundation Trust have a stand here and they're giving you the chance to do a Dri Tri. 500 meters rowing, 1k on a bike and then 20 jumps. Me and Kenny went head to head and it was tough. He beat me by a mile. 

16:36 High 5 are here with their Gel and Bar tasters and they're doing a similar deal to Manchester expo with a box of goodies for £10. It's the Rasberry energy plus and the Citrus on course and you can sample both (but best not to use them on Sunday if you haven't tried them on a run). 

16:48 Just been talking to the lovely ladies at Maui Jim. They actually have quite a few sports style sunglasses that look pretty cool. Prices start at £120 so not probably one for people like me who have to get a new pair every week cod I lost the old ones somewhere but they are pretty impressive. The lenses are designed to filter out glare and give you colour clarity. Try the fish test and see how different it looks. These are the results with the HCL Bronze lenses. 

Exclusive - Liverpool Rock n Roll Expo Schedule

Exciting stuff, just got the schedule of what's on at the Expo in Liverpool this weekend.  I'll be doing a live blog from from the Running and Endurance Show (It's fancy name) from 1pm on Friday.  I'm going to actually charge my phone and everything this time because the line up looks pretty great.  Those who read my blog or know me will be pretty shocked to hear that I've actually heard of one of the speakers, George Melichar.  I think this man embodies the idea that running is and should be for everyone regardless of what pace you run at and you don't need to like like Mo Farrah or Paula Radcliffe (Not that I know what either of them look like) to consider yourself a sports person.  I can't help but just love people who love running and racing.  He seems crazy in a good way and so I'm really looking forward to what he has to say.

After George is our very own Rob Griffith.  He's quite the quick come back king on RDB so I think this should be quite amusing to watch assuming any that any of you RDB folk are brave enough to stick your hands up.  If anyone wants me to ask a question on their behalf let me know and I'll pass back the answer for you. I know he likes to talk about his beard a lot.  It might also be interesting to find out his take on why he thinks the race series attracts so many volunteers or if you want to go a bit more controversial you could bring up the latest lawsuit in the US were race volunteers are demanding to be paid.

I had to google Geoff Smith I'll admit.  The marathon runner who was a member of Southport Harriers and Liverpool Harriers has won Boston Marathon twice, in 1984 (by four minutes!) and 1985 (when they still wore those tiny tiny shorts on the Whitley 10k medal?) and he has represented Great Britain at the Olympics twice and came second in the New York marathon.  He's still a regular at Boston, doing interviews and commentary.  I watched a great interview with him about leaving nothing on the table and the importance of training (I'm not likeing the sound of the Heartbreak Hill but there's like no chance of me every getting to run Boston so I don't think I need to worry about it).  There are no bib collections on Sunday.

Both men are going to be at the final social run tomorrow.

The route talk through at 5:30 also sounds pretty interesting and then you can listen to fellow pacer Gary Nixon.  Most of the line up is repeated on Saturday with a few added extras including a nutrition talk from High 5 and me and some of the other pacers at 2:30 in our lovely red CEP pacer kit.  You can also collect your t-shirt from the expo too, which saves having to wait in the lines on Sunday, as well as collect the 5k/Mile bibs and any half/full bibs that weren't posted.  You'll need your half/full bib with you to collect your t-shirt.  If you can't make it to the expo on Friday you can also pick up your 5k number before the race from 7am.  You need to remember the confirmation sheet and photo ID to collect your number.

Location: ACC Convention Centre, Kings Dock, Liverpool Waterfront L3 4FP

Opening Times

Friday 12th June: Afternoon,  13:00 – 20:00     1pm-8pm
Saturday 13th June: All Day,     9:00 – 17:00      9am-5pm

Setting the pace - Official CEP LRnR Half 3hr Pacer

It looks like Liverpool Rock n Roll will have another good year for women according to race director Rob Griffiths.  This is a comment he posted on facebook today.  I've been tracking the percentage of women in races, mostly in the North West, ever since I saw the stats at the the last Liverpool RnR.  You can read that article so far here but I'll be updating it in a week or so to add Liverpool and some other races into the league table.

