145 miles along the Grand Union Canal

 

I have just returned from England where I participated in the longest and most prestigious, continuous trail ultra marathon in the UK.  The race started at Birmingham in the Midlands and followed the Ground Union Canal ending in London.  The name of the race is adopted from the canal.  Up until now only one third of the competitors finish the race within the time limit of 45 hours. 

 

I signed for the race because I love such a challenge. the more difficult the race, the more it appeals to me.

 

Although it is a low key event, as Dick Kearne the Race Director described it, I thought it was one of the best organized and friendly races I have run.  The information provided by the organizer was excellent.

 

The difficult part of the race was the traditional English weather that didnt disappoint us.  It was raining on and off!  I was soaked and looked like a wet duck.  However, ducks like wet conditions and I dont.  The trail was in some parts very muddy, or with heavy, fresh cut grass that with the rain made it very difficult to run on.  There were hundreds of bridges and canal locks to cross.  A worry was to follow a wrong canal at a junction and this was on my mind all the time.  On the other hand there was a spectacular view of the English countryside with rolling hills, spectra of colorful flowers, millions of sheep, cows in the fields, and thousands of long boats cruising on the canal.

 

The race had many checkpoints with food and drinks, but mainly the competitors were looked after by their own support crews who met up with the runners every 5 to 10 miles. The British food is not as bad as opinion has itor I was too hungry. 

 

The race was won by Claude Hardel 27:35 (France.  I was second 33:06, and Glyn Marston 36:05 (UK) was third.

 

Again, out of 60 runners only 19 finished in the permitted time.   This says a lot about the degree of difficulty of this event.  So, if you are looking for a challenging event please mark this race on your calendar and you will be not disappointed.