This is one of the routes that I used to do at lunch a few years ago when I worked for 3. It's a mix of a run combining town, river path, motor way path (I kid you not), village roads and finishing through an industrial park. There are a variety of runs in the Maidenhead area to choose from and anyone who has done the Down Tow - Up Flow half marathon will be familiar with some of the route I did in this stage. There is also the Green way which runs to Cookham which will probably be a route for a later stage. Below are a couple of good websites which would be useful for first time runners in the area.
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/dbimgs/Visit%20Thames/Maidenhead%20to%20Windsor%20Walk.pdf
http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/public/transport_cycle_leaflet_part1.pdf
http://www.purplepatchrunning.com/index.php/down-tow-up-flow-half-marathon
Stage 5 kicked off from Stratham car park in Maidenhead, which is free on a Sunday and empty!
http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/parking_stafferton_way.htm
Run Stats
Just the two of us again on this stage and although it is not reflected in the Stats below, I remember this usually being a quick circuit. A muddy flooded river path meant we had to walk for almost a kilometre around the 4.5k mark which added to the time.
Overall Experience
We got off to an early start, for a Sunday and the weather was sunny with a blustery to brutal wind along certain stretches. Coming out of the carpark I headed into town, taking a right at the infamous Honey Pot and following the road to the B3028 where a left turn takes you up towards the A4. Along this stretch there are cycle route signs, which we followed taking us through a lovely cul de sac housing area before coming out at the bridge. Once over the bridge we joined the Thames Path heading towards Windsor. The river path starts as concrete before becoming compact dirt and the recent weather made the compact dirt stretch more like a bog. I had to drop to a walk for a good portion either struggling to keep the pram unstuck or to ensure we did not skid off into the shrubs and the river. It was a full body work out and my arms, chest and shoulders are still aching and shaking. This stretch was very quiet with fields to one side and the river the other and the only interaction we had was to say good morning to a couple of dog walkers and a cyclist who gave way to us and shouted encouragement as I pushed and skidded through a rather large mud patch. Once clearing this and confirming again my pram is not designed for trail running, we hit the next obstacle, the stairs up to the path that runs along the motorway and to the other side of the river. Fortunately the pram rider is now old enough to get out of the pram and walk up the steps, so it was not too much of an effort. (Personally I would not have done this route before she was able to do the steps herself, as they are quite steep and not ideal for dragging a full pram up.)
Running along the motorway had always given me a spurt of speed when I had done this route years ago, it was no different with the pram. Just to be clear, I was not sprinting along the hard shoulder into oncoming traffic, or anything else risky and maverick. check the news. ;). It is a proper, registered and fenced off path (see photos below) that only lasts for about 150metres. Shortly after leaving this path we were on the village roads through Bray, which is so picturesque before joining the B3028 again back up into Maidenhead and cutting through the industrial commercial park, less pretty, back to the car park.
The start of the bog challenge
After the effort of getting the pram through the mud, I needed a rest! Only fair at this age she puts in a bit of effort ;)
Views from the Motorway
Pros :-
- Great circuit
- Free Car parking near the town centre means plenty of options for a post run coffee and cake
- Generally good paths for the pram, recent wet weather caused a challenge for 1km,
- Lotsof visual stimulation for the pram rider due to the variety of areas the route goes through.
- Great for the pram runner as well,
- Stairs to the M4 mean route are not the easiest when running alone with pre walking toddlers.
- Quite isolated for a good stretch, I did not feel uncomfortable with this at any point but felt it worth pointing out for those less familiar with the area.
- Being shouted at from the pram to go faster when you are using every ounce of strength to get the pram through a boggy patch with a viscous headwind does nothing for your self esteem. :)
