Thames Meander Frequently Asked Questions
Thames Meander Route Description
The Thames Meander event is a stunning riverside race series starting in the Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes) which is adjacent to the Barnes Sports Club Race HQ, The Club House, 261 Lonsdale Rd, London SW13 9QL. The run-route starts within the park area at the Small Profit Dock Gardens and heads out across Barnes Bridge towards Kew Gardens along the Thames Path trail all the way to the Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts on this very scenic out and back route. All three race distances the marathon, half marathon and 10km are very fast, flat on a runnable route proceeding all along the Thames Path, and the course will be well marked and marshalled all the way along. The Check Points will be stocked, and there is excellent medical support throughout from our KLP Medical Support Team. Our Check Points will be located at the CP1 Start / Finish – Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes), CP2 Kew Gardens Car Park (Ferry Lane) and CP3 Petersham & Ham Sea Cadets, Petersham.
- Runners World rated as one of the top 10 trail marathons in the U.K.
- Thames Meander Routes: These three run-routes will all start at the Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes) adjacent to the Barnes Sports Club Race HQ and will run alongside the Thames Path on these stunning out / back routes.
- 10km Route: This will be a x1 lap out / back loop for the 10km distance, starting at Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes) and heading out along the Thames Path to Kew Gardens Car Park Check Point 2 the turnaround point on this out and back run-route.
- Half Marathon Route: This will be a x1 13.1 mile out and back loop for the half marathon, starting at the Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes) heading out along the Thames Path to Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts CP3, the turnaround point on this out and back run-route.
- Marathon Route: This will be x2 13.1 mile out and back loops for the marathon, starting at the Small Profit Dock Gardens (Barnes) heading out along the Thames Path to Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts CP3, the turnaround point on this out and back run-route.
Awards / Race Support:
- Bespoke Hermes Running bespoke race medal.
- Winners’ coaster awards for the Top 3 M/ F runners for all three race distances.
- Sports Systems Professional Chip Timed results.
- Gareth Parker Photography, the race photos are available for £10.00 after the event, bundle option purchases too.
- KLP Medical Supplies Ltd.- Professional First Aid Support.
- SPH Therapies, Andrew Hillman will be offering Professional Sports Massage Therapist at £12.00 for 10 mins.
- Well stocked Check Points throughout the race.
- Well marked and marshalled run-route.
Marathon Start time – 8.30am.
Half Marathon Start time – 9.00am.
10km Start time – 9.15am.
We do not have a car parking facility at the Barnes Sports Club for runners only for supporting staff. There are plenty of car parking spaces in the local residential area that you can park in on race day that offer unrestricted parking access at the weekends. The alternative car parks within close proximity to the venue include:
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, and to our marshals that are manning the check points and turnaround points. 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.
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. There are a number of people including trail walkers, dog walkers and the general public using this Thames Path route so please ensure you are courteous to all members of the public. At the check points please also be aware that your fellow runners need to re-fuel too so please try and re-fuel efficiently to avoid any congestion occurring at the check points, and pay particular attention to our marshals on the route.
The three Check Points will all have a selection of food / drinks including High 5 Electrolytes, pretzels, crisps, 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.
Check Point Locations:
- CP1 Start / Finish Small Profits Dock Gardens, Lonsdale Rd, London SW13 9JS (KLP Medics).
- CP2 Kew Gardens Car Park, Ferry Lane, TW9 3AG (KLP Medics).
- CP3 Near Ham Street Car Park, Ham Street, Richmond, TW10 7RS.
There will be plastic pop-up bins provided at all the check points for your, water cups 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 three check point locations.
We will be marking the course with fixed Hermes Running pink / black chevron signage throughout the run-route, and there will be marshals at all three check points There will also be marshals at the 10km turnaround point CP2 at Kew Gardens Car Park and for the half marathon and marathon at CP3 Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts. Our marshals and will be located at these turnaround points, so please pay special attention if you are wearing MP3’s, there will also be a Hermes Running turnaround A Frame billboard at these turnaround points.
If you are feeling unwell and need to retire from the race, please contact the KLP Medical First Aid number on your race bib or me David Ross (RD) 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. Both of these contact numbers 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 highly recommend 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.
There is an advance on-line entry limit for the 10km, half marathon and marathon distances and as soon as we have filled these spaces we will close the entry portal. We will however be accepting race discretionary entries 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.
- Thames Meander bespoke medals to all participating runners.
- Winners’ Slate Awards for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Male / Female runners for each event / race distance.
- Sports Systems Chip Timing Ltd. Provisional results published after each runner has finished.
- Gareth Parker Photography, the race photos are available for £10.00 after the event, discounted bundle option purchases too.
- Well stocked check points supplying High 5 Gels, High 5 Electrolytes, jelly babies, crisps, fruit cordial and water.
- KLP Medical Ltd.Professional first aid medical support throughout the race for all participating runners.
- SPH Therapies, Andrew Tillman will be offering professional Sports Massage at £12.00 for 10 mins.
Our photographer does really professional photo’s and this will be done by Gareth Parker Photography, the photo’s will cost £10.00 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.
The timing will be done by Liam Burke at Sports Systems Chip Timing and registration will take place on the day, your race bib and will be handed out to you by our marshals on the registration team.The provisional chip timed results will be recorded initially but please and will be subject to final verification. These will be uploaded to our Hermes Running homepage directly after the each runner has completed their race distance. The chip timing 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.
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 all race distances.
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 2.
- CP1 Start / Finish Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts HQ, Petersham Rd, Richmond, TW10 7AH.
- CP2 Canbury Gardens, Lower Ham Rd, Kingston upon Thames KT2 5AU (KLP Medics).
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 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. The KLP Medical Supplies mobile number and my RD 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.
Yes we work closely with High 5, Steigen Socks and the Ultramarathon Running Store they 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.
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.
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.
The time limit for the Marathon course is 6.5hrs.
The time limit for the Half Marathon is 6hrs.
The time limit for the 10KM is 3.15hrs.
- These time limits will be strictly adhered too so please be aware of these, as we have a duty of care to our marshals, timing support staff and the medics too that will only be in attendance for the duration of the longest event which is the marathon being 6.5hrs.
To adhere to UKA and TRA licensing requirements there is a minimum age that runners need to be to participate in race meetings.
Minimum age for the Marathon is – 18 years old.
Minimum age for the Half Marathon is – 17 years old.
Minimum age for the 10Km is -16 years old.
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 (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.
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. The cost of the switching fee will be a standard £10. You will need to email me at info@hermesrunning.com to initiate this.