Amazing Graffiti style tech top and Ultralight compression socks kindly donated by CEP

I'm looking forward to meeting some of the women and men who will be racing on Sunday as the 3 hour CEP pacer for the half.  We will certainly be easy to spot in the lovely kit that CEP gave us.  I need to do a review of all my compression socks soon because I've finally found some that I don't need to push down after five minutes.  They're actually the ultralight run socks  (Proves how Dopey crazy I am though cos my first thought was that it's great that they're red as they'll go with my Belle and Snow White outfits for Dopey).   I might do some blog updates whilst I'm actually pacing the race,  I've been practising my 13:44 minute miles and I'm pretty excited.  I'm sure I'll be getting a lot more nervous by Saturday night but I'll have my amazing 5k medal to distract me.  I think I'll need a whole blog just to discuss the bling I'm getting this weekend.  Good luck to everyone running if I don't see you before.

If you want to run with a pacer just look for us at the start wearing this lovely outfit.  There's a gallery of all the different pacers here.

Medal Watch - Liverpool RnR Remix Medal Reveal

Serious wow moment coming.  How amazing is this medal?  I've seen pictures of the US ones but never realised how big and chunky they were.  The center of the medal is designed like a guitar plec and spins.  I'm so glad I'm doing the 5k and the half because I seriously need this medal.  Even backwards and modeled by Rob a selfie it still looks amazing.  To get it you need to run the Liverpool RnR 5k on Saturday 13th June followed by either the half or full marathon on the 14th. http://runrocknroll.com/liverpool/

Image owned by R Giffiths

*Updated* Run like a girl! - Why do some races get more women?

22/04/15 - I came across another race today that currently has more women entered than men  Just under 57% of entries for the Blackpool 10k, by Fylde Coast Running, are women.  Interestingly there is a both a half and full marathon the same day which have considerably less women than men, a tend I've seen for a lot of events which have multiple races.  The shortest distance race always have more women.  It's been true for Liverpool rock n Roll, EHM, Port Sunlight, Milton Keynes half/full, Wirral half and 10k and the Chester Metric and full marathon. I'm running the half (43% women) but will be paying more interest the the 10k to see what is attracting so many women.  I'll be tracking the results after too to see if these numbers hold true for actual runners rather than just entrants.  I wonder if there is a difference in drop out rates for men and women (although it would be difficult to get a true figure due to number swaps). http://www.fyldecoastrunning.org/

Image owned by Fylde Coast Running

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25/03/15 - A few weeks ago, I wrote the following blog about the percentage of women at races and after looking at the numbers of local races that I know well I suggested that further research was needed.  On Facebook today I came across a post from Liverpool Spring 10k that brought the this blog back to the forefront for me because their current entry numbers consist of 55% women.  Now, the race is still around six weeks away so there is still time for these numbers to change but the race last year also had slightly more women than men at 50.4%.  The race was not included in my original analysis because I tried to stick with races that I knew but it's certainly one to watch.  I have added to 2014 race to the table below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I used to be a data analyst in a former life, before I got ill and ended up with Judge Judy and the dog as my only day time companions. When I was at the Liverpool Rock n Roll press conference earlier in the week and heard the stats regarding how many women they got at their races last year I felt that niggle that makes me want to know more, to see the numbers.  It used to take me a few hours to do this type of stuff, gather data, try to understand what it means.  Now it takes forever just to do the easy stuff.  I've been working on it since Monday and I have some data now, the meaning part we'll have to see.

Firstly, Liverpool RnR's numbers for 2014 break down into the following:

• Marathon - 28.7% women
• Half marathon - 57.8% women

I've only been racing for just over a year but that many women in the half marathon seemed pretty impressive to me.  I wanted to know if this was duplicated in any other races.  I looked at quite a few but I stuck to races that I had done or knew of (I ran 39 races last year so It's not like I didn't have many to choose from) so that I'd know the basics of the race, how much it costs, the route, what goodies you get, the way in which the race is advertised and so on plus I knew where the results were (I have links to them in my spreadsheet).

