Tag Archives: Thames

30-mile Test Run, Thames Path from Addlestone to Richmond

What a difference a week makes.

On Friday night I determined that I was going to run 30 miles on Saturday morning. I’d been thinking about it for quite a while, it had been on the plan for weeks, but now it was almost time I found lots of excuses why not. First and foremost, time away from family. I thought if I took 6 hours then even if I started early it would be lunchtime before I got back, and those Saturday morning breakfasts with my family are so precious – I barely see them all week. Secondly, I was a bit scared of what I might find out about myself. I haven’t run further than 27 miles before, and that was the YORM last September – which took almost 7 hours (but it was in the Yorkshire fells) and so I’ve signed up for a bunch of ultras without every really knowing if I could run one.

But like I say, Friday night I steeled myself, got my kit ready, and set the alarm for 4:45. Sunrise was pegged at 5:55 on Google, so I thought if I got out around 5:30 I might make it back in time for a late breakfast  🙂 I signed up for Runkeeper Live so that Sarah would know where I was, as I wasn’t quite sure the route I’d be taking yet – I knew it would be the canal towpath but I wasn’t sure which direction. I measured 15 miles towards London and saw that a turnaround would be somewhere around Richmond. But that would mean at some point I’d be 15 miles from home, early morning, and that sounded a little scary.

Saturday morning came around, I got up after one snooze, kissed Sarah goodbye, and went downstairs for some porridge and got dressed. Raceready shorts, compression top, Surge backpack, Kinvaras, Inov-8 buff, Garmin, iPhone, my trusty green hat, Bosh wristband. Clipped my toenails. I always suffer with cramps at long distance so I decided to take a pocket full of S! electrolyte caps and a lot of water. I filled my 1.5L pack, and also an 800ml bottle, and stowed that in my pack too. A mix of nuts, raisins, flapjack and Jelly Babies, plus six or seven non-caffeinated gels, and I was ready. I resolved to drink more than usual, so a big gulp every five or six minutes, and I also set myself (and the Garmin) to run the first hour, then alternate five mins run/one min walk for the rest of the way. Bizarrely I set 20 reps of this, obviously early morning I was mathematically challenged because 20x (5+1) minutes is two hours, and I’d be running for a lot longer than that!

Running towards the canal lock that’s around 1/2 mile from my house, in the twilight I noticed there was a low mist hanging over the big pond nearby. Quite a lovely sight. I considered taking a picture of it to show later, but thought it was too early to stop running and get my iPhone out. So I ran on, and decided to head towards Walton and see how far I got. I started calculating what I could do to cut the switchback short and stay a little closer to home, so maybe I could do 10 miles away, 10 miles back, and then 5 miles the other way on the tow path before returning home. Or maybe 13.1 miles out and13.1 miles back, and then make up the other 4 later in the day.

I started drinking water early, trying for a mouthful every 5 minutes or so. I had an S! cap in the first few minutes too, just in case of later cramp – as far as I know once you feel cramp it’s too late to do anything about it, so I thought prevention (within reason) to be better than cure. And the running was great. It was a lovely cool morning, so heading through known territory (the streets of Weybridge, then joining the Thames path to Walton Bridge) felt pretty easy. I kept it deliberately to around 9:30 pace to start with, and tried to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. The sun was just coming up as I got to the bridge, lighting the mist over the Thames, and it just felt like the best day I could remember in which to run.

In-between Walton and Molesey I spotted the low sun between the trees, and the sight was too incredible to leave unrecorded so I stopped and got out my iPhone and took a picture. I tried to take another in case the first was blurry, but I was out of memory so that one would be it for the day. Heading along the path I passed a rowing club where a bunch of people were already paddling around, some people in boats with megaphones, and others taking massive boats out of the HQ and down towards the water. I thought for a moment they weren’t going to see me running along and move the boat directly into my path, but they stopped and I managed to dodge around it, just. This happened a few more times in the next two or three hours, and I could have taken umbrage but I preferred to think that it’s because I was still quite light on my feet so they couldn’t hear me coming!

