Thames Path 100 2013 Race Report

It's always difficult to sum up the experience of running, crewing or volunteering at a 100 miler. This was undoutbedly the most challenging week we've ever faced at Centurion. I was quite calm until Monday morning. At that point our careful eye on the river levels which had been in recession after one of the wettest years on record, was caught by the Henley River Cam which showed the levels beginning to rise over the path adjacent to the bridge. 

The river in flood

To cut a long story short, the deluge over the weekend preceding the race had fallen on saturated ground and with nowhere for the water to drain, it simply ran off in to the river and caused the levels to spike in an alarmingly short space of time, from well below the banks, to spilling over the top in places almost like the taps had been left on in the bath. As we drove down to the river to spend the day on the course on the Tuesday, our hearts were in our mouths as we pulled up to various sections. Walton was ok, Wraysbury was ok, Windsor and even Cookham were still ok. Then we pulled in to Bourne End and walked down to the path to find a 200 metre section completely under water. All that could be seen of it were benches marooned as islands in the stream. Driving on up to Marlow things were ok again but at Henley and most alarmingly at Streatley and Wallingford, the Thames Path was under water.

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The danger presented to runners of course has nothing to do with the depth of the water sitting on the path, but rather the inability to distinguish between the path and the bank of the river itself. During the event particularly at night, a runner unable to tell the two apart could easily step off in to deep water and be carried downstream. With the current as strong as it was in the river, anyone falling in would have been swept away in an instant. Consulation with the environment agency followed. Would the river continue to rise? If there was more rain, then yes. More rain was forecast every day between Tuesday and race day. At that point we reverted to replanning the race using our flood route/ back up course.

Photo credit to Stuart March - thanks Stuart! View more photos.

The New Route

As a trail runner myself I've been subject to course changes and race cancellations over the years, both at home and abroad. The most important thing to me, is that should a course need to be changed due to a situation out of the control of the race organiser, that the race a. still be held as far as safety permits b. that that course remain the same distance as the original event and c. still take in as much of the original route as possible without the need for navigation (unless that be a stipulation of the initial event).

The 100 mile distance is unique. It is a huge round number and as far as we were concerned the distance would need to be upheld or we postponed the race. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday pouring over the maps looking for alternative link ups to miss out the sections of river we knew to be flooded, but our greatest fear remained nagging at us throughout, the possiblity that the river may rise during the course of the race, leaving runners stranded or trapped by rising water levels. Our course marker James Binks had been out on Sunday where the river had risen by 9 inches over the two hours he was out running the path north of Henley. 

Due to the flooding immediately north of Cookham and the possibility of more dramatic flooding upstream of that point, we planned to restrict the course to the first 38 miles of the original route only and hold the race as a series of out and backs.

I left the house at 5am on Saturday morning and the truck lurched around the first corner in the thick and settling snow. Arriving in Richmond the snow was falling but not settling. We had no idea how many would show up to register in this weather. All told 164 souls arrived to run 100 miles in under 30 hours. 

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Just before the race start at 10am I scanned the field and saw many familiar faces. There were the front runners including amongst the ladies, Mimi Anderson who'd won the ladies event last year, and the Scottish 100 mile record holder Debbie Martin-Consani. There were the guys and girls shooting for the 100 mile One Day buckle, awarded to those completing the race in under 24 hours. And there were those at the back, to whom finishing was everything.

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The Race

The Thames Path especially on the section of the trail this years race took place on, is pan flat, however the sitting water and mud on the course were in places severe which countered the effects of the faster course somewhat. 

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Early in the day reports came in of Martin Bacon, David Ross and Justin Montague all running hard out front, clearing the 11 mile CP in 1:23 and change, pursued by a chase group including many talented ultrarunners but similarly first time 100 milers including Luke and Rick Ashton (not related).

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After a recent operation it wasn't to be Justin's day and he later dropped but Martin and Dave continued to forge a trail out ahead until Dave eventually began to pull away in typical fashion. As they came back through Windsor mile 82, the gaps were almost non-existent and within the space of 20 minutes we'd welcomed all 4 of those runners in and out together. For me the most solid of the group seemed to be Luke Ashton who had the outstanding attitude of genuinely not being overly concerned about his position, focusing only on getting to the finish line in his debut 100.

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An hour later I received a call from Dave stating that he was borderline hypothermic and walking towards Cookham, at which point his wife Mel raced off to get him some warmer clothing. I was gutted for Dave as he had put so much in to the first 90 miles only to have it come undone as it so often can late in a 100. That left the door open for the other 3, we had no idea until the first runner appeared in to the growing lake over the path adjacent to the finish line, who that would be. It turned out to be Martin Bacon, who'd delved in to his wealth of 100 mile experience to push through and finally elevate himself from regular podium placer, to champion in a time of 18:10:53, thoroughly deserved and a tenacious performance from beginning to end. Just under 3 mintues later Luke Ashton came home in second place, followed 21 minutes after that by Rich Ashton to round out a 1,2,3 including 2 first time 100 milers. Dave Ross gutted out his finish, a superb effort under the circumstances and came home in 6th overall. 

