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Thames Trot ultra 50 2014
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I am definitely entering this now. Starting at a Pub, though? At least I can have some of the best painkiller known to man before I start (Guinness).
LE: (ref. navigation), TT50 should be really easy to navigate - permanently marked path and all that. Which is true up to a point. However, there are a couple of points where it's a bit tricky - there are some descriptions of what to look out for in last year's thread http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/ultra-/-adventure-racing/thames-trot-50-training/229779-1.html - certainly worth a recce or two if you can manage it.
The real problem this year was that flooding meant two thirds of the route was diverted, mainly onto roads, but also some very muddy bridleways. A route book & map was provided, but navigation was certainly needed, particularly in the last section through the woods.
Probably a stupid question, but apart from the fact that the Trot doesn't actually start on the Thames Path and the TP100 has a different finish location, I assume the Trot would cover the same route as the second half of the TP 100 ? I've done most of the first half of the 100 and wanted to use this as a recce for the rest. Thanks.
Thank you Debra. I will try and get down South on a regular basis to have a little recce of the route.
I think my training will consist of runs along the Foss. That tends to flood quite often, so should be quite good training.
I'm planning on reccying the Thames Trot 50 on 27th Dec from Oxford train station Just thought I'd put it on here in case you can join me. About 7mm pace for 25 miles to a train station so then you can get the train back. Spread the word.
Then from Reading to Henley probably on 31st Dec Contactdaniel@gmail.com
I wanted a family room Blakester, so I'm in the Premier Inn. It's the Oxford Business Park one, about 1.5 miles away.
I managed to get a B&B in Iffley, which seemed to be cheapest and nearest. Haven't quite worked out transport yet as I'll probably be solo but may try to leave car at the finish the night before. If anyone is coming from Essex direction would be happy to try and share something.
Recovered from Cornish marathon Kevin? Quite a few hills in it. 3:53 for me which was ok considering no long runs for the last 4-5 months. A few long runs this month and I'll be good to go!
Jeremy - that was brutal. My slowest marathon since the first many years ago - once I knew I was missing 4 hrs I just decided to take it easy... I guess I have my excuses as I couldn't even walk 6 days before, but still felt a bit disappointing to fail to make the 4 hr cut after all this time !
I'm going to use this as a recce for the bit of the TP100 I haven't seen yet, so lets hope for no flooding. I'm not too worried about the time, but we will see....
Just got my wait list place for Thames Trot... last time I saw Kevin was on hill during Comrades in SA earlier this summer. Guess from the preceding thread that the Thames Path may be less of a 30c dust ball event? Assume trail shoes are a must?
PS also doing Country to Capital (by same organiser) in Jan.. Anyone also doing that? If so, which are you pushing hard and which is just to enjoy the scenery?
Depends if it's flooded (like last year) or frozen (like the year before), Piers, trail shoes for the former, but road shoes would suffice for the latter. It's a hard one to get right really, because of the time of the year and the terrain. I pretty much always run in trail shoes anyway, so it's more a case of how aggressive they need to be. Personally, I'm hoping for snow this year.
I think there's a Country to Capital thread on here, btw.
And good luck getting of the wait list.
Kevin as you say it was a good result just to finish in one piece. As I was pacing it I didn't find the course too bad but wouldn't like to race it! Glad I did it though, I've found that 3 weeks after doing a long training run I get a definite jump in fitness. Just in time to start my London 18 week plan.
Good luck with the wait list Piers - the organisers keep sending emails offering deferments so I guess there is quite a demand for places.
I'm thinking of racing without a backpack and just a handheld bottle of water. I know the course but I can't help thinking it may be a silly thing to do. But then again the CPs are not that far apart and I'm hoping to finish in about 6 to 7 hours. not having the extra weight would help quicken the pace too.
Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this?
A couple of days
agoI tried to run from Reading to Culham on the path but it was flooded so I stuck to roads and higher paths.
The hilliest, is that a real word, part was around Whitchurch on Thames which is just a little over half way. If the weather is wet on race day I'll be wearing my trail shoes. The field around Pangbourne looked as if it is flooded often so come race day we all might be diverted to the road up Purley Rise. I ran along that road yesterday and it's all uphill
for about a mile
Kevin, in answer to your question, I met Lee Kelly, the other day who is doing the 100. He said that the second half of the 100 is the TT50 but in reverse so yes you're right.
Daniel. As a hopeful sub 10 hours finisher I am not well placed to give you advice. But I will be watching the weather. I will certainly have a back pack if only so I can stash some clothing as I am sure the jacket, gloves and hat might be on and off during the day. I never run with a hand held bottle of water, to me a back pack seems easier. Also I got tennis elbow a couple of years ago due to holding a dog leash during most of my training runs!
Lots of freezing, deep water along the course at the moment. I'm hoping for some cold, dry weather in January.
Tiago: that sounds familiar (thinking of last year)...
so assuming it doesn't dry out will the course head onto nearby roads?
I think thats what happened last year, which is a real pain when I wanted to use it as a recce for another event. Oh well....
Incidentally, although an 11 hr cut-off doesn't particularly bother me, isn't that quite tight for some people ?
I think it's going to be tight for me, Kevin. I did 30 miles in 5.45 last Friday and although 5.15 for 20 sounds achievable, I'm not sure what kind of shape I'll be in towards the end, especially with all this deep, freezing cold water!
Hopefully it was just the mince pies slowing me down!
I think it will be tight for me too, never run that far before so what will be will be, but hopefully i'll make it
Going to be tight for me too! My NDW50 time was just over 13 hours so I have to try and knock off just over 2 hours!! This is different though, its flatter and I have more experience now
At the end of the day im just going to give it my all and see what happens! Good luck everyone, 4 weeks to go!!! 
I think that Back 2 Basics and others, are being more alarmed about the time limit of this race than they need to be.
If a race has a time limit of 11 hours, it is usually because it only takes 11 hours to finish it. There are exceptions of course. If in doubt look at the DNF rate last year, and if it is typical for a race of this length, then it obviously has that time limit because it is a fast course.
I would add that Go Beyond are not uber strict about their time limits. They are only there more so that the marshals don’t have to stay out till midnight.
Ben, thanks for the reassurance , also i would like to finish well before the cut off as I'm hopeless in the dark.
Your marathon PB can be a good guideline for this race.
A person with a 4 hour marathon PB can typically do it in about 9 hours with the right strategy. I ran my first marathon in about 4.02,then a couple of months later I ran the Thames Trot as my first 50 in about 9.11.
My advice would be to run the first half of the race faster than a training run but slower than a marathon. After that switch to a strategy of alternating between running 25 minutes, then walking five. As necessary you can later drop the ratio to 20/5 or 15/5.
Thanks Ben Davies. It looks like we double our marathon time and add 12% . That's similar to estimating a marathon time from a half marathon time.
As this is my first ultra, I'll admit that the whole thing is a worry. From cut-off times to feeding strategies. I'm hoping that the river drops in level over the next few weeks and we don't end up running the alternative course that was run last year!