After a day’s rest, during which I did my weekly Pilates session (which has significantly reduced muscle soreness in my legs after long runs) I was back on the Thames Path for a plod up to Maidenhead.

Having taken a look at the bus times from Epsom to Kingston, the earlier buses were quicker, given the clearer roads. So, waking up early, as I tend to do in March as my body clock starts to adjust for the daylight saving, I cycled to Epsom for the 6:30am bus which got me to the Kingston Bridge start line for 7:15am.

Reflecting on a great first day, Day 2 would be different. As well as being a more rural, suburban route, limited recovery would make it more challenging, but just the sort of ‘back to back’ (ish) training needed for tacking a 100. I was also less familiar with the route having only run it a few times, so it would be interesting not knowing what is around every corner. I had also learnt two important lessons from Day 1; 1) bring some Vaseline to reduce chafing and 2) bring my phone charging cable as USB connections were everywhere. On top of that I also needed gloves as it was 7 degrees colder than Day 1.

The 3 miles up to Hampton Court is a popular run / cycle route and this morning was no exception with more hardy souls than I, in shorts and T shirts. Hampton Court Palace, with its very ornate chimneys (as my father once pointed out), also held memories of educational trips with my niece and witnessing Bradley Wiggins Olympic time-trial win in 2012.

Carrying on to Walton-on-Thames, sunshine and blue skies appeared which showed the riverside properties in their best light and encouraged me to remove a layer.

I had planned my first stop of the day after @ 10 miles at the Shepperton Ferry Café having researched that the ferry was operational all year round. So I was both surprised and relieved to see that operations had just been resumed following unpredictable river levels over winter.

Flagging, ringing and finally phoning the ferry wasted about 15 minutes, but got me across the Thames quickly to avoid a long diversion. Given the early start I opted for a second breakfast (or a first lunch) of coffee, tuna sandwiches and a raisin swirl – fuelling is important for ultra running. It was a quirky nautical themed café, conducive for a relaxing break – time seems to pass twice as quickly when I stop.

The next section up to Staines via Laleham and Chertsey was lined with riverside properties; large ones, small ones, houses, bungalows and some on stilts, possibly re-built following the extreme floods in February 2014. Interestingly, only a few had flood gates. I last ran this section in March 2013 on the Centurion 100 when flooding prevented the normal route to Oxford, so on arriving at Cookham we then retraced our steps back to Walton-on-Thames, before returning to Cookham and then finally finishing back in Windsor. Mental torture to accompany the physical exertion. Interestingly a £500m River Thames Flood Alleviation Scheme was approved in 2021 to reduce the risk of flooding for 11,000 homes and 1,600 businesses in Surrey and London (but not Berkshire).

It was along here that I found a useful guide to the local birdlife. I had seen a lot of Egyptian Geese.

I also saw quite a few sunk boats.

Just passed Staines the route crossed the Thames and I noticed a sign encouraging people to sign a petition for the EA to reopen Bridge 142 (ominous….). After following a woodland walk created by local volunteers I then came across notification of the closure. While the QR code had faded badly, suggesting that it had perhaps been closed a while, at least there was an accompanying map.

It seemed that in 2023 a tree had fallen on bridge 42 which was cleared and the path re-opened, but in 2024 the Environment Agency closed the bridge as it was deemed unsafe to use and now the earliest that remedial work will start is 2027. Understandably, the locals are upset. I subsequently found that information on closures can be found at Thames Path Map and Trail Information – National Trails.

On passing under the M25 on the alternative route along the A308, I guestimated that I had driven over the bridge 600-700 times and passed under it less than 10 – something wrong there.

The Thames gradually became more countrified as it meandered into Runneymede, synonymous with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 and now with various willow sculptures including three women with doves entitled The Last Survivors of an Ancient Race, indicating freedom.

Shortly afterwards afterwards I encountered my first hill of the trip.

Feeling hungry, I was looking for a café as I approached Old Woking, but unfortunately as the towpath by-passed the centre I had to continue on to Windsor for my second lunch, a baguette in a quirky Italian coffee shop after 25 miles.

Leaving Windsor I was pleased to see that it was just 6.5 miles to Maidenhead mainly over grassland and along wooded towpaths, with some impressive urban art – I wouldn’t know where to start with producing it.

Arriving in Maidenhead, it had been another great day out / training run, completing @30 miles in 7.5 hours which worked out at 4 mph. I thought that I had been running more, but the sightseeing and photo stops had obviously slowed me down. Nevertheless I celebrated with a coffee and some carrot cake in Maidenhead library.