Liverpool or Chester or somewhere else entirely

First vote here for Chester ... it is simply sublime !!

Organisationally perfect ... nice course .. with mix of running through historically pretty City centre ... then out into another country (over the border in to Wales) for a bit of scenery and country running, before a great finish in the Racecourse.

Done them both and they're both top races. Chester very well organised and scenic route through countryside. Liverpool is all city and has great support.

i did Chester this year thought it was fantastic  one of my favorite marathons

Well I'm not going to say Chester with a name like mine am I?

Liverpool is full of naked ladies throwing themselves at you and you get free beer for life.....

Plus, you don't have to run in Wales if you do Liverpool

This is becoming a regular topic now, I love the run Liverpool races because of the people who do them, and it is a fantastic City to visit these days, but the organisers at Chester just completely get what runners want and why they run marathons. The attention to detail is fantastic, the marshals are local runners and community groups, and the biggest plus, the City wants the race and fully supports it.

Logistically, Chester starts and finishes on the racecourse, and it's a very compact city so you can stay in town and stroll down to the start and then relax afterwards, Liverpool is point to point starting in Birkenhead, but you do have the thrill of running through the tunnel.

Ha bloody ha! Says you in Runcorn....

I'd do Liverpool or Chester ANY day of the week over Edinburgh. Edinburgh certainly has the easiest course of the three with a point to point downhill, but it's had very mixed reviews over the years and a lot of organisational issues that mean I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. Others haven't found it so bad though.....

Why not have a flick through the review section on here and have a look for yourself? Might help you decide!

Dave The Ex- Spartan wrote (see)

But if you run Chester you can guarantee still having hub caps on your car

That's playing on stereotypes isn't it?

But after Liverbird's quip about avoiding Wales... she blooming well deserves it

In short they're both very good and will be an excellent choice for first marathon. If you want to run through a big city go with Liverpool, if you want countryside go with Chester.

If you have kids Chester is a good choice as they have a kids race and also activities to keep them happy whilst you're racing.

Coming out of the tunnel in Liverpool was probably the best racing experience I've had yet.

Aah but theres the massive Liverpool one shopping centre - and the posh one - the Metquarter. 

I liked the Edinburgh race - was pretty smooth for me - but Liverpool was better.  I know I had to wait 10 mins for my kit at the end in Edinburgh, and in Liverpool it wasnt even 10 seconds. Very efficient army cadets. 

Chester.