Thames Path 100 Race Report

I left home in the car with what I thought would be ample time to get to Oxford. The plan was to park near the race finish, walk to the Oxford train station, then take the train to Richmond in London where I had a hotel room waiting next to the race start. Sounds simple, and it was. I was hoping for a free parking space within easy hobble distance from the finish line. 

The hour forty-five drive went smoothly however finding parking was a challenge. It always takes me a bit to get my bearings, I recognized the finish area, Queen Elizabeth Sports Ground, but drove too far past it. The clock was ticking and I was tempted to follow signs to the train station parking. I persisted though, wasting time, and was soon in the neighborhood I intended to park in. The side streets were packed solid with cars lining both sides allowing only a narrow single lane to drive through. 

Luckily I found an easy spot to dump the car in. I shouldered my duffle bag and started walking. Fortunately I had just driven the route to the station so I knew where I was going. I noted the name of the pub on the corner of the street I parked on. Power walking shortly turned into a mile and a half run through Oxford at 9pm at night! I made it with 5 minutes to navigate the self serve ticket machine. 

Now I had a 50 minute or so train ride with one change to Richmond. Planning ahead I had plenty of food to eat, I'd learned that lesson before. The train was quiet, you know in movies when someone's on an oddly empty train before something happens? Yeah, like that! Anyway, no aliens showed up and I arrived in Richmond around 1045pm. I grabbed some more food for breakfast at the station and walked the 5 minutes to the Travelodge. Richmond was a really cool looking hip area, and it was dripping with money, just as the wife had told me. Nice to visit but I've never been a city boy. 

At the hotel it took the guy way too long to get me checked in. I just wanted to go to bed. After 15 minutes of screwing around, no idea what the issue was, I was finally in my room. I dumped my stuff, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep. 

I really don't do myself any favors when it comes to relaxing the night before a race! 

morning of race pile o'kit

Even after a late night, at least for me, I slept alright. I had plenty of time in the morning to get organized and eat. There really wasn't much to do. I double checked my race vest and drop bags. Had a shower, and ate what food I had. The reality is running is a simple task that needs little preparation. 

I wandered about five minutes to race headquarters at Richmond Townhall. Passing restaurants I kind of wished I could just sit at a coffee shop rather than run 100 miles. I got in line to get my kit checked. The woman asked for my rain jacket and headlamp, despite the race requiring other items, I guess those were priority. She handed me a poker chip to prove I had passed her test. I next stood in line to get my race number. I told them my name and race number, handed them the poker chip, and in return I was given four safety pins and a number to pin to my shorts. After a few tries I sucessfully secured my number on. 

Richmond - downstream at start

Walking outside the sun was shining but the wind was cold. I was wishing I had a long sleeve on rather than my t-shirt. I soon found who to give my drop bag too. I'd have access to it around mile 51 at the Henley aid station. Shoes, socks, BodyGlide, extra food. I think that's all I had in there. More and more I'm realizing I can get away with far less, I nearly skipped the extra shoes this time however placebo is an amazing thing and a fresh pair of kicks could be nice if it happened to rain. 

Richmond - down stream from start

I gave my duffle bag to the guy transporting bags to the finish. Logistically this worked out perfectly.  I'll now run back to my car! Sometimes these races can be a pain without a crew but this one, despite a bit of a time crunch the night before, was working out extremely well. 

Richmond - runners gathering anticipating the start

Richmond - upstream from race tart

People gathered around the starting area seeking out the sun just as I did. The wind was surprisingly cold and wasn't warming up, I once again regretted my short sleeve shirt. Soon we were all called to the starting line for the pre-race briefing. I smiled as the race director joked about the race following the river upstream, assuming that everyone knew which way that was. I didn't! Otherwise nothing to really note, the weather was to be clear for the most part with a chance of spotty showers, night would be cold and clear, I was most worried about my hands freezing.

We were shortly off and I eased into a slow pace as I intended. This was my main goal. Go out easy. I notoriously go out too fast and then pay for it at the end. I didn't talk to many people, just didn't feel like it. I actually pulled out my phone once, took a few random pictures, and also called the family at one point. I don't like to have my phone out, being "that guy," but I guess that's what people do these days. 

random Thames Path photo

early in the race

Over much of the day nothing much exciting happened race-wise! I cycled through Clif Bloks and Tesco fruit bars every 30 minutes as well as one SaltStick tablet. Of course I ate whatever at aid stations. Nothing is ever really appealing. It's usually a waste of time trying to decide. I default to fruit but it's not very calorie dense so seemingly pointless. Fueling went really well all day. I drank only water as usual. 

it looks warm but the wind was chilly, see - gloves!

should've had my jacket on

The cold wind wore on me and once again could've used a long sleeve or jacket. I busted the gloves out of course. Growing up Nordic ski racing in thin gloves exposing my hands to frost nip has likely left them more susceptible to being cold. It's really annoying especially because the humidity here and the wet conditions don't imply it's going to be cold but it chills you deep. I fear my hands turning into "crab claws" making opening food packages difficult and messing with zippers impossible. 