Through Molesey, a lovely looking village, where my Garmin told me I’d been running for an hour and completed 7 miles, so now it was time to switch to 5 mins running/1 min walking. Felt good to make this switch, although I determined that I wasn’t going to dawdle – I’d use these brief periods of walking to have a good drink, take on some fuel, and stride out my legs. On through Hampton at about mile 9. I had to cross the road at the giant bridge that goes over the Thames there, and I could see paths on both sides continuing along so I chose the most likely looking one, a nice bit of parkland, and ran down it. Five minutes later the land ran out and I realised I must have chosen the wrong side. As I was running back I asked for directions and was told that the other side goes to Kingston and beyond. Wow, Kingston, that felt a long way away at this point, but I was still feeling pretty good.

The three miles it took to get to Kingston bridge were really pretty, with Hampton Court Palace and its park on the left pretty much the whole way, so always something to look at. At the bridge I crossed the busy road that I’ve seen so many times by car, and really couldn’t find a way down the other side. Again asking directions, I found that near the large John Lewis store is a staircase that leads down to a large paved area, that subsequently led to the path. No signage of any note. I’m glad I asked the way, or I might still be there now.

I thought at about this time, mile 12, that I might just carry on and do the full 15, then turn back. I felt great, I still had loads of gels, caps and food, a little water left in the bladder and a full bottle. So what the heck, I went for it, passing through Ham and on to Eel Pie Island where the Garmin told me I’d done 15 miles. I carried on a little way because there was no real landmark around, and I usually like to turn around somewhere memorable. But there was just a towpath as far as I could see, so I turned around and headed back. I texted Sarah at this point to let her know where I was, and that I’d be back around 11:30 (adding on half an hour thinking that I’d be bound to slow down from here). She texted back soon afterwards, reminding me that we had to drop Billy off at a tennis club in Weybridge at 12:30 so they might be out. I had an idea – could I make it back to Weybridge for, say, 11, and meet them all there? Starbucks seemed like a reasonable option, and Sarah agreed. I quite liked this idea of texting while running, checking the phone during the walk phase and replying while having some food and drink; it all seemed quite civilised and under control.

At Kingston Bridge again I knew the way across this time, so after dodging the traffic I continued along the river to Hampton Court at mile 22, where I decided to stop at a little shop and get some more water. I grabbed a 2-litre bottle (making sure it wasn’t sparkling) and handed over the 20-pound note that I’d taken with me. I knew the change would get annoying, rattling round, and so it transpired. I stopped just outside the shop, opened up my pack and bladder, dropped the change into a zipped compartment and tipped three-quarters of the water into it. After doing it back up I wondered what to do with the water, and I noticed a cafe nearby with a lot of people outside soaking up the spring sun. An elderly couple had a dog with them, and they gratefully accepted the water for him. I ran off, and I was pleased that they had a sort of amused look about them – I imagined them wondering where I was running from and heading to. Actually, they’d probably not thought anything of the sort, but the thought kept me cheerful.

With the coins rattling with every step, I knew I was on the home straight now with about eight miles to go until home, so probably six or seven to Weybridge. The landscape seemed different on the way back because the sun was out and everything looked bright. I took off my hat and buff, and stowed them in my pack. I felt a slight niggle for the first time, and it was at the top of both my feet by the shoelaces. I’ve had cramp there before so it worried me a bit, but it didn’t feel crampy this time. Nonetheless I had another S! cap and some extra water just in case. While I was running along here I thought of Boston, and the Twitter hashtag #RunforBoston where I’d seen a number of people run for 4.17 miles in support of those who got hurt or lost their lives. I wanted to show support for them too, and also for all my Bosh friends who were running the VLM the next day. I thought I’d try to stop my Runkeeper at exactly 30.37 miles (26.2 in support of VLM runners, 4.17 for Boston), which at the current pace would put me in Weybridge at about 11:05. Perfect, as long as I could keep going.

The sight of Walton Bridge was pretty welcome, as was the foot bridge over the canal soon after that signalled I was close to Weybridge. I got to the church near the town centre at about 29 miles and 10:50, and did a couple of loops around and stopped it exactly where I wanted it. Weirdly the last half-mile or so were by far the hardest – it really is all in the mind!

I was quite proud of myself: I’d done my longest run without any real problems, I’d finally done an ultra distance, I had my little story for Boston and VLM, I’d had a few little moments along the way to remember (like the couple and the dog),  and I was outside Starbucks where Sarah was buying me a tea, juice and a bacon sandwich and the kids had lots of kisses for me.

Distance: 30.37 miles

Duration: 5:11:50

Average pace: 10:16 min/mile

Climb: 757 feet