Thames Meander Summer

WHERE DO THE COURSE ROUTES FOR BOTH RACES START AND WHAT WILL THE COURSE ROUTES BE?
Thames Meander Route/ Laps: The run route will still start at the new Petersham & Ham Sea Cadets HQ venue and will run alongside the Thames Path towards Barnes (opposite Barnes Sports Club) this will be the turnaround point for both the half and marathon route. Laps wise it will entail x1 13.1 mile out and back loop for the half marathon and x2 13.1 mile loops for the marathon along this very scenic stretch of the Thames Path trail. This is a trail run not a road race so please understand that both routes are as accurate as they can possibly be on this Thames Path trail, given that there are members of the public including some cyclists using this trail. The turnaround point at Barnes (opposite the Barnes Sports Club) will be very well marshalled. The 3 checkpoints will also be very well stocked with a selection of high energy foods, gels, drinks and electrolyte powders so you can keep well hydrated, retain your electrolyte balance so you can maintain your refuelling needs throughout the race.

CHECK POINT LOCATIONS:
CP1 Start /Finish Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts HQ, Petersham Road, Richmond, TW10 7AH (KLP Medics)
CP2 Kew Gardens Car Park, Ferry Lane, TW9 3AG
CP3 Thames Path (opp) Barnes Sports Club, Lonsdale Rd, SW13 9Q

AWARDS / RACE SUPPORT:

Bespoke Hermes Running bespoke race medal.
Winners’ coaster awards for the top 3 Male / Female runners for both races.
Photography by “Gareth Parker Photography” at £7.50 per photograph.
KLP Medical Supplies (First Aid Support) at the Start / Finish.
Professional Sports Massage Therapy by Louise Acher, from LA Sports Massage £12 for 10 mins.
Well stocked Check Points at the Start / Finish and at Kew Gardens Car Park.
Well marshalled run-route.

WILL THERE BE A MANDATORY RACE BRIEFING AT THE START OF THE RACE?
Yes, there will be a 10 minute “Health & Safety” briefing that will take place before the start of the half marathon and marathon, so please get to the start in time to attend this. We would also like to make it clear that all runners should use the UKA Approved “Aftershokz” over ear bone conducting earphones so you can hear what is going on around you at all times, and to be courteous to fellow runners and all other pedestrians / cyclists using the Thames Towpath. If you run using any form of over or in earphones as per our terms and conditions, you do so at entirely your own liability risk. Please be very mindful of the public using the trails too, if you are caught being rude to anyone you will be DQ’d from any future events and this includes all our marshalling staff too.

HOW DIFFICULT IS THE COURSE?
The majority of the course 99% is flat / fast and is run along the Thames Path out / back. The conditions are weather dependant though it’s mainly a firm running surface, I would highly recommend road shoes for this course. The turnaround point for the half and marathon at the Isleworth Eyot will also be very well marshalled.Please ensure that move out of the way of your fellow runners if you stop to re-fuel to avoid any congestion occurring at the check points and please pay particular attention to our marshals on the route, especially at the turnaround point.

WHAT FOOD / DRINK WILL WE GET AT THE CHECK POINTS?
The 3 check points will all have a selection of food / drinks including High 5 Gels & bars, Blue Energy electrolytes, pretzels, fruit cordial and water.I would also highly recommend that you bring a hydration pack or a 500 ml water bottle so that you can carry your own electrolyte drinks in a bladder or bottle and to ensure you can carry electrolytes and any food that you’ll need for your race. You will be able to re-supply with nutrition at the all these check points and therefore be more self-sufficient.

WHERE DO I DISCARD MY LITTER?
There will be plastic pop-up bins provided at all the check points for your water bottles, GU Gel packs, High 5 Gel packs and wrappers to be discarded. We would urge you not to discard any litter on the Thames Path trail at all please, our marshals will take any litter from you so just keep it until you get to a marshal, or use the bins provided which will be at each of the 3 check point locations.

