The weather is good so far, the tides are low, the date has been set for the Thames Source Quest: I'll leave from the Thames Barrier on Friday morning. The hydration is sorted too, complete article to follow in a few days.

Thames Source Quest

I'm not extremely well prepared, so I will take it easy. If things don't go too well, I might even indulge myself with a little nap or a burger in a riverside pub (in which case it wouldn't be unsupported any more, but I'll make it clear). Therefore, just like many ultrarunners do, I've set myself 3 main goals in order not to be too disappointed:
  • Gold: The Source (290km, the full story)
  • Silver: Oxford (204km, 70%, the longest distance I've run)
  • Bronze: Purley-on-Thames (145km, half-way)
Although the tracking software I've been writing is more or less working, I still have a few reliability issues in case of 3G or WiFi connection loss, so I'm not sure whether the live tracking will be available at all or temporarily during the challenge. In any case, the route I'll follow is available on GoogleEarth and GoogleMaps and I will post live updates on twitter. I'll also try to take a few pictures and videos with my tiny Muvi Atom camcorder.

Following John K's example, I've decided to run a "guess my time" competition. Because the outcome is uncertain, you are to make two guesses:
  • the time I'll take to complete the TSQ if I can finish (hours, minutes, seconds)
  • how far I'll be able to run otherwise (kilometres)
Additionally, you can also bet on these two water-related questions, although I'm not sure yet whether I'll count that accurately:
  • How many times I take water from the Thames?
  • How many times I will pass water?
You might think it's a joke, but I might indeed monitor closely my fluid intake and loss due to the relatively warm weather. Guesses can be submitted as comments. Closing time: Thursday 08/07/2010 @ Midnight BST. Small gifts for the closest bets.

Ultra ready?