Paul Ali and Paul Stout took part in the Thames Path Ultra which involved a 50 mile run from Reading to Shepperton.

At the start of the day, the weather looked poor with heavy rain but thankfully this cleared up just prior to the start.

The first two 10 mile legs were fairly comfortable although muddy conditions along some of the route made running particularly difficult and energy sapping. Unfortunately, Paul Stout tweaked his hamstring and had to make some running repairers on route.

The third 10 mile leg became a mixture of running and walking with Paul Stout cautious of aggravating his injury. The guys had a decent break at the 3rd Checkpoint for food and water and then met Matt Brown and Matt Coggins who offered some support for the next 10 mile leg.

Unfortunately, leg 4 was a slow one with more walking than running but the guys picked up the running for the last couple of miles and after a brief pause at Checkpoint 4 made a running start to the last 10 mile leg.

Conditions were getting dark at this point, so head torches were necessary for running and by the time the guys were midway through the leg it was pitch black. The route followed the Thames Path to Shepperton and then headed into a built up area towards the finish at the Holiday Inn.

Paul Ali eventually finished in 11hrs and Paul Stout finished in about 11 hrs 17mins. Both guys were tired and sore but pleased to finish.

Paul Ali would like to thank everyone who donated towards his charity Cancer Research UK www.justgiving.com/paulali where donations can still be made.

In addition Paul Stout is completing a series of runs in aid of Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain & Northern Ireland and donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/paulstout1

Pictures of the day are shown below.