HOW WILL THE COURSE BE MARKED?
We will be marking the course with fixed Hermes Running pink / black chevron signage throughout the run-route, and there will be marshals at the check points and at the turnaround point at the Isleworth Eyot. Our marshals and will be located at this turnaround point for the half marathon and marathon, so please pay special attention if you are wearing MP3’s, there will also be a Hermes Running turnaround A Frame billboard at this turnaround point.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVE TO DROP OUT?
If you are feeling unwell and need to retire from the race, please contact me David Ross (Race Director) 0798 4540177. You can also inform a marshal or a medic and they will pass on the message to us. Please on no account leave the course without informing us of your whereabouts as your safety is our main priority. My contact number will be printed on the front of the race bib if needed and we would like to complete your emergency contact information too at the back of your race bibs. We would also suggest that you carry your mobile phone with you and download the What3Words app onto your phone in advance, as we can easily locate you within a 3meter radius if you have this app on your phone and can then give us your precise location.

IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES FOR EACH DISTANCE?
There is an advance on-line entry limit for the full and half marathons and as soon as we have filled these spaces we will close the entry portal. We will however be accepting race entries on race day.

ARE THERE ANY MANDATORY ITEMS I NEED TO BRING ON RACE DAY?
Yes I would recommend that all runners bring along a hydration pack or waist pack with at least a 500ml water carrying capacity so you can then top up your water bottles / and carry gels easily on race day and you’ll be able to re-supply at all the check point locations. We are keen to promote sustainability so please bring your own water carrying bottle or hydration pack on race day.Road shoes are definitely recommended for this course as 80% of it is run along asphalt paths and the rest on very hard packed dirt trails, so you can easily run this in road shoes or hybrid trail shoes. It is also recommended that you don a cap / sunglasses and use screen block as it could be a very hot day. I would also encourage you all to check the projected weather forecast on BBC Weather here.

WHAT DO I GET FOR MY RACE ENTRY FEE?
Thames Meander bespoke medal.
Winners’ Awards for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Male / Female runners for each event.
OneTime Chip Timing with results published directly after each event staging.
Gareth Parker Photography, the race photo’s are available for £10.00 each after the event.
Well stocked check points supplying High 5 gels / bars, Blue Fuel electrolytes, fruit cordial and water.
KLP Medical Professional first aid medical support throughout the race at all three check points for all runners.
LA Sports Massage post race at £12 for 10mins for a deep tissue massage.

WILL THERE BE RACE PHOTOGRAPHY AND WHEN WILL THIS BE AVAILABLE?
Our photographer does really professional photo’s and this will be done by Gareth Parker Photography, the photo’s will cost £7.50 each and will be available they have been uploaded using geo-tagging and this will take place within 24hrs of the event staging. There are also be links embedded on my homepage for you to access, in order to purchase the race photographs.

HOW DOES THE CHIP TIMING WORK?
The timing will be done by OneTime Chip Timing and registration will take place on the day, your race bib and will be handed out to you by our registration team and the OneTime timing tag will need to be laced into your running shoe.The provisional chip timed results will be recorded initially but please note that these will only be provisional and will be subject to final verification. These will be uploaded to our Hermes Running homepage directly after the race has taken place, the links will be embedded on my homepage too so once you have completed your race you can go directly to the homepage to search for your provisional results.

WHEN WILL PRIZES BE AWARDED AFTER EACH RACE?
Winners’ awards will be awarded and will be handed out to the Male /Female 1st, 2nd & 3rd runners once the directly after the race, there will not be Vet Category awards for these race distances.

