Inspiration
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The Race
Sunday, February 17th, 2008It has been the fine ultra marathon event every runner was expecting, a glorious day perfectly organised by Kathy, Steve and the entire team.
It is the friendliness, dedication and professionality of the team behind this event that lets it stand out among similar races; the cheerfulness of the race marshals at the most ghastly hour and minus temperatures, the love of detail when it comes to providing hot tea at a later check point or placing signs when navigation seems ambiguous and the excellent Odlo running shirt given to each competitor at the finish line, a welcome alternative to the cotton T-Shirts given at other races that may be comfortable to wear at the beach during summer holiday but not for your daily training run. Excellence, you have a new name: Thames Meander!
I arrived early at Kings Meadow in Reading, almost two hours before the start. I like to be early at races to have plenty of time for those last-minute preparations and to set my mind for a great race. But I also wanted to have a chance to see the remnants of Reading abbey that are at a short distance from the train station and Kings Meadow. Amazing to see those stones laid by masons one millennium ago and still standing, although badly damaged through centuries of destruction and neglect. What might remain in a thousand years time of today’s architecture, say the Gurkin or the new City Hall building? History will tell.
Of course Kathy, Anke and Steve we already in full action at Kings Meadow, organising the registration of the runners, positioning the marshals along the route, making sure all water supplies were allocated to the check points, etc. After a few kind words from Steve we set off, following the river downstream, full of anticipation for a great day out in the countryside.
I headed out with a light pair of long tights and a short-sleeved shirt plus a long-sleeved one on top. I took great care not to start sweating, as wet clothing would cool me down tremendously - after all, temperatures were around freezing point. About an hour into the race the sun provided some warmth so that I took off my long-sleeved jumper but keeping my gloves on for the duration of the race.
It takes a few minutes only to leave the city of Reading behind and be welcomed by the charming river meandering its way through the countryside. Waterfowl everywhere, beautiful swans and ducks on their morning swim while we kept chugging along with our race backpacks.
The Thames Path was quite dry this year as we didn’t have much rain the last days and the flooding of the river had subsided a while ago. The first hour or so the ground was frozen with white patches of frost in the shade, soon to be gone once the suns rays reached everywhere, enlightening the river in all its splendour.
From my participation two years ago I remembered that house in the Lower Shiplake area that had a miniature train station and railway in its extensive garden, and I was delighted to spot it again. How much fun must that be for children to play with the train, loading and unloading the wagons and going on a ride through the park!
Shortly after we reached Marsh Lock, this tremendous long walkway over the river where you see the water rushing below your feet while running safely a yard or so above.
At Henley I saw this Mississippi-style steamboat on the moor and I immediately thought of the musical Show Boat and it’s most famous song “Ol’ man river”; except that good old Joe was not around to sing it. Wrong river, wrong continent I suppose …
Check point one was just a short stroll away from Henley, within sight of Temple Island. I tried to keep my time at the check points relatively short, filling up my bottle with fresh water and adding maltose sugar, maybe adjusting clothing or getting out some food to eat on the next stage and then heading out to the Thames Path again. It was not a matter of saving time, as I was not racing this event for a personal best, but I did not want to cool out at the check points since temperatures were still around 0 to 3 degrees.
Temple Island with its beautiful temple building is a sight of breathtaking beauty, one of the many special and historic sites that the Thames Meander passes by.
Shortly after Temple island I had a little accident: While trying to tear out that bag of nuts from my front pouch of my racing backpack, the bag broke and all the nuts went flying to ground. What a bummer! My first thought was “thank goodness this is happening here at the Thames Meander and not at the Marathon des Sables!” I’ll think of something so that such a mishap won’t happen in the desert. And the ducks at Temple Island had a magnificent Sunday lunch.
The Thames Path between Temple Island and Marlow is very pastoral, green with some smaller hills and beautiful sights of the countryside. At Marlow I got a glimpse of the “Compleat Angler”, the inn where in 1653 Izaak Walton is believed to have written his world famous book on angling and fly fishing.
Check point two was just a mile away next to the A404 bridge. Good to stock up on some water and grab a fresh bag of nuts from my backpack.
Between check points two and three we passed one of the more affluent areas along the Thames, with beautiful houses on the Thames in the Maidenhead area. Crossing the Maidenhead bridge we were only two miles away from the third check point. I stopped briefly to refuel on water, still running in my short-sleeved black running top as the sun kept me warm as long as I moved quickly.
After Bray lock the Thames Path is fairly green and secluded again, although a bit boring after the beauty of the Maidenhead area. However, this is the perfect build-up to Eton and Windsor Castle. It is breathtaking to approach the majestic castle from the west as it rests triumphantly in the late afternoon sunshine! Crossing the bridge from Eton to Windsor saw us surrounded by tourists who might have wondered what these fellas with backpacks and race numbers might be doing at the UK’s premier tourist location.
After crossing Albert Bridge and passing Old Windsor Lock the sun started to set. It was still light enough to navigate without a torch, but temperatures started to drop quickly. I passed a family with two children; when the boy saw me running by, he asked me if I was competing in a race. I explained what I was doing; having seen my race number 7, he exclaimed “Number 7 is my lucky number! I hope you win that race!” I didn’t tell him that the winner of this race was probably at Molesey boat house at that time, enjoying his 2nd pint of lager, so I said “I’ll do my very best, and with your good luck nothing can go wrong”.
