Thanks to Tony and Lyn for this report …
What a beautiful, chilly but still and dry night it was (Saturday April 29th).
At 10:30 pm, volunteers were setting up a gazebo with refreshments for runners in the 6th annual Thames Path 100-mile race from London to Oxford.
While waiting for the first runners to arrive, we found lights on the path by the cricket field. This was something completely different. A group of walkers who had set off at 8 am and were intending to cover 100 miles in three days, raising money for charity.
Minutes later we saw more lights coming along the path. This time it was two young men who had set out from Sutton Courtenay, one a visitor from the Netherlands who was training for a four-day walk in his own country, but was now ready to call in for a pint at an Abingdon pub.
Finally at about 11.15 pm the first TP100 runner arrived, Michael Stocks aged 48, who had already been running for 13 and a quarter hours. We knew his father Neville, himself a marathon runner, was eagerly monitoring the race from Cape Town, South Africa.
Michael’s wife Jane and her friend Helen (whose husband Rob was Michael’s running mate for the last 22 miles, lighting the way and opening gates) were waiting with water, hot drinks, fruit, energy sweets and spare running shoes, but Michael didn’t want any of it. He took five seconds to check in with the race recorder and was off again, under the bridge towards the lock.
In the excitement we didn’t even have time to get any decent photographs (This one shows Jane holding out water bottles to Rob and Michael as they passed.)
Michael won the race, reaching the finish at The Queen’s College sports ground in 14 hours, 57 minutes and 53 seconds.
More than 250 runners started the race. The volunteers by the bridge were due to stay at their post until 11.30 am – 28 hours after the race started. Only those who finish in 24 hours get a certificate.
More about the race at: http://www.centurionrunning.com/races/thames-path-100-2017.
The TP100 is a 100 mile continuous trail race along the Thames Path from London to Oxford.
