Thames Trail Ultra
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THAMES TRAIL ULTRA
The Thames Trail Ultra is a point-to-point ultra-marathon covering 47 miles from Hawkwell House Hotel in Iffley, south of Oxford, to the YMCA Y Centre in Henley-on-Thames. The route follows the Thames Path and sections of the Ridgeway National Trails and combines riverside paths, cross-country trails and road sections.
The course comprises about 40.4 miles of cross-country and riverside trails (86%) and 6.6 miles of roads (14%). Recorded elevation change is approximately +947 ft (+289 m) gain and -1053 ft (-321 m) loss. The race uses progressive cut-off points from Checkpoint 3 onward and has a total cut-off of 11.5 hours.
There are five aid stations that provide water, snacks and Go Beyond fruitcake; a partner supplies high-calorie, low-sugar, gluten-free, vegan energy bars. Toilets are located near Checkpoints 1, 4 and 5. Two course updates note that the Donkey Bridge near the finish is off-limits this year and the Benson Weir footway is closed; the route is reflected in the GPS tracker and GPX file.
All runners must carry mandatory kit including a charged mobile phone, power bank, minimum 1 L water container, survival blanket, waterproof jacket, whistle, headtorch with spare batteries, hat and gloves, long-sleeved base layer or fleece, and a debit or credit card. Random kit checks will be conducted and the minimum age is 18. Baggage transfer is offered to the finish with a maximum bag size of 56 x 45 x 25 cm.
Travel notes include limited parking in Iffley, a courtesy shuttle from Oxford train station to the start, and that Twyford station is one stop from Henley-on-Thames. Real-time GPS tracking uses Geo Tracks with position uploads every 10 seconds. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