Around mile 45 I was running by myself with no one around. I went through a gate and into some fields along the river. I soon saw people running on the opposite side of the river and still no one near me. Hmmm. I shortly realized I had missed a bridge! I'd ran maybe an extra couple miles on the wrong side of the river! Shit! I turned around and headed back. I crossed paths with a guy named Andreas, an Italian runner who'd done the same thing. The first footbridge we came to I saw the sign I missed. We crossed and were back on track. That could've been really bad because if you miss a turn you need to return to where you went wrong! Sure we'd likely have come to another bridge but it wouldn't have been allowed as we were off the official course.

The cold winds persisted and I busted out my rain jacket a couple times but it didn't breathe enough leaving me clammy and hot. A couple times the weather threatened rain but it never really built to much, that is until mile 51.

Andreas and I hit the Henley aid station at half way together, dark clouds rolled in and the skies opened up. Luckily I was under a tent doing what I do and stayed dry. I was trying to be more conscious of time at aid stations, especially this one, so I hit my lap button on my watch to see how long I was there. I did the normal things; changed shoes and socks, applied BodyGlide, grabbed my wind jacket. I also ate two big bowls of pasta. I was in and out in 20 minutes. Could I be faster? Probably, but that pasta has always been a life saver. 

On I went into the dark as night fell. Runners now had pacers and I ran with an English guy, Jack, who was being paced by his wife. This was his first 100. They had little kids and we discussed training around them, lack of sleep, etc. It was nice to see I'm not alone. We had good conversation and bounced back and forth. Later on I ran with another guy and his pacer who had a really solid run five minutes, walk one minute plan going. So I joined them for a while. 

Soon I recognized some of the course. Around 25 miles of the Thames Path was part of the Autumn 100 course and the aid stations were mostly the same. It was good and bad to have some familiarity. I was back running with Jack, sans pacer, and we worked together to keep running avoiding walking as much as possible. It worked well. I felt my sugars drop once during the entire race and quickly got more food on board. I'd tired of sugary energy food and had trouble finding things that were appetizing. Sugary was not what I craved. I soon switched to primarily coke and plain salty chips. I couldn't eat them fast enough! I subsisted on that at aid stations and via an extra plastic bag I brought with the rest of the race. I did eat more Clif Bloks and fruit bars but only if I had to. 

With maybe 15 miles to go Jack picked up another pacer. I forgot his name but he had experience and initially pushed us a bit too hard. Looking back it was a good thing. We ran a lot and at a solid pace into dawn. Leading into Oxford the dirt and grass gave way to paved bike path along the river. I surprisingly had to poop and the other guys pulled ahead a bit. It was the point where all goals digress to just finishing and being done. I didn't care about my place and hadn't looked at my overall time so didn't care much about beating them. Also I figured it best for Jack to finish with his pacer and likely have his wife at the finish. Having some random acquaintance finish your first 100 with you isn't that big of a deal but I figured it best to let them go ahead without me and they finished a minute or so ahead. 

I soon strolled into the finish very happy to be done. I received my belt buckle. My main goal had been met and secondly the most important thing was I got my pacing right and wasn't reduced to a walk! Race execution went pretty much perfectly. No major feeding issues, no blisters, no chafing, correct pacing. Sure I could've used warmer clothes, my only complaint. 

happy to be done

pirate's finishing booty

Strava screen shot

finisher's shirt

under 24 hours belt buckle

After a long hot shower I stumbled my way to my car, about a half mile. It was early morning and I'd guess most passerbys thought I was drunk from a long night out! I drove for about a half hour, pulled over and slept in my car. 

Post race looking back I was very happy. Training can always be better but I work with what I've got. The main thing though is I had zero sore muscles. Why? I'd been doing a muscular endurance focused strength routine. It'd leave me sore for a few days but obviously worked! My joints were pretty beat down though. I took a week off and now I'm slowly building my miles back up.

As I write this I'm in Scotland hoping for a solid week of hills as I build up for the South Wales 100 In mid June. I've never done two hundreds in a season and SW100 has a ton of vert passing through Brecon Beacons National Park. On we go.