The first one I looked at was Port Sunlight, I'd just ran it so it was a good place to start.  54.4% of the 5k runners were women.  I thought it might be a fluke and so I checked last year which was even higher, 57.8%.  The 10k was less, just under 43%.  Of the 22 races I looked at, the top 7 all had a longer distance race on the same day that had a much lower percentage of women.  Does that mean that when women are given the option they will go for the shorter distance?  All races that scored over 45% had pretty decent medals and all but one gave finishers free t-shirts but the goods were the same if not better for the longer distances so that can't be the only variable.

So what about route? Is that an issue, does that play a role?  The Liverpool half and the Liverpool Rock n Roll half both use virtually the same route around Liverpool (which I love because it's my pb course) but Liverpool half was 36.6% women compared to the Rock n Roll race which got 57.8%.  It can't be down to the organisers or publicity either, BTR who organisers the Liverpool Half also put on Port Sunlight and Wirral 10K which are both in our top 5 and are not targeted to women any differently than Liverpool Half as far as I can tell.  So what attracts women to one and not the other?  It can't just be the 'fun' element to the Rock n Roll idea of races because Mad Dog 10k, which has won multiple awards and certainly brands itself as fun still gets almost 7% more men than women.

I included a parkrun in the mix, but only my local one which was 44% women last Saturday.  I'd love to know the breakdown of men and women at parkrun overall because it's entire ethos is running for all and is certainly marketed as an inclusive running event so it would be interesting to know if it still gets more men.  I couldn't find these figures anywhere so I couldn't include them.

So, I'm still not entirely sure what this means.  Other than races with multiple events will have more women in the shorter distances, I'm not really sure what I've learnt.  The races I looked at are included below.  I'd like to look at more club rather than corporate races because the ones on the list at the moment, Birchwood 10k and Warrington 10k, clearly have a lot less women but most club race results don't include gender positions so you'd have to literally count every woman.  It will also be interesting to see if each race gets the same gender split this year.  There's no answer yet but results so far have been interesting. 

	Men	Women	Total	% Men	%    Women
2014 Port Sunlight 5k	105	144	249	42.17%	57.83%
2015 Port Sunlight 5k	154	184	338	45.56%	54.44%
2014 Liverpool RnR Half	1650	1871	3521	46.86%	53.14%
2014 EHM 10k	188	201	389	48.33%	51.67%
2014 Liverpool S 10k 2014 Wirral 10k	1296 476	1316 433	2612 909	49.62% 52.37%	50.38% 47.63%
2014 Milton Keynes Half	876	733	1609	54.44%	45.56%
2014 Chester Metric	259	216	475	54.53%	45.47%
28/02/15 Warrington Parkrun	121	96	217	55.76%	44.24%
2014 Mad Dog 10	1017	771	1788	56.88%	43.12%
2015 Port Sunlight 10k	582	438	1020	57.06%	42.94%
2014 Trail Half Marathon Wales	227	163	390	58.21%	41.79%
2014 Port Sunlight 10k	722	495	1217	59.33%	40.67%
2014 Warrington 10k	223	139	362	61.60%	38.40%
2014 Rhyl 10	286	176	462	61.90%	38.10%
2014 EHM Half	1290	773	2063	62.53%	37.47%
2014 Wirral Half	757	444	1201	63.03%	36.97%
2014 Wilmslow Half	2474	1436	3910	63.27%	36.73%
2014 Liverpool Half	4240	2445	6685	63.43%	36.57%
2014 Buff Winter Trail Half	216	113	329	65.65%	34.35%
2014 Stafford half	1389	723	2112	65.77%	34.23%
2014 Birchwood 10k	596	305	901	66.15%	33.85%
2014 Conwy Half	1571	794	2365	66.43%	33.57%
2014 Whitley 10k	250	108	358	69.83%	30.17%
2014 Chester marathon	1764	726	2490	70.84%	29.16%
2014 Linverpool RnR Marathon	1658	668	2326	71.28%	28.72%
2014 Milton Keynes Marathon	1524	583	2107	72.33%	27.67%
2014 North Wales Half	311	117	428	72.66%	27.34%
2014 Trail Marathon Wales	234	73	307	76.22%	23.78%

