What two things have Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson and Sir Francis Drake all got in common? One answer is that they all have tributes to them in London….. and on a Saturday in 2013 we got to run past all three.
I’ve always fancied an ‘urban to countryside’ long run and Claire and I decided to run a 40 mile run from central London Back to Surrey as part of our training for 60mile Trailwalker in July. The Wey Canal near us in Godalming eventually links up with the Thames near Weybridge so with the Thames Path and Wey Canal Path we were offered a ‘superhighway’ between Godalming and London. 40 miles would be a new one day distance record for us both.
We arrived Saturday morning to a misty London with the top of the shard obscured by cloud. As is traditional I started my run with a ‘camelback soaking’ where my 3L camelback dumps some of its contents inside my rucksack and all over my bum. Its like the running equivalent of christening a ship with a bottle of champagne.
I am an expert when it comes to public transport and easily got us to london bridge station helping Claire who often finds trains and tubes confusing.
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| The Shard in London obscured by cloud |
Our official ‘start’ was the Tower of London and we set off in the cold mist and began running along the South Bank with Tower Bridge, The Tower of London and HMS Belfast nearby.
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| Our ‘start’ at London Bridge |
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| Claire and I setting off from Tower Bridge on the Thames Path |
We ran past HMS Belfast in her ‘dazzle Camoflage’ . HMS Belfast is now a floating museum but has seen action throughout World War 2 having been mined and providing support during the D Day Landings.
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| HMS Belfast moored next to the Thames Path national trail |
In a city so full of signs we expected that the Thames Path would be well marked. In fact in many places it proved as challenging as running in the countryside. There arent many signs and large chunks of the path are blocked by building works in various parts of the capital.
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| One of the small signs on a wall showing the Thames Path national trail |
Claire and I work as a team when running on unfamiliar paths, I run ‘heads down’ looking at ‘science’ shouting ‘it looks like the …er….next left somewhere here’ whilst Claire uses the mark I Eyeball pointing out the signs for the trail that she has usually spotted way before I’ve figured it out on the moving map.
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| Claire dancing on moving lights on the Thames Path near Southwark |
What was really enjoyable about running through this part of London was how quickly and frequently we would run past a little piece of history. We ran through an alleyway with the entrance to what was ‘The Clink’ which was a notorious Medieval prison and past a dock with a replica of Sir Francis Drakes ship the Golden Hind. We had barely had a chance to get back into a running stride when we also ran past the replica of the Globe Theatre (known as The Shakespeare Globe). The theatre is built within a few hundred metres of its original site.
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| Sir Francis Drakes ship ‘The Golden Hind’ |
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| Lee being ‘all shakespearian’ at the gates of the Globe Theatre |
We continued along the manicured shiggy free walk towards Westminster and got a great view of the houses of parliament on the opposite bank.
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| The Houses of Parliament viewed from the Thamas Path national trail |
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| Grafitti near the Royal National Theatre |
With so many benches and a view of the houses of parliament this was an opportunity not to be missed to get one of our famous ‘Smack’ Smile with your back, photos in the usual classic Greensand Way pose.
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| Lee doing a ‘Smack’ on the Thames Path national trail opposite the Houses of Parliament |
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| Claire doing a ‘Smack’ on the Thames Path national trail opposite the Houses of Parliament |
We stopped to help some japanese tourists take a picture of themselves (using their camera which only had screen instructions in japanese) and I put my jacket back in my bag as I was starting to give off steam from being too hot.
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| A vintage ‘smartphone’ in London on the Thames Path |
What also surprised us was how cold and windswept it was. We expected a run through the city to be fairly sheltered but it was just like running through open fields….without the mud.
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| Er…you cant park there |
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| A mural near Wandsworth Power Station |
We got to run round Wandsworth Power Station which for me is famous for being on the album cover of ‘Animals’ by Pink Floyd . This album was recorded in the year I was born and famously had a tethered giant flying pig for the photoshoot which blew away and landed in Kent! (the actual album cover photo has a superimposed pig because the trained sniper hired to shoot the pig if it blew away missed).
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| Running past the disused Battersea Power Station made famous on the cover of Pink Floyds album Animals |
As we left the Power Station behind we ran through Battersea Park and found ourselves part of an organised 10k run. Lots of people were running past us in the opposite direction with numbers on their tops. We felt hilariously awkward and I managed to get us slightly lost heading back to the river.
