Cue another day in lockdown. Whilst scrolling away on my phone before settling into the business of studying from home, the subtitle of Tom Craggs’ More than a run article caught my eye. In an instant it had me daydreaming about all the stunningly beautiful and diverse places that running has taken me.

Thoughts of exploratory runs around the fells in both the Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes, on family holidays gone by, sprang to mind. As did the slightly more extreme mountainous trail runs, I’ve come to love on trips to the Chamonix Valley. Not to mention, the classic three Sunday long run routes around Shotover, Boars Hill and Wytham Woods.

These formed such an integral part of my undergraduate years spent running with the Oxford University Cross-Country Club. A 10am Sunday departure from the Radcliffe Camera promised a couple of hours of freedom in the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside with friends, all whilst excitedly chatting about the week’s training and upcoming races in the busy fixtures calendar.

Racing adventures

Then there’s all the amazing routes across the UK that I’ve been lucky enough to take on through racing. Nothing quite beats that feeling of nervously standing on the start-line with those pre-race jitters in your stomach, as you eye-up the other competitors. Glancing anxiously over to the starter, with a tough, demanding course lying in wait before you. Or that feeling of mind over matter, as you push yourself deeper into the pain cave on the final lap of a gruelling muddy cross-country course.

Those are the feelings that we’re all missing so desperately at present. My local parkrun in Cutteslowe Park, the Varsity cross-country race over Wimbledon Common, the National at Harewood House, my first BUCS cross-country in Gloucester: these are some of the races that sprang to mind, to name but a few.

Where it all began

Yet amongst all these runs that stood out as particularly memorable to me, each for their own reasons, my thoughts kept drifting back to this one route in Oxford that holds a special place in my heart.

At face value, there’s nothing particularly impressive about the Thames Towpath loop, as I like to call it, being only 5.5 miles long and with a mere 80 ft of elevation gain, according to my Strava. But there’s so much more to this run than these stats.

I’ve been running this route for almost as long as I’ve been running, before GPS watches and training schedules were part of the equation. What started out as a pretty long effort for a twelve-year old casual runner, where trying to keep up with Dad was half of the battle, gradually became one of my favourite routes for an easy or steady run from home.

It’s my Dad who first got me into running and I’ve got him to thank for introducing me to this incredible route all those years ago. My beginnings as a runner are deep-rooted in this run and whenever I run it, there’s always a part of my subconscious thinking “this is where it all began”.

Getting started

The run starts out like any other urban run you might do, along one of the main roads into the city centre of Oxford, the Woodstock Road, and down to the Waterways estate. Here you turn onto the Oxford Canal Walk which you run along for just under a mile before turning off onto Walton Well Road and across the railway bridge onto Port Meadow. And this is where the run really starts to work its magic.

The minute I’m on Port Meadow it’s almost as if nothing else matters. For those two and a half miles I’m completely at peace, in this green oasis nestled within the city of dreaming spires. It’s just me, the trail beneath my feet, the odd herd of cows here or there, and the simple action of putting one foot in front of the other that brings us so much joy.

After running across the bottom of Port Meadow and crossing the bridge over the river, you run along the Thames Path. You’ll pass the remains of the Godstow Nunnery on your left, which although ruined since the 16th century, provided inspiration to Lewis Carroll for Alice in Wonderland and acted as the backdrop for one of the scenes in the recent Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again movie.

You then reach the Godstow Road where the last part of the run begins. On the final mile and a half, you’ll pass through the village of Wolvercote before remerging on the Woodstock Road where you started out.

Escape to the country

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me about this run is how you’re transported from a rather bulk standard, albeit very pleasant, suburban setting to this vast swathe of open green common land, and all in a matter of fifteen minutes or so thanks to your own two feet.

Whatever the season, Port Meadow is always glorious. On a late summer’s evening picture an idyllic English countryside scene with the sun setting to the west, along with people picnicking on the grass and swimming in the river.

In spring think birds singing amidst the newly budding trees along the river. And as autumn turns to winter, the sound of fallen leaves crunching beneath your feet with every step gives way to the squelch of boggy hollows within the frost-coated grass.

Even on a grey, cloudy and otherwise non-descript day, a run along the Thames Towpath loop never fails to put me in a good mood. Another reason why this route is so great lies in its versatility. It can easily be extended to include more distance along either the Canal Walk or the Thames Path down into the city centre, or with a lap of the Burgess Field nature reserve on the far side of Port Meadow.

A constant amidst change

There is no doubt that this is a fantastic running route in its own right. I would highly recommend it to any runner passing through Oxford and looking to explore the city’s multitude of running routes. However, I think that what makes this route so much more than a run for me lies in the memories it holds.

School years have flown by. Injuries have come and gone, local and uni running clubs have been joined, cross-country seasons have passed, weekly mileage has increased. Throughout it all this run has remained a constant in my life as a runner.

Whether it was a weekend run with Dad, a post-GCSE exam destress run, or a first-one-back-from-holiday run, the Thames Towpath loop has always been there for me. And so I hope it will remain that way for many years to come.

If you want to tell us about a run, race or route that has particular meaning for you drop us an email. Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

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Our freedom to run and travel as we normally would is still restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic. My sense from social media and the articles we have received is that this has triggered a fair bit of reflective thinking amongst runners.

At FR we thought it would be nice to spend a bit of time reflecting on running itself. So we’d love for you to share a run, a route, a race that has a special meaning for you for our ‘More than a run’ feature. Most of us train for performance (whatever that means to us) but we also run because we love the process of running and the feelings, connections and emotions it brings.

