In 2013 Liverpool City Council went out to tender to find a partner to deliver a marathon for the city. It chose and appointed the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running to start their first event in England.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series (formerly the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon) took place between 2014 and 2021. Its unique selling point was the runner experience in which runners experienced live music along every mile of their journey. Once crossing the finish line runners received a quality medal and t-shirt before experiencing an almost VIP experience with a finish line concert with some coveted headline artists. The city spent over a year with the Rock n Roll team and its stakeholders and partners in carefully planning an iconic route with minimal disruption to the flow of the city.
In 2014 over 7,000 excited runners took to the city’s streets to a backdrop of local live music in the inaugural event.
In the following year a 5k was added on the Saturday which won best 5k in the country at the Annual Running Awards; followed by a family one mile fun run on the Sunday, which quickly established the event as one of the premier running events in the UK. It also received the Best Marathon ranking from both Men’s Running and Women’s Running magazines.
In 2019 the event attracted over 22,000 runners with over 1,000 international runners form over 60 different countries. The series was unique in that it attracts as many female runners as male runners contributing greatly to the city’s Physical Activity Strategy reaching all age ranges whether it be at an elite or social level.
The event has had a significant economic impact on the city and wider region with an economic impact of over £40 million.
The 2021 event saw the last Rock n Roll weekend take place in Liverpool.