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| Claire and Lee accidentally join a race in Battersea Park |
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| Daffodils in Wandsworth Park
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We took a break at the 10 mile mark feeling good. We had been running at a steady 4.5mph and took 10 minutes to munch some food and I put another breathable layer on and my gloves. I was laughed at for being so rubbish at doing a mini trig point plank until Claire tried and realised how difficult it was.
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| Claire Mini Trig Point Planking on the Thames Path |
As we ran on through Barnes the scenery changed and the high rise iconic buildings of London changed into sailing club houses……lots of them. There must have been some kind of meet up going on because there were 8 person rowing boats everywhere. The even stranger thing seemed to be that they all seemed to be crewed by women. There were very few men about.
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| Boats with legs on the Thames Path |
We stopped to take a quick picture of Fulham Football Club as we ran past it. This has a very tasteful statue tribute to Michael Jackson outside of it that all the fans of the club simply adore, much like the brilliant Diana and Dodi tribute I once saw in Harrods.
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| Running Past the Fulham Football Ground on the Thames |
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| Caution Boats Crossing near Barnes on the Thames Path |
As we got near Chiswick and Mortlake things got much wetter. Much much wetter. With a high tide looming and about 6 months of excessive rainfall we found some stretches of the path under more than a little bit of water. With the path running up to buildings we had no choice but to leave the path and do a ‘dog leg’ round the submerged area and rejoin further down the path.
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| Flooded Thames Path near Mortlake |
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| Flooded Thames Path near Mortlake |
It was great to run past ‘the home of sports drink’ in the form of the Genuine American Draft Beer Budweiser (brewed in Mortlake) . With the amount of flooding in the area it isnt a surprise they are in court in Amercia for watering down their beer.
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| Claire poses next to the ‘home of sprts drink’ in mortlake on the Thames Path |
As we ran on and somewhere before Richmond we found some concrete listening ears like the World War 2 ones we found on our North Downs Way Run . When I shouted like an idiot into mine it didnt work but then when Claire told me to whisper I could clearly hear her whispering from a long way away.
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| Claire using Listening Mirrors on the Thames Path National Trail |
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| Lee with listening ears near the Thames Path National Trail |
As we ran on through Richmond and Kingston we had our 20 mile break and I felt surprisingly good. We had another 10 minute break and ate some food.
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| Claire Through the Keyhole on the Thames Path |
Its common that as I get further into a long run I take less pictures and today was no exception. It became more about just getting the distance done and less about taking in the sights.
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| Claire running towards Richmond on the Thames Path National Trail |
The next 10 miles went from OK to not OK for me. As we passed the marathon distance and headed towards the 30 mile mark I started to feel very dizzy and nauseous. I’ve learnt that this is usually a sign of low salt. I had a major ‘sit down’ at the 30 mile mark and we had a 15 minute break while I ate savoury stuff and waited for the nausea to pass. At various points on the run we also saw signs of hashing which always makes us feel like we are in friendly territory.
After the 30 mile mark running was tough. Although I only had minor aches and didn’t feel too tired I felt very sick and nauseous and dizzy and had to fight hard to keep running.
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| Claire and I leave the Thames Path for the Wey Canal Path |
Leaving the Thames behind was a major point in the run. Claire always copes better with the end of long runs than me and she kept me going by pointing out pubs she had been too.
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| Smocking ‘smiling with a lock’ |
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| Flats in Byfleet at sunset from the Wey Canal Path |
As the sun began to set it was obvious we wouldn’t get to Guildford, but Byfleet and New Haw station turned out to be over 37 miles from our start and a perfect place to end our run and head home.
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| Lee sitting down at Byfleet station |
As we got the train home I looked back on another long run that was new in lots of ways. It was a change to run from concrete to countryside, from tourist attractions to wide open spaces and from tall old buildings into places with tall old trees.
I was to return to parts of the Thames Path 2 years later to complete the Centurion Autumn 100 . Learn more here
Oh….and the other thing Pink Floyd , Michael Jackson and Drake all have in common?….. With flying pigs on the Animals album cover they all fit nicely into an Air (Pigs), Land (Never Never) and Sea (Circumnavigator) blog.
where is the recommended place there?