Thames Trot 2013
The Thames Trot Ultra is normally a 50 mile race along the Thames Towpath from
A field of nearly 300 runners set off from the Prince of Wales pub in Iffley. The weather was slightly milder than for the Country to Capital (C2C) and the sun was shining. As we were expecting to do a fair bit of the new course on roads I decided to go for my Saucony Kinvaras, currently my favourite shoe. One of the reasons I was looking forward to the Thames Trot was that there would be few opportunities to get lost. The change of course was supposed to shorten it to about 44 miles but unfortunately the changes led us up quite a few hills to get away from the floods as well as giving us more opportunities to get lost. Let's just say that I did my best to make up for the shortfall in miles!
If I thought it was going to be dry underfoot I was mistaken. Within the first mile we went through a flooded field which got our feet very cold and wet but after a short stretch on the towpath we were out on the road and got into a reasonable rhythm. It was still a cold enough day for me to wear the same kit I had at the C2C (again most people wore thermals, with extra kit in a rucksack). The first checkpoint at Culham Lock seemed to come surprisingly quickly. As at C2C we were spoilt for choice at the checkpoints with stocks of Gu gels, drinks, cake and savouries. We managed to find a few muddy bits and a couple of minor navigational errors as we headed over through Shillingford to CP2 near Benson Lock. We could see plenty of flooding and the reason why we were having to stick to the roads here. I was slowing a little but generally in good spirits as we headed down the old
Apart from the frustration of time wasted by getting lost, I'd really enjoyed the day. The support crew were great and I definitely want to do the event next year, hopefully on the proper course (where I've less chance of getting lost). Like C2C, the event earns a point towards UTMB qualification.