Thames Path 100

Date: 3rd May 2014 Location: Thames path Distance: 100 miles Assent: 900ft Navigation: Fully marked course by organisers and Thames Path signs Time Limit: 28hrs

Well what can I say about the race, Firstly I want to thank you all SO MUCH for your support and kind messages and donations before and after the race, Sorry I didn’t respond after the race  I had serious Garfield eyes and could barely keep them open on the journey home, So much so I was worried when getting the train from Oxford to Paddington I would wake up again in Oxford having already gone to Paddington, Yes that sort of thing has happen to me before.

As you all may know I’ve been having issues with my feet for the last few months and have seen running specialists and a physio to try and sort out the problem, I’m going to try a completely different style of shoe in the next few weeks and hopefully this will make a difference in my next race which is in 6 weeks time (South Downs Way 100).

This race however didn’t go well at all, I started off ok and by mile 40 I was getting some serious pain in both my feet and had to switch to walking 5 miles running 2 miles until mile 85, By mile 60 I found out that I had trench foot and from there until mile 95 I was down to just a walk as the pain was so bad, Got to checkpoint at 95 miles and was feeling so so dizzy and could not speak properly and the tip of my tongue was tingling  by this point I just drenched myself in water to cool off, I ended up walking the last 5 miles so so slowly and had to sit down a few times as I was so lightheaded, A lady that was running on the path just past the 95 mile checkpoint saw me sitting down and started chatting to me asking if I was ok and she said that there was only about 2 1/2 miles left until the finish, I was so out of it by this point and seeing stars…Not a good thing, she started walking with me and asking if I was OK for fluid, Took my drink bottle and ran ahead to the lock and brought me back some more water….How nice is that, She said that she was in awe and today my have inspired her to compete in an ultramarathon one day . I want to say a big thank you to her,Thank you Emma Carter and to Matt as well for walking some of the way with me too.

Next year I will be back with a vengeance and I’m going to knock out a much better time that’s for damn sure.

In conclusion I found the race very mentally challenging as I know that I was more then capable of completing the course in a much better time and having to walk for so much of it is very demoralizing,But one think they say in running, you run the first part of the race with your body and the second part with your mind, well this was definitely the case in this race.

My main mantra in life is quite simple , I say that with everything in life no matter what happens

NEVER NEVER GIVE UP.

RACE STATS

RUNNERS STARTED – 228

RUNNERS FINISHED – 147

RUNNERS DROPPED – 81

MY PLACING – 125

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