The BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K returns in less than two weeks – bigger, better and louder for 2015. This is the event’s third consecutive year, and this time it has an earlier date of Sunday, 13th September.

After scooping the prestigious title of Event of the Year 2015 at the Wirral Tourism Awards in April, the BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K has grown bigger with the introduction of a further race element.

As well as giving runners the option to take part in either the half marathon or 10K distance – participants now also have the choice to test their fitness with a new 26-mile challenge.

The Whistle Stop Tour Of Wirral consists of three races over three days and has attracted over 250 Tourists for the inaugural event.

It takes place from Friday to Sunday, 11 to 13 September – and all runners will be fashioned with a whistle to enhance the atmosphere across the overall race by making their Tourist presence known loud and clear.

The Wirral Tour follows the success of the established and increasingly popular Tour Of Merseyside (TOM), which consists of six races over seven days and covers 52 miles. The TOM started in 2013 is limited to 300 places.

The third annual Tour Of Merseyside took place in July with two of the six races being staged in Wirral – in Thurstaston and the Wirral Coastal Run from New Brighton to Hoylake. The 2016 event sold out in just eight hours.

BTR has now introduced a mini Tour with all three races taking place in Wirral. The new event means the BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K has been brought forward in the race calendar to September to allow for better running conditions as the first Tour event is an evening race.

The Whistle Stop Tour Of Wirral starts with a five-mile flat race at Arrowe Park on the evening of Friday, 11 September. This is followed the next morning with a challenging eight miles at Thurstaston. The final race is the Wirral Half Marathon, where the Wirral Tourists will join the main field of over 2,000 half marathon and 10K runners.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events in Liverpool City Region.

Its growing portfolio includes the Mersey Tunnel 10K; Port Sunlight 10K/5K/1K; Vitality Liverpool Half Marathon; and Medicash Santa Dash Liverpool.

The BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K was names Event Of The Year 2015 after tourism awards judges praised the event and BTR team for its high levels of customer service, growth, quality standards and media coverage.

BTR Race director Alan Rothwell commented:

“We are absolutely thrilled to be Wirral Event Of The Year 2015. The runners have really embraced the BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K since we introduced it to our race portfolio in 2013.

“We are a small but extremely dedicated team, doing a job we thoroughly enjoy, and to be recognised with an award for one of our newest events is very humbling.

“Building on the success of the award accolade and the increasingly popular Tour Of Merseyside which already features Wirral, it was the right time to introduce a shorter Tour event and Wirral is the perfect place to do just that.

“We’re excited to see what the added Whistle Stop Tour race element will bring – and I’m sure the Tourists with their whistles will no doubt make themselves known by raising the noise and fun levels on half marathon day.”

The official charity partners for the event are Claire House Children’s Hospice, Radio City’s Cash For Kids, Everton in the Community, Jospice, and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation – who are the five BTR Footsteps Fundraisers charities.

The BTR Footsteps Fundraisers initiative is a fundraising partnership which brings the charities together to benefit financially through BTR’s key race events over a 12-month period by encouraging participants to fundraise and support them.

Fundraisers can collect a sponsor form from the BTR Liverpool office at 23 Hatton Garden, Liverpool, L3 2FE – or can set up their own online fundraising page at www.everydayhero.co.uk/event/supportbtrfootsteps – where all funds raised will be split equally between the five charities.

To enter the BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K visit www.btrliverpool.com