Liverpool RnR Social Run

I had a really great time tonight running along my favourite prom.  As part of the build up to the Liverpool Rock and Roll marathon weekend, the organisers, Contest Sports & Media Limited, set up social runs once or twice a month.  They're free events and a lot of run.  Last time we got to wear glow paints (be careful who you let paint your face else you'll end up with neon chicken pox) and eat hot dogs for the Vegas Kickoff night and today we got to try on and run in CEP socks and sleeves.

My legs are still not loving me yet and my feet really hurt from Sunday so thankfully Adrienne, who works for Contest Sports & Media Limited, let me be back marker so had a perfect excuse to move slow.  The run was as fun as always.  There's generally quite a mix of abilities and speeds but everyone is friendly and supportive.  No one gets left behind and apart from the few who just can't resist a race at the end it's not competitive at all.  It's a perfect display of running at it's best really and i love the inclusiveness.  Most of us got stuck together for a while near the end of the run because the bridge was up so perfect excuse for a bit of social chatter.  It was also quite an experience seeing so many bright bright socks running around.  You certainly couldn't miss us or get lost but it really was great to get to try them out.

We got measured up before the race.  The socks and calf sleeves sizes are based upon the circumference of your calf.  I'm not sure how this works with feet sizes because I only tried the sleeves but they seemed to fit everyone.  I did learn how to get the socks on though.  You turn the sock inside out, hold the toe with one hand and pull through the heel to create a little foot.  You can then slide your foot in and pull the sock up.  It sounds harder than it is, there's a video on the CEP website that shows it better than I can explain it.  Getting the sleeves on is considerable easier and they actually overlapped the top of my socks really well without moving.   

Running in them was really comfortable.  I have compression socks from Adidas, Asics and More Miles but I pretty much treat them as leg warmers.  They annoy me so much that I generally push them down after a mile or two when my legs get to warm.  I've tried other versions too that push more on the legs but they give too much pressure.  The CEP calves are so light and support rather than push, they feel really great on the legs and sleeves have the added benefit of being able to change the type of socks and level of feet cushioning without having to buy lots of different variations.  They're not cheap, the socks that people were trying on are £39.99 whilst the sleeves are £32.99, but I really think that they are worth it because the quality is amazing.  There's the option of a night version too that have reflectors on the sides.  All are available to buy online at http://shop.cepsports.co.uk/.  I really want some myself but I get a pair for being a CEP pacer for the Rock n Roll half so will just have be patient. My legs felt a lot less angry when I was wearing them so I think they're a must for after the next 26.2 (which is only five months from now, arrgghh!!).

Before the run there was a minute's silence to remember the 96, it's hard  to believe it's been 26 years.  The beautiful sunset over the Mersey tonight was a nice tribute to their memory.

Medal Watch - RnR Liverpool and Dublin

Ok, so we've already seen the artwork for most of these medals but how much better are they actually in the flesh (so to speak).  I completely love the 5k medal, I'd be signing up for that in an instant if I hadn't already. I really like the Dublin fun run medal that's just been revealed today too (I actually think it's prettier than the medal for the half marathon).  I wonder if I can get away with entering Dublin without my husband filing for divorce. :)

There's the Debut and Remix medals for Liverpool too and the World Rocker and Heavy Medals if you're going to do Dublin or another RnR event too.  Click here for the full medal guide. For more information about the races http://uk.competitor.com/