Passing Magna Carta island, it was almost pitch black, historic proof that they must have signed that document during sober daylight.
Checkpoint four just short of Bell Weir Lock was great, Anke handing out hot tea to the runners and all the marshals helping out where they could to accommodate the runners. I put on my warm long tights and an extra layer of clothes on top to keep warm. Temperatures were around freezing point now and having run for 9 hours my body was getting low on carbohydrates to burn for extra warmth.
Leaving checkpoint four I got lost a number of times as it was completely dark and I had to rely on my head lamp for spotting those Thames Path signs. After the M25 bridge I was back on track and followed a fellow runner that did the navigation part for me. With more than 10 hours on the path and the darkness I don’t have lots of memories of this part of the race, except that it was cold, very cold. But that was expected, just as the weather forecast had predicted, and it is part of the Thames Meander challenge; by signing up for the race, cold temperatures are part of the package.
Having adjusted to the darkness and walking/running with my new friend, we managed to find checkpoint five in Shepperton with ease. With just five miles to go to the finish and still having some water in our bottles, we opted to go straight on, not giving in to the temptations of the warm and cosy pubs of Shepperton as some other runners had.
Crossing Walton bridge we knew that it was smooth sailing from there to the finish. We had a good chat about the Marathon des Sables and other races to keep our minds occupied with other things, so time went by quickly. Too quickly, all the sudden I was passing Molesey Cricket Club and then there was the Molesey Boat House! I made it, some 13+ hours after taking off from Reading. Best thing: No injuries, no blisters and still in good spirit.
Ah, and - yes! - I did sign up for the 2009 Thames Meander. There isn’t a finer ultra marathon in the UK than this one. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
No Comments »Dear River Thames
Sunday, January 6th, 2008Dear River Thames,
You keep moving along,
Not knowing where you’re going,
Or where you’ve come from.
Your head’s in the valley,
Your feet in the sea,
Dear River Thames,
Stay a while, stay a while,
Listen to me.
Dear River Thames,
Distress blurs my mind,
Through London’s gray pastures,
So bleak and unkind.
Clear blue through meadows,
Darker through town,
Dear River Thames,
Stay by me, stay by me,
And don’t let me down.
Dear River Thames,
Sail me down to the sea,
Where seagulls sing anthems,
And circle around free.
And there I shall rest,
Where the waters descend,
Dear River Thames,
For the ride, I must confide,
That you are my friend.
(Ralph McTell)
No Comments »An ultra runner’s new year resolutions
Monday, December 31st, 20072002: “I will run a marathon this year! My first one!”
2003: “Sweetheart, last year I overdid it - no more than five marathons this year.”
2004: “I will cut down on my racing and do more household chores - ten marathons this year, max. Promise!”
2005: “OK, less running this year, no more than 15 ultras (besides the marathons). Seriously.”
2006: “Darling, I promise, I’ll do the Marathon des Sables only this one time!”
2007: “Sweetheart, but . . . there are no more than a dozen 100milers in all of Europe I could possibly run this year . . . What, you want a holiday in Hawaii? Let me check when they’ve got a decent ultra over there. . .”
2008: “The Marathon des Sables? I need to do it in March as my warm up for . . . Darling?. . . SWEETHEART? . . . HELLO!”
No Comments »A runners christmas
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007On the 10th day of Christmas my true love sent to me…
10 golden medals
9 blackened toe nails
8 races per quarter
7 pairs of trainers
6 masters moaning
5 Olympic rings …
4 water sachets
3 winner’s medals
2 referees
and a Thames-Meander new PB
You might be an ultra runner if … (part II)
Friday, December 7th, 2007- You try to tie double knots in your Oxfords
- Livestock salt blocks look good after a long run
- When your crew tries to keep you motivated by saying, “You’re in second place and only 6 hours behind first with 25 miles to go!”
- If the frame around your licence plate says “My other car is a pair of Nikes”
- When a prospective employer asks for a photograph and all you have is race photos
- Your wife asks you the morning after your first 50 miler if you’re still planning on that 100K in five weeks, and you say “Sure!”
