THAMES TRAIL RUN MARATHON & HALF MARATHON EVENTS SATURDAY, 2nd JULY 2016 EVENT INFORMATION Supported by
PRE-RACE INFORMATION EVENT SCHEDULE - MARATHON Saturday 2nd July 2016 16:05 Registration Opens 16:50 Race Briefing 17:00 Race Start 23:00 Race Finish (4.5 Laps, 6 Hours) EVENT SCHEDULE - HALF-MARATHON Saturday 2nd July 2016 19:00 Registration Opens 19:50 Race Briefing 20:00 Race Start 23:00 Race Finish (2.5 Laps, 3 Hours) RACE HQ * Wokingham Waterside Centre, Thames Valley Park, Thames Valley Park Drive, RG6 1PQ FACILITIES * Parking (either in the small Car Park or along the road next to the Car Park), showers, changing rooms, toilets and drop bag facilities. REGISTRATION * Please register before the race start. * Collect your race number and safety pins for attaching your number at registration. * Marathon runners and Half-Marathon runners will have a different colour and sequence of numbers to distinguish competitors in each race. * Race numbers must be attached to your front and be visible at all times during the race. * You may leave a drop bag for collection after the race. We recommend you do not leave any valuables in your bag. MANDATORY KIT REQUIREMENTS Each competitor must carry a Head torch or Handheld torch and spare batteries. This is a mandatory item of kit and carrying this is a requirement of our race permit and is non-negotiable. * Competitors who do not possess the mandatory kit will not be permitted to start the race. PAGE 02
ROUTE OVERVIEW The Thames Trail events take place over an out and back route with competitors completing multiple laps of the course. The event will start outside the Wokingham Waterside Centre (Black Marker) and will follow the Thames Path East towards a turn point (Red Marker at top right hand corner of the map below) and then runs back along the Thames Path West towards the next turn point (Red Marker at bottom left hand corner of the map) and then back to the start (Black Marker). This will be 1 lap of the course. Half-Marathon runners will complete 2 laps of the course and Marathon runners will complete 4 laps of the course. We will have 1 Checkpoint at the Start/Finish where runners may refill water bottles/grab snacks each time they pass. Marshals will be placed at each turn point to check runners off as they turn. Please note there will be no water supplies at these turn points. In order to ensure the runners complete the required distance (13.1 miles for the Half and 26.2 miles for the Marathon), you will have to run a short bonus lap at the start. Half Marathon runners will run from the Start (Black Marker) to the Blue Marker and back whilst Marathon runners will run from the Start (Black Marker) to the Green Marker and back. After this bonus lap runners will complete 2 or 4 laps as described above. The route is all off-road and follows the Thames Path national trail. The path is a mixture of tarmac path, fields and track path. ROUTE MAP Turn Marathon Bonus Turn Half Marathon Bonus Turn Turn Start/Finish PAGE 03
ROUTE DESCRIPTION 1 2 3 1. Race HQ and start of the race at Wokingham Waterside Centre, Thames Valley Park Drive, Reading, RG6 1PQ. 2. Continue along the Thames Path East across the field. The River Thames will always be on your left. 3. Continue along path heading over a small bridge and follow the Thames Path East. 4 5 6 4. Shortly after the bridge, the path will split left and right. FOLLOW THE PATH LEFT CLOSEST TO THE RIVER. This will be marked. 5. Continue along the path into the wooded area. You will pass a Thames Path sign on your left. 6. Continue along the path crossing two small bridges. 7 8 9 7. Continue along the path pass through two gates. Blue Coats School will be on your right. 8. Continue along the path past Sonning Lock on your left passing through two gates. 9. Turn at Sonning Bridge (i.e. when you get to the road). A Marshal will direct you back at this point. The Thames River will now be on your right. PAGE 04
ROUTE DESCRIPTION 10 11 12 10. Return past Sonning Lock passing through the two gates and the two small bridges again. 11. Exit the wooded area. FOLLOW THE PATH TO THE RIGHT WHICH FOLLOWS CLOSEST TO THE RIVER. This will be marked. 12. Continue along the path west to the Small Bridge and cross this. Continue along the path ahead. 13 14 15 13. Follow the path across the field. Ahead you will see the Wokingham Waterside Centre which is the Race Start/Finish area and Race HQ. 14. Continue along the path past the Wokingham Waterside Centre and through a gate. 15. Continue along path towards the Horseshoe Bridge 16 17 18 16. GO OVER (up the steps and over) the Horseshoe Bridge. 17. Continue along the path left. The Thames River will still remain on your right. 18. Continue along the path ahead which is covered by trees. You will pass Tesco Superstore on the left. PAGE 05
ROUTE DESCRIPTION 19 20 21 19. Continue along the path as it opens out into a field. 20. Continue along the path over a small metallic bridge. 21. Continue along the path passing Caversham Lock on your right. 22 23 24 22. Turn at the bollards which will be marked and Marshals will be present and head back the way you came. The Thames River will be on your left as you head back to the start. 23. Continue along the path passing Caversham Lock on your left. 24. Pass the small metallic bridge and follow the path. 25 26 27 25. Continue along the path into the areas covered by trees. 26. Continue along the path and head over the Horseshoe Bridge. 27. Continue along the path back to the Race Start. Congratulations you have completed 1 complete lap. PAGE 06
