Following an even longer delay than the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Thames 2020 Outlying Run in Streatley-on-Thames finally happened this weekend. It turned out to be worth waiting for: a wonderful combination of lovely weather, very comfortable accommodation, great running routes, a classic pub next door, excellent food and, of course, entertaining Thames company.
The format of the weekend followed the traditional pattern. The Saturday afternoon runs varied from 5 miles to 17 with the 11 and 13.5 miles being the most popular. We were very fortunate to have sole occupancy of the Streatley Youth Hostel but, because of Covid restrictions, we had to provide our own catering. Although at first, this sounded like a bit of a pain, it proved great because our wonderful Carver Maureen together with Izzie Jones provided excellent sandwiches and cakes for post-run teas.
After tea, it was showers followed by the pub next door. Back at the hostel, two ovens were busy cooking a selection of lasagnas from the wonderful COOK company. First Lady, Karen demonstrated excellent heating up skills and a fine eye for how to get a lot of food into two small ovens.
The dinner was accompanied with some great wine provided by the Carver and, once over, we were entertained by Emma’s amazing tennis, Matt Bryant and his guitar and accordion and Paul Newby with his poems. A particularly enjoyable combination of sporting excellence and Thames tradition!
On the Sunday morning there was some running but most opted for a long walk before lunch at the pub next door. Wonderful weather, great company, lovely country to run on and plenty of quality refreshments – a perfect day and half!
