Liverpool International Music Festival are looking for emerging Merseyside artists

A new partnership has been announced between race organisers BTR Liverpool and leisure and fitness retailer realbuzz. The partnership focuses on cross promotion between BTR Liverpool and realbuzz’s established client bases; introducing each other to new markets; and realbuzz will host the online entry system for all BTR events.

Additional projects are already in the pipeline for the coming 12 months.

The partnership was made official, when by double World Championship medalist Jenny Meadows, National Running Ambassador for realbuzz and 1 of Britain’s leading female athletes. Jenny met with BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell at the new realbuzz store in Liverpool ONE.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events across Liverpool City Region. Its growing portfolio of events ranges from 1K children’s fun runs to a 52 mile challenge, making its events accessible for all ages and abilities

The BTR event calendar also includes:- the Liverpool ½ Marathon; Mersey Tunnel 10K; Port Sunlight 5K and 10K; Wirral ½ Marathon and 10K; 52 mile Tour Of Merseyside; 26 mile Whistle Stop Tour Of Wirral; and Liverpool Santa Dash.

After building a loyal and strong customer base online, realbuzz is taking its retail offer to the High Street.

realbuzz opened its Liverpool ONE store in October 2017, which joins sites in:- Chester, Warrington, Wigan, Altrincham, Derby, Sheffield, Coventry and Solihull. This Spring, three locations across London have opened in Kensington High Street, Covent Garden and Westfield Stratford, with Piccadilly Circus to follow shortly.

Wigan born Jenny Meadows started running aged 7, when she joined her local athletics club. She has represented Great Britain since 2000, including being part of the British Olympic Team, in Beijing in 2008.

Jenny’s breakthrough came at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships, in Berlin, where she took Bronze in the 800m with a lifetime best of 1:57.93; and became the 3rd fastest British woman of all time.

Jenny was awarded the Captaincy of Team GB at the World Indoor Championships 2010 in Doha, where she won Silver. In 2010, Jenny broke Dame Kelly Holmes’ British indoor record and is still the current record holder. Jenny retired from the sport in 2016 after a long and successful career.

Jenny Meadows, National Running Ambassador for realbuzz, commented:- " This is a really exciting time for realbuzz with retail stores opening all across the UK, and to support the expansion plans the team are keen to partner with successful and innovative events; and BTR Liverpool fits the bill perfectly. With a history of organising a diverse range of running events across the region, we are looking forward to working with BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell and his team going forward, to help increase their profile well outside the boundaries of the Merseyside area while introducing many more runners to what realbuzz has to offer."

The BTR Liverpool portfolio includes some of the country’s most unique races, including the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash; the UK’s biggest festive fun run. The event was created by BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell in 2004.

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell added:- " We pride ourselves as a forward thinking race organisation and endeavor to offer our runners the very best experience; from the registration stage and lining up on the start line, through to crossing the finish line and collecting their bespoke commemorative medal. Our exciting and growing portfolio includes some of the most unique race events you’ll find, including the Mersey Tunnel 10K, Liverpool Santa Dash and Tour Of Merseyside. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Jenny Meadows and realbuzz to introduce BTR events to a whole new audience, while helping the realbuzz name become established within the running community of Merseyside. It’s an exciting time for us all going forward."

New route to reveal more hidden secrets from Chester's walls

THE CH1 Chester BID launches new:- 'The Secret Lives of Shops' route as part of Talking Walls project with just weeks to go until the initiative concludes. The team behind a Citywide heritage project that has given voices to Chester's walls has released a new retail route to mark the final few weeks of the pioneering scheme.

Launched in June 2017, the Talking Walls project was commissioned by CH1 Chester BID - Chester's Business Improvement District (BID) and has seen 26 of Chester's iconic buildings sharing stories from the City's past.  BBC Breakfast news presenter Louise Minchin, former MP and TV presenter Gyles Brandreth and ITV Granada star Lucy Meacock are amongst the celebrities to have lent their voices to the project, which brings the City's buildings to life when smartphone users scan a code from a green plaque and receive a phone call from the wall.

The new 'The Secret Lives of Shops' route includes independent stores such as Weasel and the Bug, The Hat Place and Lee Louise, as well as Barbour, M&S and the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. Each store has its own story to tell, including one which claims to be Chester's oldest timber building, and another that can trace its history all the way back to the 14th Century.

Judy Tagell, Marketing Manager at CH1ChesterBID said:- "For the past year, the Talking Walls project has brought to life some of the most famous walls, stores and places of interest within Chester. It's been a project which has captured the imagination of both young and old and has used heritage, humour and online technology to effectively tell the fascinating history of our City. The launch of 'The Secret Lives of Shops' route is all about giving those people who have yet to hear the stories of Chester's walls another reason to come and take part in the project.  Talking Walls was always created as 12 month initiative and it's been a big success; we're fast approaching 20,000 plays for all the different stories across the City. The walls will continue talking until June 21, 2018, so there's still plenty of chance to step back in time and revel in the stories of Chester's past in the City Centre."

City Centre visitors can go to the Visitor Information Centre at Chester Town Hall to pick up the new 'The Secret Lives of Shops' route, or a free map of the full route of 26 walls. There are also other shorter routes, including a haunted places route.

The free maps can also be downloaded from the Talking Walls of Chester website to find them or read more information about the project.