Goring Gap 52k Ultra Marathon
When: May 14th 2023
Start and Finish: Mapledurham House, Mapledurham, Reading, RG4 7TR
Distance: 52 km (32 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 313m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Chiltern Way, Thames Path, The Ridgeway
Map: Chiltern Hills West Map | Henley-on-Thames & Wallingford | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 171
Finish time: 7 hours 32 minutes 51 seconds
Links: River Thames, Mapledurham House, Caversham, Reading, Purley on Thames, Pangbourne, Whitchurch on Thames, Goring on Thames, South Stoke, North Stoke, Moulsford, Streatley
This was my 11th Ultra and my third with my friend Mark. It was also the first of a 2-part series of local ~50km Ultras with 3 weeks between them.
It was a beautiful course starting at Mapledurham House on the north bank of the Thames near Reading. From there we headed east to cross the Thames at Caversham to follow the Thames Path north towards Wallingford. I had covered most of the route before either on short Thames Path or Chilterns trips or on the Race To The Stones Ultra back in 2016.
It was a very nice early summer day which made the views over the Thames, and the villages on the way, stunning to run through. It was also hot though and, not being a fan of warm weather running, the heat slowed me down significantly. Mark and I kept together until around 12km then I started to lose sight of him. My slow run became a fast walk around the half-way point and I could feel that my sub-7 hour target would be challenging. I might have made it but 50km turned out to be actually 52km with a hill at the end so I missed by target by half an hour. Mark, on the other hand, had an excellent run and finished a full 50 minutes ahead of me.
