A run along the river

With the sun shining for once (a welcome break from the summer rain we've had this year) I laced up my trainers and headed outside for one of my 'explorer' routes. Put simply, these are runs that take place in areas or along public pathways that I have never visited before when running - hence the name. I'm always browsing Google maps and the Ordnance Survey to find local footpaths and bridleways, and recently came up with the idea of seeing whether it was possible to run along the Thames to the QE2 bridge.

On previous occasions I'd run to the RSPB centre at Rainham marshes (a 9 mile round trip from home) but had never gone further. As far as I knew the path was a dead-end at this point, but it turns out that once you get past Purfleet station there is actually another public footpath that runs alongside the river, past the gritty industrial areas and factories.

River Ingrebourne through Rainham marshes

With a leaky* water bottle in one hand, I stashed a couple of quid in my pocket for munchies, and switched on my old iPhone to record the GPS data. The run to Rainham station was pretty straightforward, and from the marshes I was able to head along to the RSPB centre (shown at 1 on the map below). With the mixture of sunshine and rain we've had recently much of the grass bordering the pathways had grown like crazy and was waist high. And as I dodged the nettle bushes I savoured the peace and quiet, and absorbed the natural beauty around me. The kids were at school, most adults were at work and the only other people around seemed to be other likeminded runners or the odd walker. 

At the RSPB centre I took a moment to rest and enjoyed one of their home made muffins - highly recommended. Had I taken more cash I'd have picked up a cold drink too, but I guess I'll put that down to experience for next time. Suitably rested I continued along the riverside path to the Purfleet beacon, and joined the road to the local railway station. On the opposite side of the road were a small row of cottages, and the footpath I was looking for led me behind these properties to a somewhat scrappy area of open land that felt like an abandoned industrial access route. It may well have served a more meaningful purpose once upon a time, but now it was clearly signposted as a public footpath, which meant that I was legally entitled to use it. Whether anyone would want to or not remains to be seen as it was the kind of remote location that gave me the jitters. Images of newspaper headlines flashed through my mind with each step I took: "Runner's body found in bushes after 2 weeks missing" and so on! The path narrowed, moving closer to the river's edge, and as I approached the fencing of the first industrial section I spotted a man ahead taking photos of the factory behind the fence. With hindsight this was probably no weirder than me running here, but at the time my imagination was working overtime and I decided to go no further. I ran back to the RSPB centre, and from here, continued west along the riverside - past the concrete barges and diver sculpture.

By now my body was complaining about the mileage (I'd completed a 10k race just a few days before) and was approaching the 10 mile mark. My legs felt heavy and my hips were quite tender too. I was walking a fair bit now, but still managed to talk myself into a gentle jog every now and then. At Rainham village I popped into Tesco for a snack before continuing the final couple of miles back to my front door.

Overall it was a good adventure, and I'd love to try and get further. I'll definitely give this one another go. Someday.

* Before leaving home I filled my bottle with water and added a soluble hydration tablet. The mouth piece can be quite  hard to pull up and close again, and when I closed it with a firm whack the base fractured. For the duration of the run I then had to endure splashes of lemon and lime juice on my shorts and leg. Lovely. Think I'll invest in a Camelbak now.