Canal Run Routes

I am fortunate enough to live in a great place for running routes. It is only around 1/2 a mile to get to the beautiful Kennet and Avon Canal from my front door.

Even better than that is that there are train stations at regular intervals alongside the canal – meaning I have a range of distance options for my morning run before boarding the train for the remainder of the way to work.

Home to Thatcham Station is 2.6 miles, Midgeham is 5.7 miles, Aldermaston 7.8 miles and Theale is 11.8 miles. Factor in trains every 30 minutes or less and you can see I have some great opportunities.

The only problematic station can be Midgeham, where there is a level crossing, and the canal is on the wrong side for the train platform I need. A number of times I have sprinted the last half mile only to be beaten by the barrier by a few seconds. I guess the silver lining is that I then have another 30 minutes to do the 2 miles to the next station (well – I don’t want to be standing around getting cold for 30 mins…)

The other really helpful aspect here is that if I run in on a morning, I have to run the 2.6 miles home at night, after work. This has really helped with my mental strength – no matter how tired my legs are (from the morning run), I know I can crank out a 2.6 miler at the end of the day. This has helped considerably when doing longer runs and increasing mileage – I’d recommend to everyone, do a short easy run in the evening after a morning run.

I’ve run numerous distances from 2.6 miles to 19 miles along this canal towpath and it is everything you could ask for – from calm, still, mirror like waters, to raging torrents after a lot of rain, I’ve run on it flooded when it has broken it’s banks and I’ve run when it there was been a layer of solid nice. The nature, in all its glory, never ceases to inspire me.