WHAT LEVEL OF MEDICAL SUPPORT CAN I EXPECT ON RACE DAY?
We have qualified medics managed by Kevin Peach from KLP Medical Supplies Ltd. they will be providing professional first aid support on race day. Our race medics will be stationed at Start / Finish Race HQ and Check Point 3.
CP1 Start / Finish Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts HQ, Petersham Rd, Richmond, TW10 7AH.
CP3 Kew Gardens Car Park, Ferry Lane, TW9 3AG.
Your safety is of paramount importance to us so well strongly recommend that all runners carry their mobile phones on race day.If you’re feeling unwell prior to or on race day or you have Covid we would strongly urge you not to run. Please also take the time to download the What3 Words app onto your mobile phone and carry your phone on race day as we can easily locate you if you have this pre-installed. If you have to retire from the race due to feeling unwell please ensure that you notify a KLP medic or RAF Marshal so that we can account for you. My contact number will be clearly displayed on the front of the race bibs. If the emergency is serous then at first hand please call 999.

DO YOU HAVE CORPORATE SPONSORS?
Yes we work closely with High 5 and Blue Fuel sponsor my events and provide much needed sports gels, electrolytes / carbohydrates which will be on the course, we strongly recommend you using these as they are there for a specific reason and that is to balance the electrolytes lost when sweating, restore glycogen levels, enabling you to have more fuel in the tank. We would also encourage you to pay particular attention to drinking little and often, especially if it’s a hot day which will mean that your sweat rate increases. Remember that as little as a 2% drop in body weight (caused by excessive sweating) can lead to a 20% drop off in performance. The responsibility for your fuelling needs lies solely with you, although our check points will be well stocked to ensure your needs are sufficiently catered for during the race. We would also strongly recommend that you use Succeed Capsules whilst running in the heat, these help to restore the electrolytes that you have lost through excessive sweating, and can be purchased via the Ultramarathon Running Store under nutritional products, the discount code can be applied at the footer of my sponsors home page.

CAN MP3 PLAYERS / iPOD’S BE USED WHILST RUNNING THIS RACE?
If you have to use music players (MP3 Players / iPod’s) please ensure that these are the Aftershokz over-ear bone conducting earphones, ideally not in-ear earphones as your health and safety is our primary concern, and we ask you to comply with our marshals instructions and to be courteous of all other trail users. The use of any earphones in accordance with our “terms and conditions” of entry also means that if you use any form of earphones, you do so entirely at your own risk.

IS THER A RACE PERMIT FOR THIS EVENT AND IS IT AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING RACE FOR BIG EVENTS?
The race is fully (Association of Trail Running) ARC and UKA permitted and professionally chip timed. In this respect we have all the necessary indemnifications in place required for this to be an officially recognised as a pre-qualification event for the Comrades Ultra Marathon (South Africa) and 2 Oceans Ultra Marathon (South Africa). This is not an officially measured course however and therefore cannot be used as a Virgin London Marathon (GFA) qualification time.

WHAT IS THE TIME LIMIT FOR THE HALF / FULL MARATHON ?
The time limit for the Half Marathon course is 6hrs.

The time limit for the Marathon course is 6.5hrs.

These time limits will be strictly adhered too.

MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENTS
To adhere to UKA and TRA licensing requirements there is a minimum age that runners need to be to participate in race meetings. We have a minimum age for both the half marathon and marathon which is 18 years old.

WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION, OR DEFERRAL POLICY?
We operate a no refunds policy as initially stated at the point of entry. We do however reserve the right to offer future switches or deferrals if the event cannot take place for reasons out of the control of race management including but not limited to flooding, severe weather or denial of access to the original course. Race management also reserve the right to postpone the event until a later date and all entries will be carried forward to this date and refunds may not be offered under these circumstances. Event cancellation due to reasons such as Coronavirus (COVID 19) or other such pandemic, public health, local authority travel and movement restrictions and bans of any kind etc are beyond our control and no refund will be given in such circumstances. If you have taken out our Refund Protect Insurance you will be entitled a full refund as long as you can evidence this with a Doctors Letter, the cost of this will also be refunded to you.

DO YOU HAVE A TRANSFER POLICY / SWITCHING FEE?
We have set permit limits for all our events and extensive upfront fees to stage our races, but I will offer a switch to any other event this year only (within 7 days only) of the event taking place but not after this. The cost of the switching fee will be a standard £10.