Thames Path 100

On Saturday 4^th May, Grantham Running Club’s Chris Limmer lined up, for the second year running, on the start line of the Thames Path 100 mile race in Richmond, South West London.  In 2018 a combination of insufficient training and the extremely warm conditions meant that he was forced to retire at halfway, vowing to return in 2019 physically and mentally better prepared to complete the entire 100 mile course.

The race, which had just over 300 starters, commenced shortly after the 09:20 pre-race briefing and pack check to ensure possession of mandatory kit. The first few hours of Chris’ race were largely uneventful. Sticking to a strategy of taking short walking breaks after every 20-30 minutes of easy paced running meant he arrived in Staines at 20 miles looking and feeling fresh. It was here where he first met up with his brother David, who would be running with Chris much later in the race.

Miles 20-50 were made more eventful by the unpredictable weather. Although the race began pleasantly mild and breezy, there were no less than three hail storms in the afternoon and early evening which saw competitors scurrying under bridges and doorways to retrieve their waterproof coats from their packs. This section of the race saw Chris pick up the pace, climbing from 200^th at mile 12 to 59^th place when he arrived at the halfway point in Henley - psychologically a crucial juncture for it was here where Chris through in the towel twelve months earlier.

At this checkpoint Chris had a bag waiting with a change of clothes and some hot food to help replenish himself. From Henley to the race finish in Oxford competitors were permitted to have someone run alongside them. University friend Emma was the first of several who helped pace Chris, reaching the 58 mile checkpoint in Reading in eleven hours as darkness fell and the head torches came on for the long run into the night and beyond.

GRC’s Adrian Walker took over pacing duties at just after 66 miles. With a third of the race still to run (a ‘mere’ marathon and a few miles more) Chris was still able to maintain a steady pace and was beginning to feel confident of not just completing it but doing so in less than 24 hours.  The 12 mile section with Adrian contained some of the toughest terrain to run on with numerous rutted sections and littered with trip hazards as well as a number of surprisingly steep climbs given the generally flat nature of the Thames Path.  Having suffered so badly with the heat in 2018, it was perhaps ironic that now nighttime temperatures close to freezing point were now making keeping warm a real concern. Chris found that keeping going, no matter how slowly, was the best solution to this unexpected problem.

Chris met his penultimate pacer, brother David, at mile 79, with Chris, it is safe to say, not looking quite as fresh as he did when they were last together 13 hours and 59 miles earlier. For Chris this would mentally be the toughest section of the race for the walking breaks were getting longer and the running pace was slowing. With lots of long grass and yet more ruts to contend with Chris had to waste precious reserves of energy lifting his feet up to avoid a slip or a trip.

Chris and David arrived at the 85 mile checkpoint at 3:15am. After 18 hours on foot, the effort was taking its toll on Chris and he spent longer than planned at the checkpoint before resuming in the cold Oxfordshire countryside to tackle the final 15 miles.  This is a distance Chris and his brother can comfortably cover in an hour forty five, Chris knew that those nighttime miles could easily take double that time.

With the encouragement of his brother, after a couple of miles Chris began running more regularly, listening intently for David's watch to bleep to indicate the end of another mile and another mile closer to the finish of the Thames Path 100. By Abingdon at mile 91, as the sun began to slowly rise from the east, Chris was close to exhaustion.  Chris’ final pacer Ed had the unenviable task of persuading Chris to the finish line. This he attempted with a little tough love and friendly nagging to try and coax an unwilling Chris to try and keep running for sustained periods. 

An hour or so later and just a couple of miles from the finish, Chris’ walking pace barely slower than his running pace. As a result, he decided to walk the final stages as briskly as he could. Passing the last few bridges on the approach to the finish, the emotions pent up over the course of the race began to bubble up - the first tears of pride and exhaustion beginning to form.  Turning left and off the Thames for the last time he finally approached the finish line. The welled up tears began to fall from weary eyes as Chris mustered one final run to the end, cheered on by many of his support crew, who had barely slept themselves.

Crossing the finish line just before 7am, 21 hours 24 minutes and 56 seconds after the start, Chris was quickly handed his finishers’ buckle before being reunited with his crew. Overwhelmed and thoroughly exhausted, Chris had done it! Not only had he defeated the race which had badly beaten him up twelve months earlier, he finished in a highly respectable fiftieth place overall.

The race was won in an incredible 14:36:25 Ian Hammett of Bedford Harriers, just 26 minutes outside the course record. GB International Ultra Runner Debbie Martin-Consani  won the women’s race in 17:40:08, finishing tenth overall. Of the 309 starters 225 finished, with 123 being awarded a special 100 miles in 1 day belt buckle.