The run

I found it a pretty interesting process trying to pick one run. So many races and runs stand out from a decade of travelling around the world as a runner and coach. Runs and races around Paris, Portugal, in the Alps and Pyrenees, the Lakes, Berlin and New York all jumped into my head but I kept coming back to something much less grand. I suspect because I am not and never have been ‘an athlete’ I can’t point really to a particularly impressive competitive moment, or standout performance. That isn’t really what drives me.

So the run itself is ‘just’ a club run. The first club run I ever went on as I look my first steps into a new sport at a time of life when everything seemed to be changing.

The route

Over the course of 9 miles or so of road and trails this run climbs up through Hampstead Heath and on into the ‘Heath Extension’ taking in Golders Hill Park before re-joining Hampstead Heath to climb up to the top of Parliament Hill.

The route starts at the Talacre Leisure Centre in Kentish Town West in North London. Working it’s way through back streets up to Hampstead Heath you run past the home of Night of the 10,000m PBs and the start to one of the greatest races in the world – the ‘National Cross’ at Parliament Hill.

Gradually you climb up north through the Heath covering some of the lesser used paths, springing over tree roots and up and down short sharp hills. If you look back at the right moment near Kenwood House you get a spectacular view of London, but just a little glimpse, like a one of those mini polaroid photos if you are old enough to remember.

Crossing over Hampstead Lane a long downhill on trail allows you to pick up a bit of speed as you loop around the Heath Extension and cross into Golders Hill Park. On a hot day water fountains here provide a bit of relief before pressing on to climb back through beautiful West Heath, short hills testing your legs.

A beautiful long sweeping mile or two back downhill through the Heath passing the ponds takes you to Parliament Hill. You are rewarded for a tackling the climb as that little polaroid glimpse earlier becomes a panoramic landscape from the top of ‘Kite Hill’. From here it’s back down past the lido to the start. Hills, flat, fast, slow, trail and road it is in itself a beautiful and testing run. For me though it’s more than that.

Why this run

I am pretty nostalgic person. As much as I try to live in the present I do find myself looking back a lot. For me feelings and places are intertwined. I associate physical spaces with important people in my life and the predominant emotions I was feeling at the time I visited them.

So whilst this is not perhaps the most memorable or beautiful route (though I heartily recommend it), as I look back it is one that absolutely captured a particularly special time in my life. A time where I felt carried along by change.

I moved to London in 2007. My dad was diagnosed with cancer at Christmas that same year so I entered a marathon to raise some money for charity. I’d run a couple of races but was by no means a ‘runner’. I was swept up by the emotions of it all, and with the intoxication of a new city as a 25 year old. A city which, particularly in Hackney where I lived, seemed to be constantly changing.

Joy of progression

Running completely encapsulated the other changes going on in my life. It was new. It seemed like every time I went out of the door I was able to run a bit faster. For the first time in my life I was beginning to feel a passing sense of being a little more athletic. I ran a half marathon in the spring of 2008 in 1:29 (I did say a passing sense).

That autumn, three weeks before the marathon (Berlin), I sent out a few emails to local running and athletics clubs. I only got one reply, from Gavin Pugh who was club captain at Mornington Chasers. Despite the fact that Highgate, Serpies and Heathside no doubt went on to mourn missing out on my huge athletic talents I think it’s fair to say they were probably better suited to the ‘Chasers’. On my first club night I was hooked.

Tearing around bits of London I was only just getting to know. Running hard with a small group of people who seemed genuinely encouraging (though incredibly sceptical about my arbitrary plan to try to break 3 hours for the marathon).

Back when Nike Lunaracer and Asics DS were the ‘super shoes’ of choice

Tacit connections

I remember experiencing a wonderful feeling, which I know will be familiar to most runners – particularly club runners. A feeling of being dragged along to a pace which I couldn’t run on my own and it not only feeling comfortable, but good, exhilarating. Ponds and trails, trees and streets passed by, I had no idea where I was but I just put myself in the middle of the group and ran.

Some of the people on that run became life long friends. Friendships forged out of that unspoken communication group running brings. A tacit connection or bond you build when you run with others that doesn’t require chat, just shared physical effort and the electricity in the air that stems from it. Three weeks later I ran 18 miles of my marathon with one of them, Simon Freeman, before I faded (limped) to 3:01.

Treasured time

The next four years are time in my life I absolutely treasure. With these good people. Going on to meet others who became incredibly dear to me. So this run for me takes me back to some of the most special years of my life.

It reminds me of making new friends. Of extremes of emotion, of visiting new cities with new people. Of new art, food, culture and nationalities. Of drinking Pomerol by the Siene, of the buzzing early evening in Soho and Shoreditch. Of summers running on the Heath or Regents Canal or to the top of Primrose Hill with Simon, John, Alex, Gaby, Tim and Marc (and many others). Of the purity and innocence of running before it became a job (which I love), before I got to know the small world of ‘big personalities’ in performance sport and coaching. Of running to the top of Parliament Hill with London sprawling out below me, feeling, as cliched as it now feels to write it, that the city was opening itself to my imagination.

If these mental connections to a particular run seem a bit sentimental, strange or tenuous that’s probably because this is my experience, and my thoughts looking back. I am sure if you think about it you might have the same. A run that triggers particular, albeit tangential or parallel, experiences or emotions. If you don’t at all we probably run for different reasons, which is fine, running is after all the most personal of sports.

We want to hear your stories. So tell us which runs have particular meaning to you. Feel free to send them in to us…

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post More than a run appeared first on Fast Running.