The build up to the 2026 Thames Path 100 miler was pretty much spot on. I had some decent long training runs under my belt, had been sleeping fairly well and enjoyed a good taper. I travelled up to London on the Friday, having booked a Travelodge just a 4 minute walk from the start at Richmond Upon Thames. A trip to Pizza Express for a large pizza and a pudding saw me right for an early night so I would be fully prepared for the weekend ahead.
Saturday morning, 2nd May, I was up and walking down to race registration, seeing familiar faces and enjoying the early buzz of pre-race chatter. At about 08:45 we were on the tow path ready for the race briefing and in no time it was 09:00 and we were off.
The first few miles tick off quite quickly, especially as we get caught up with some parkrunners and receive shouts of encouragement from them along with the marshals. Every thing is going well when I reach the first aid station at Walton, around 10.5 miles in. I noticed my watch didn’t alert me of the approaching aid station and I realised I hadn’t switched on mapping. In switching this on I managed to stop and save the run up to that point. In a mild panic and increasing anger I restarted the watch and had to just get on with it as there was nothing I could do about it, it wasn’t going to effect the way I was running and I could still see how far the next aid station/finish was.
I had a mate, Dan and his daughter Abs crewing me for this race. This allowed extra supplies to be handed to me at various crew points in the race – something which would really help me much later in the race. The first crew point was Staines and I had a small can of Fanta and a cheese and jam sandwich but I was already feeling quite sick at this point.
The next aid station is at Wraysbury at around 22.5 miles in. I only topped up one of soft flasks at this point. I carried on and it was a nice distraction to watch life on the Thames happening as I trundled on towards Windsor.
I saw Dan and Abs at mile 28, some rice pudding and another Fanta consumed and I was once again on my way.
Passing Windor Castle and onto the next aid station at Boveney – Mile 30.5. I was still feeling sick and hadn’t eaten as much as I knew I should have been. A quick top up at the aid station and a cup of cola and off I went. Within a few minutes the nausea had built and there was no point fighting it. Stood slightly off the trail and emptying my stomach is not ideal, especially with a smidge over 70 miles left to run but if 100 milers were easy, they’d be called marathons!
I felt pretty good after leaving breakfast and lunch back at Boveney and I ran quite well to the next crew point at Marlowe – the only downside was I was running on empty. The heavens had opened too and I did stop to put on a rain jacket to stop getting too cold.
I continued running well past Cookham aid station at mile 38 and onto Hurley then Henley at mile 51 where I once again met up with Dan and Abs. A couple of bowls of pasta and sauce were consumed and I donned a long-sleeved top ready for the night section and prepared my headtorch.
The next 8 miles or so ticked off without issue, I was still feeling nauseous but was holding onto my pasta. I got to Reading aid station at mile 58, saw Dan and also had a beer – ultra running has its perks!
Off I ran out of Reading and onto Pangbourne and Goring.
Just before Goring the sickness reappeared but resulted in only a bit of dry heaving. I was still running well, but I was quite slow so I skipped a number of walking breaks. I kinda knew I wasn’t going to make sub-24 hours.
I saw Dan at Benson – mile 79. I thought this was going to be the last time I’d see him until he met at the finish and I was feeling quite low until he reminded me I’d see him in Abingdon – mile 91. This lifted my spirits. Seeing a friendly face and being checked up on was a real help. As was messages from SJ and a number of friends – thank you!
It was much warmer than last year and I ended up taking my long-sleeved top off and as I was running better than last year I was generating a bit more heat and ticking the miles off quicker.
At Abingdon I managed another rice pudding. I thought, If I’m going to be sick, I’d rather it be having eaten something than just dry heaving. The rice pudding did the trick and I pushed on to the last aid station at mile 96.
A quick stop to chat to a friend who was volunteering at the last aid station, along with a packet of crisps and a mug of tea to take away and I was soon on the final few miles. I overtook a number of runners in these last miles, running much better than I thought was possible at this stage in a 100 miler. My last mile was 11:20min/mile pace.
I turned off the Thames Path and into Queens College cricket field at Oxford, crossing the line in 24hrs 50 minutes.
This was a post by guest author Paul Thompson.
