BTR Wirral 10K Sees Runner Take On New Brighton
Photo by Paul Francis Cooper

MORE than 500 runners pulled on their trainers on:- Sunday, 15 October 2023, to take on the challenge of the BTR Wirral 10K. This was the 9th staging of the race, which was last staged in 2021. The race started and finished on Ian Fraser Walk in New Brighton. The route took participants past Fort Perch Rock and along the picturesque promenade to Seacombe Ferry, before reaching the half-way 5K turnaround point and returning to the finish line. The race was organised and staged by BTR Liverpool:- the leading independent organisation for creating, managing, and delivering headline running events across Liverpool City Region. All finishers were presented with a commemorative medal and T-shirt to mark their achievement.

The BTR Wirral 10K 2023 race was won by Neil Hennigan, from Penny Lane Striders, in a time of:- 36 minutes 19 seconds.

2nd place was Luca Noorpuri, from Wirral AC, in:- 36 minutes 27 seconds, followed by 3rd place David Hinde from Chester Triathlon Club, in:- 36 minutes 57 seconds.

First female finisher was Fay Hughes, in:- 38 minutes 47 seconds. Second place was Paiwan Dodd, in:- 42 minutes and 1 second, with Charlie Weatherstone from Mersey Tri in third place with a time of:- 42 minutes 49 seconds.

The day's participants also included runners from local groups including:- Birkenhead Park Running Club, Ellesmere Port RC, Girls That Jeff RC, Liverpool Running Bugs, Liverpool Running Club, Lonely Goat RC, Mersey Tri, Nantwich RC, Penny Lane Striders, and Wallasey AC.

The BTR Liverpool portfolio covers various distances across different terrains, all with an ongoing commitment to sustainability. It's event calendar also includes headline events like the:- BTR Liverpool Half Marathon, Port Sunlight Road Race, 52-mile BTR Tour Of Merseyside, BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K, and BTR Liverpool Santa Dash.

Alan Rothwell, Race Director at BTR Liverpool, commented:- "We had a great turn-out for the BTR Wirral 10K across the runners, volunteers, and spectators:- well done to everyone. The route takes in the incredible views from Wirral across to Liverpool, a real highlight of the race. It's fast and flat, and we know many people recorded personal best times. A huge thank you to the volunteer teams who supported BTR and the runners on the day:- Birkenhead Park Running Club, Everton in the Community, and Liverpool Running Bugs, as well as members of the Merseyside running community."

The day's most senior runners were BTR race regular 76 year old, Sidney Molyneux, from Wallasey, who clocked a time of:- 1 hour 11 minutes 20 seconds. Rosemary Rogers from Chester, aged:- 74, is also a regular in BTR races including:- the 52 mile BTR Tour Of Merseyside, she completed the race, in:- 59 minutes 30 seconds.

The field of runners also included a team of 6 from SDA Architecture in Oxton.

Next up in the BTR event calendar is the Bonfire Blast 5K, at Hoylake Promenade, on:- Sunday, 5 November 2023, this is the 2nd event in the Winter 5K Series. The 3rd event Winter's Trail 5K is on:- Sunday, 31 December 2023, at Moreton. The races are timed with a medal and T-shirt for finishers.

Then it's the staging of the milestone 20th BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, on:- Sunday, 3 December 2023. The main Santa Dash is 5K and starts at Pier Head Liverpool and finishes outside Liverpool Town Hall. There is also a 1K Mini Dash for youngsters aged:- 12 and under.

For full details about BTR Liverpool visit:- BTRLiverpool.Com.

Southport Comedy Festival 2023 was biggest event yet, with over 5,000 visitors laughing with top UK comedians

THE 2023 Southport Comedy Festival was the biggest event yet, with over 5,000 visitors laughing out loud with some of the best comedians in the country.

The fast growing festival, organised by Big Comedy in association with Halliwell Jones BMW, took place at Victoria Park, Southport, over 17 nights from 29th September to 15th October with stars including:- Seann Walsh, Simon Brodkin, Jason Byrne, Jen Brister, Rich Hall, Jimeoin, Paul Sinha and more.

7 events were completely sold out with others close to full capacity.

Mark Steel was due to perform at the event but sadly had to postpone his tour following his throat cancer diagnosis. Organisers have sent him their best wishes and hope to see him back on stage in Southport soon.

Thousands of pounds were raised for local charities the Community Link Foundation and the Southport Flower Show through special comedy bingo and disco bingo events.

A platform was provided to some of the most talented up and coming new comedians in the UK through the Southport New Comedian of the Year competition, sponsored by Dragon Soop, which received over 100 entries. It was won by The Halls of Ridiculous, a brilliant comedy / improv duo.

Southport Comedy Festival directors Brendan Riley and Val Brady said:- "We had more people coming to see shows at Southport Comedy Festival than ever before, even with the cancellation of Mark Steel's gig. This was our 12th Southport Comedy Festival and it was the best yet. It has been the biggest event we have ever had in terms of audience numbers and we are absolutely delighted. Over 5,000 people came to watch the shows from all over the country, which hopefully gave a good boost to local hotels, guest houses, restaurants, bars, shops and other local businesses. We sold out a total of 7 shows this year and were very nearly sold out on some of the others as well. We had some fantastic acts this year! We always try to host acts who people always want to see, with festival favourites such as Jason Byrne, Paul Sinha and Rich Hall, while also bringing in exciting new faces such as:- Jen Brister, Simon Brodkin, Seann Walsh, Tom Davis and others, who have never played the festival before. We would like to thank Halliwell Jones BMW and all of our fantastic sponsors for supporting us once again this year and helping to bring the smiles to Southport. We are very grateful to Mark Dilley of Elite Marquees and Bars and to Alan Adams and his team from Southport Flower Show and Victoria Park Events for staging the event. We would also like to thank our amazing festival volunteers and of course all of you who came to watch the shows over 17 nights. As well as hosting some of the biggest names on the comedy circuit, we also did our bit to support our local community through sell-out fundraising events. Our Comedy Bingo night for the Community Link Foundation charity raised over:- £2,200, while our 80s Disco Bingo night for the Southport Flower Show charity raised over:- £1,600. We also once again hosted our Southport New Comedian of the Year competition, giving a platform to some of the most talented new comedians in the country and the stars of tomorrow. As organisers, Big Comedy UK never stops! Big Comedy is already selling tickets to see Ed Byrne with his award winning Tragedy Plus Time show at Southport Little Theatre, on:- Thursday, 7 March 2024, while Chris McCausland is our 1st act booked for Southport Comedy Festival 2024 with his Yonks! Tour on Monday 30th September 2024. We also have our Winter Socials starting at Southport Market this November, supported by Halliwell Jones Mini and our Friday Big Comedy nights at The Bold Hotel returns at the end of November. Southport Comedy Festival 2023 may have finished, but great entertainment and live comedy in Southport is still happening!"

Southport Comedy Festival 2023 was staged for a 3rd year in a giant luxury heated and seated marquee courtesy of Elite Marquees and Elite Bars at Victoria Park, home of the world renowned Southport Flower Show. Visit:- SouthportComedyFestival.Com for information and direct links to book tickets.