RACE INFORMATION RACE BRIEFING * A mandatory race briefing will take place 10 minutes before the start of each race. RACE START / FINISH LOCATION * The race will start and finish outside the Wokingham Waterside Centre. The Marathon event will start at 17.00pm and the Half Marathon event will start at 20.00pm. RUNNERS TRACKING / EVENT TIMINGS * Runners will be manually checked in each time they pass a Checkpoint and your finish time will be manually recorded upon completion of your last lap. A sweep runner will follow the last runner towards the end of the race to ensure all runners are accounted for. CHECKPOINT PROVISIONS * Water and a small selection of snacks (i.e. sweets, crisps, biscuits and fruit for example) will be available at the Start/Finish Checkpoint only. * Water and snacks will not be supplied at the turn points although marshals will be present here. * Runners will pass the Start/Finish Checkpoint twice per lap (i.e. twice every 6 miles approximately) so there are plenty of opportunities to top up water supplies during the race. PAGE 07
RACE INFORMATION MEDICAL SUPPORT * There will be a minimum of two First Aid qualified Marshals in attendance at the event. SUNSET * Sunset is scheduled to take place from around 9pm. All runners are required to carry their head torch or hand torch and spare batteries from the start of the race. You should turn your head torch on when directed by Marshals. (This is likely to be at the start of the race for Half Marathon runners) TIME LIMITS * The cut off time for the Marathon is 6 hours in total. * The cut off time for the Half Marathon is 3 hours in total. ENVIRONMENT * Please do not litter the course, we cannot be any more explicit on this point. * Any runners who are found to have deliberately dropped litter may be disqualified from the event. * Runners can dispose of their litter at each Checkpoint or at public bins which are situated along the route. * The course will be checked for litter upon completion of the event. OTHER PATH USERS * The race takes place along a trail which will be open to members of the public. * We would ask all our runners to observe the Country Code and respect other users of the trail by ensuring that we do no impede other users and give fair warning when passing. * Competitors should give right-of-way to members of the public, including walkers, runners or cyclists at all times and be courteous to other members of the public * Areas of the route which narrow (for example when passing over a Bridge) will be marked with Caution Runners signs. RETIREMENTS * If you have to retire from the race then you must inform one of the Marshals at the nearest Checkpoint and hand over your race number. You will be recorded as a Did Not Finish on the results page. * Your drop bag will be available for collection at Race HQ and (if feasible) you will need to make your way back to Race HQ. MP3 PLAYERS * We have no objections to MP3 players/ipods being used. However, we would ask runners to be aware of other users of the trail, other runners and instructions from Marshals at Checkpoints. PAGE 08
POST RACE INFORMATION POST RACE * Runners may collect their drop bag from Race HQ and make use of the showers, toilets and changing room facilities post race. * Hot drinks (i.e. Tea & Coffee) and snacks (i.e. Biscuits) will be available for runners after the race. PRIZES * A bespoke finishers medal will be awarded to each person completing the event. * There are no prizes for finishing positions but we will have a prize draw for each event with a small prize being awarded to a starter at each event drawn thanks to our supporter the www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com RESULTS * Results will be published on the website at the following link www.saturdaynightmarathon.com/results after completion of the race. PHOTOGRAPHS * We will have a volunteer who will be taking photographs of runners during the event and these will be made available after the race free of charge on our website and Facebook page. * We cannot guarantee we will capture a photograph of every runner, but we will do our best. PAGE 09
CONTACT If you wish to contact us further then please email us at saturdaynightmarathon@gmail.com WEB LINKS These details can also be found on the Saturday Night Marathon website. Frequently Asked Questions http://saturdaynightmarathon.com/thames-trail-faq/ Race Terms & Conditions http://saturdaynightmarathon.com/terms-conditions/ Route Description http://saturdaynightmarathon.com/thames-trail-alternative-route/ Half Marathon Route https://www.strava.com/activities/343594581 GPS File for Half Marathon Saturday Night Marathon Route.gpx Marathon Route https://www.strava.com/activities/339520144 GPS File for Marathon Saturday Night Half Marathon route.gpx Good luck with your training. Paul Ali Race Director - Saturday Night Marathon PAGE 10