- You start planning the family vacation around races, and vice-versa
- You have more fanny packs and water bottles and flashlights than Imelda Marcos has shoes
- Your number of toes to toenails doesn’t match
- If you fly your flag at half mast every time your shoe company discontinues the model you’ve just committed to for life
- You are told *not* to run another marathon during the next few months (because that would be bad for your health), and you really follow that advice - by immediately sending off the entry form for your next 50/100 miler
- You’re tempted to look for a bush when there’s a long line for the public restroom
- You have more buckles than belts
- When you don’t finish on the same day as the winner
- Everything in your life, everything, is organized in different sized zip-loc bags
- You drink from a water bottle at the dinner table
- No one believes you when you say “never again”
You might be an ultra runner if … (part I)
Monday, December 3rd, 2007- 6am is sleeping in
- You run marathons for speed work
- Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age in miles with some fellow crazies
- You know all the competitors prices on powerbars
- You postpone your wedding because it will interfere with your training
- Your weekend runs are limited by how much time you have, not by how far you can run
- When you can recite the protein grams by heart of each energy bar
- You carry money around in a zip lock bag because store clerks complained that your money’s usually too sweaty
- When you start considering your next vacation location on the merits of its ultras only
- People at work think you’re in a whole lot better shape than you think you are
- You actually are in a whole lot better shape than you think you are
- You wonder why they don’t make all running socks a dusty brown color
- Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile training run
- If you can say “fartlek” without getting embarrassed
- You really envied Tom Hanks’ long run as Forest Gump
- Somebody asks about the distance of an upcoming race and you, without thinking, say, “Oh, it’s just a 50K.”
- People praise you to the high heavens for being able to finish a marathon, and you feel insulted
Old Father Thames (Song by Peter Dawson)
Sunday, November 25th, 2007High in the hills, down in the dales,
Happy and fancy-free,
Old Father Thames keeps rolling along
Down to the mighty sea.
What does he know, what does he care?
Nothing for you or me!
Old Father Thames keeps rolling along
Down to the mighty sea.
He never seems to worry,
Doesn’t care for fortune’s fame;
He never seems to hurry,
But he gets there just the same.
Kingdoms may come, kingdoms may go:
Whatever the end may be,
Old Father Thames keeps rolling along
Down to the mighty sea.
No Comments »The Thames (Sir John Denham, 1615-1668)
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
My eye, descending from the Hill, surveys
Where Thames among the wanton valleys strays.
Thames! the most loved of all the Ocean’s sons,
By his old sire, to his embraces runs,
Hasting to pay his tribute to the sea,
Like mortal life to meet eternity;
Though with those streams he no resemblance hold,
Whose foam is amber, and their gravel gold:
His genuine and less guilty wealth t’explore,
Search not his bottom, but survey his shore,
O’er which he kindly spreads his spacious wing,
And hatches plenty for th’ensuing spring;
Nor then destroys it with too fond a stay,
Like mothers which their infants overlay;
Nor with a sudden and impetuous wave,
Like profuse kings, resumes the wealth he gave.
No unexpected inundations spoil
The mower’s hopes, nor mock the ploughman’s toil;
But godlike his unwearied bounty flows;
First loves to do, then loves the good he does.
Nor are his blessings to his banks confined,
But free and common as the sea or wind;
When he, to boast or to disperse his stores,
Full of the tributes of his grateful shores,
Visits the world, and in his flying tow’rs
Brings home to us, and makes both Indies ours;
Finds wealth where ’tis, bestows it where it wants,
Cities in deserts, woods in cities, plants.
So that to us no thing, no place, is strange,
While his fair bosom is the world’s Exchange.
O, could I flow like thee, and make thy stream
My great example, as it is my theme!
Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull;
Strong without rage, without o’erflowing full.
Inspiration #4: Walking through the desert
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Walking through the desert is an act of cleansing, of detoxification, of self discipline which sharpens your thinking.
All civilisations disrespect the human body. We live like cattle, locked up in our stables. Walking through the desert is to leave that stable. It is a form of cure to re-establish health, in stark contrast to the sea baths and spas which are a mixture of cheap hotel and training camp for young nurses.
The simplicity of life in the desert dissolves toxins in your body. The Sahara has an ideal climate: Hot, dry air and plenty of sunshine. You are forced to walk, hundreds of kilometres. Since you carry all your belongings on your back you leave all unnecessary things at home - no alcohol, no TV, no tobacco. You go to bed with the sun and raise with the sun. You sleep under open skies. No house, no running water, no electricity. Just plain life.
(Otl Aicher: Walking through the desert)
Panta Rhei!
Thursday, November 1st, 2007Heraclitus, born 535BC in Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor, was a pre-socratic philosopher most famous for his philosophy of change and his aphorism “Panta Rhei!”. He believed that change is real and stability illusory; for Heraclitus, everything is in constant flux:
Everything flows and nothing is left unchanged, or
Everything flows and nothing stands still, or
All things are in motion and nothing remains still.
This is so familiar to us runners. We experience the landscape flowing past us on every run, much like sitting in a barge floating downstream. Running along a great river, following its banks, bends, scars and cataracts is like following a great minds biography. After running a few hours we become one with the riverbed and feel every one of its aching turns, blocking locks and liberating shoots, experiencing the river’s life like Smetana depicted the Moldau in his famous second movement of Má vlast. Experiencing flow, as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi understood it, is the ultimate path to happiness. We know this feeling as runner’s high.Flow. Change as the only constant in life. The Thames, meandering like our lives do from brook to the open sea, around mountains, challenges, success, happiness and sorrow, yet keeping it’s secrets embedded in its depths and currents.
New things come, and old things go
But all things look the same to Joe.
Wars go on and some folks die,
De rest forget de reason why.
Ah gits weary, an’ sick o’ tryin’,
Ah’m tired o’ livin’, and skeered o’ dyin’,
But Ol’ Man River, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along!
(Showboat, music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
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