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On the ladies side, Mimi Anderson the previous champion suffered with some issues early on and unfortunately dropped, leaving the door open for Debbie Martin Consani to push out alone at the front all day for the win in 19:19:20. Debs arrived at registration fairly late on and with her husband/ crew Marco in tow. The utlrarunning talent in the Martin-Consani family is something to behold. I first got a report on the race from the guys at Walton who mentioned that Debs was cruising along about 30th place and looking relaxed. What unfolded was a master class in pacing, determination and planning. Debs didn't stop at aid stations, and by that I mean she literally ran straight past us at mile 82 ensuring we got her number, not breaking stride and ploughing straight through the gigantic puddle under the railway arch leading out to the final out and back.

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As she'd gone through the day her CP positions read: 37, 27, 11, 8, 6, 5 and my money was on the fact that she'd push the guys all the way. In the end she came home in 4th place overall in a time of 19:19. On a 103.8 mile course with sitting water and mud for vast stretches that is a mind blowing performance.  Wendy Shaw ran a superb consistent race from beginning to end, elevating herself from regular sub 24 hr 100 miler to 2nd place finisher with a time of 20:58. Third was picked up by Ellen Cottom in 24:19, again a first time 100 miler. 

Photo credit to Stuart March - thanks Stuart! View more photos.

There are so many incredible stories behind so many of the runners in an event like this that it becomes impossible to touch upon them all so I'll pick out just two that exemplified the overall event for me.

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Jack and Clive

My own race felt tied to that of Jack Mortassagne and Clive Bugeja, from the week following the 2012 event. Our cut offs at that race had been staggered allowing a slowing pace towards the end. Both Clive and Jack had been captured by the particularly tight cut off at Benson, ending a 7 mile stretch which they both felt had stopped them from completing. I listened to their reasoning and made the big decision to bring in equal paced cut offs from the start allowing an average pace of 3.3mph from start to finish.

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Both Clive and Jack were coming back for retribution and I was determined that they both finish. Alongside them were a group of other runners who had been stopped within 9 miles of the finish in 2012. My main focus on race weekend is ensuring I know where all runners are on course at all times. Most times I checked in with a closing aid station and asked who were the last runners through, I heard the same two numbers: 179 and 58. Jack and Clive. They weren't together, they weren't always last, they certainly weren't fast, but they were getting it done. As I waited in Windsor to close the 82 mile cut off, long after the first finishers had gone home, through came Clive and then through came Jack. They had an hour to spare at this point. They stoically got some hot food/ drink down, got ready and pressed ahead out of the aid station for the final 21 mile out and back. We drove off to Cookham to sweep the 92 mile aid station there and saw them both come through. Both were concerned about the cut off and had a right to be so, there was now a shrinking buffer between them and their ultimate goal, 30 minutes in Jacks' case and a little more in Clives. I head back to the finish with 90 minutes still to go on the clock. I both love and hate this part of the race. Seeing the emotion on the face of runners, crew and supporters upon crossing the finish line is the best part of the day. The reason we do it.

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The worst part is the agonising count down to the final cut off, where there is that chance that someone will miss out by minutes or even mere seconds. As the final hour rolled around, there were 9 runners still out on course. At 29:20 on the clock, out from under the railway arch emerged Clive Bugeja. Thinking about the relief on Clives face as he realised he had finally shaken off that huge monkey of a DNF on his back from a year ago will put a smile on my face whenever I think back to it. The minutes continued to tick by and we welcomed the other finishers home, Ann Bath a world record holder at the Vet60 distance (104 miles in 24 hours), Dave Foxy Bayley avenging his DNF at the Graveyard 100 from just 3 weeks earlier, Spenser Lane ticking off the first of his planned 4 events for the Grand Slam this year, Traviss Wilcox running his 3rd 100 of the year already and Roger Davis all fulfilling their pre-race goals of finishing.

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With 20 minutes to final cut I ran back down the course to try to encourage the final runners home in time to make the cut off. I got as far as the boat yard just before Windsor High Street where I found Jack running at an incredible clip, hotly pursued by our sweeper Jerry Smallwood. Jack looked utterly determined and focused, totally driven towards his goal and he didn't slow for anything, raising a high five as I informed him that he had it in the bag. We ran together the three of us through and up to that final puddle and through the railway arch to the finish line where he crossed in 29 hours 51 minutes and 26 seconds. Over 8 minutes to spare. As much as we put these events on for the elite guys and girls at the front, nothing will ever beat seeing the total joy on people's faces as they finish so close to the final cut off. Running for 30 hours with the constant looming threat of a cut off hanging over your head, that you might miss your finish after all of that time and effort in the months leading up to the race but especially during it and to finally rid yourself of all of that doubt in one beautiful moment. Nothing beats it.

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All in all a total of 90 runners made it home under the 30 hour cut off for a finishing percentage of 55%. 

The Thames Path will be back again in 2014, but we will look to change the date once again to better accomodate potential environmental conditions. Stay tuned over May/ June time for the launch of the next edition. 

Photo credit to Stuart March - thanks Stuart! View more photos.

Finally a huge thank you to all of our volunteers, without whom the race simply wouldn't have been possible. 

Photo credit to Stuart March - thanks Stuart! View more photos.