In keeping with the Geos Group tradition of long-distance sporting events, our team member Ruth Dos Remedios is participating in two ultramarathons this year.
In May she completed the Goring Gap 50km run in an impressive 4 hours, 58 minutes. Starting at the picturesque stately home of Mapledurham House, the circular route winds through quiet villages and along riverbank trails and country lanes, with marshals and water stations spread out along the way. “It’s only a couple of miles from where I live,” said Ruth, “you go out along the river, which is where I often run anyway, so it’s really lovely scenery and quite flat as well.”
Ruth has been a keen long-distance runner for many years, so she did not have to follow a new or specific training plan for this event. The main difference was including longer training runs every week or two, to get used to going the extra distance. “It really varied from week to week,” she said, “but my longest training run was about a marathon, so 26 miles. I quite like doing that, I find it relaxing. And I’ve got a treadmill that I can go on in the evenings if necessary – it’s not as nice as going outside, but it’s better than nothing.”
Her sights are now set on the 75km (47 miles) cross-country Thames Trot ultramarathon in October. This run starts in the village of Iffley near Oxford, passes through Abingdon, Wallingford and Reading, and ends in Henley-on-Thames, just a short stroll from the Geos Group head office. Most of the route hugs the river along the Thames Path, and the terrain will be a mix of countryside trails through fields and woodland, tarmac paths, and potentially mud and floodwater if the weather is wet. “I tend to do these things in May and October when it’s hopefully not too hot and not too cold,” said Ruth, who is now increasing her training yet again. “I’m not sure if I’ll do any more miles in one go, because you risk getting injured if you do that, so I might do a long run on a Saturday and then get up and do another long run on the Sunday.”
The Thames Trot will be even more challenging than the Goring Gap run. There are only five checkpoints and fewer marshals and route markings along the way, so the runners will have to carry more water, maps and geo trackers. Everyone at the Geos Group wishes Ruth the very best of luck, and will be keeping their fingers crossed for her when the big day arrives.
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