Liverpool Women's 10km run to raise £50,000

May 12 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

ALMOST 2,000 sunkissed runners raced in the 22nd annual Liverpool Women’s 10km run yesterday.

It is hoped the event raised around £50,000 for good causes, including the race’s official charity Worst Kept Secret, a domestic violence support group.

Celebrity style guru Gok Wan paid a surprise visit to start the Sefton Park race, which took place in glorious sunshine ahead of yesterday’s torrential rain.

A further 400 runners raced round a 5km circuit and 250 under-18s took part in a Bullybusters one-mile fun run.

Alan Rothwell, a race organiser from Run Liverpool, which stages the event, said: “People seemed to quite like Gok Wan – it’s always good to have someone with his profile down at the start.

“It all went very well – though it was a bit warm for them.”

Wan was also in Liverpool city centre yesterday scouring the high street for fashion talent.

The winner of the 10,000m race was Liverpool Harriers’s Jenny Clague, of Walton. She completed the circuit in 37m 34s. The 34-year-old set the Harriers’s 10km record time of 32m 41s in 1993.

Wirral AC’s Jessie Evans, 14, of Hoylake, won the 5km race. .

Mr Rothwell said numbers for the 10,000m race have levelled out since the route was condensed into the park.

He added: “Some runners like running on the roads. It used to go down Aigburth Road, but we can’t use them now because of the traffic. But everybody enjoyed it and there were no injuries.”

Worst Kept Secret was the official race charity for the fifth consecutive year. The outfit is committed to reducing domestic violence on Merseyside through a confidential free helpline to support people affected by domestic violence.

It is run by Local Solutions, a North West social enterprise that helps more than 200,000 people each year.

Also run by Local Solutions, Bullybusters tackles the problem of bullying through another free telephone helpline. It provides support for victims and their families, as well as training for school children and agencies.

Because of a £12,500 drop in sponsorship income, the organisers had to cut costs by scrapping the digital clock used to time runners. But Mr Rothwell said no one noticed a “drop in quality” of the event.

The start of the race had to be moved from its regular position because of damage to the turf when the Chinese State Circus was pitched there. Organisers applauded Liverpool City Council’s parks team for their work tending the grass prior to the race.

Mr Rothwell added: “The field was wrecked by the Chinese State Circus the other week.

“All credit to Liverpool’s park unit for getting it in order.

THOUSANDS more female competitors took part in a 5k race around Birkenhead Park yesterday in the Race for Life.

Some 4,200 entrants set off at 11am on the run, which is one of a series staged nationwide by the charity Cancer Research.

benschofield@dailypost.co.uk