Day 4: Putney Bridge - a river runs through it and so do four men and a boat…

So, it's all done. 140 miles, 45 locks and some unexpected hills all led to one final, familiar stretch of the Thames. The four of us finished, with remarkable synchronisation, at 7:45pm under Putney Bridge, which was bathed in the late evening sunshine. Glorious.

What was not so glorious was the final day's running and rowing. We'd started out on Friday with Lance Armstrong's famous quote - "pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever" - ringing in our ears. As we made our way along the Thames from Staines to Putney on Monday, pain began to feel very permanent for all of us. However, what's good enough for a 7 times Tour de France winner is good enough for four men and their boat and quitting was never an option.

The river tried, particularly on the 5-mile stretch between Molesey and Teddington, to get the better of us, but Old Father Thames hadn't bargained on the spirit of the meRANder crew - epitomised by Ben's "I'll get there if I have to bloody-well crawl" stoicism on the penultimate leg.

The main highlight of the day was obvious (the finish of course, not leaving Staines behind us) but there were many others too. Mr W continued to extract more money from unsuspecting strangers than Bob Geldof on speed. Hattie brought Simon and Matt sandwiches which, to two shattered guys, tasted like a Gordon Ramsay prepared feast. Kath and Mrs W remained as cheerful and wonderfully supportive as ever - where do they get their energy from? - and Qin continued to practice for a future career in motivational speaking - "Where's the honesty Qin?".

Arriving into Putney to see so many familiar faces was fantastic and we can only apologise for the payback you got for your support when the rowers, runners and their cox decided to strip off and jump into the Thames. Just to clarify for those who weren't there, Mr W was at the helm for the final stretch, not one of our lovely ladies. Shame.

After that, there was much beer and laughter and the traditional Garnett speech - it wouldn't be a night out in Putney without one. We finished the evening with a well deserved curry, which was devoured in about 2.5 seconds flat!

All that's left to say is one final thank you to everyone who supported us, in whatever way, over the last 4 days and during the many months beforehand. None of this could have been done without you and so it is to you that we owe the unforgettable experience that was meRANder 2008.

Will we be back for meRANder 2009? Seems unlikely, but you never know...

Day 3 - We all hate Simon and wanna go home...

Is it finally Monday??? Is it nearly over??

Day 4 for Team Thames - another morning, another pub, another breakfast table, same old sore legs, puffy eyes and smelly socks.

But! Stop the clock folks, its the last day and boy are we happy about that. But before we skip merrily into the sunshine for the final forray what's the Sunday resume??

Well, the highlight clearly lies with Vix and her inspired cox-based song writing. Read on...if you're confident you can hold a hold a tune, just go for it out loud baby - to the tune of "Sloop John B":

Ben's buggered his knee,
He's not just a pussy,
But it's given him another chance to whinge and moan.
Hattie's a star,
She's run bloody far,
And we all hate Simon, and wanna go home

CHORUS: So grab a Lucozade gel
The next run's gonna be hell
Get that lock gate closed, we wanna go home
Let us go home, we wanna go home, yeah yeah
This is the worst trip, we've ever been on

Qin looks like he might cry
Or more likely might die
Matt's still smiling, he's clearly gone a bit mad.
Hattie's on crack,
We wanna go back,
This is the worst idea anyone has ever had.

CHORUS: So grab a Lucozade gel
The next run's gonna be hell
Get that lock gate closed, we wanna go home
Let us go home, we wanna go home, yeah yeah
We feel so broke up, we wanna go home.

I am sure by the end of today they'll be another verse or two - or hey, feel free to add your own, blogsters.

The rest of the day? Fair to say it's all merging into one, but some absolute blinding moments:

Hattie (again) - so, there we are (me and Hatts that is) at Toms Boat Yard in Windsor, having run a leg, waiting for Mr and Mrw W to pick us for to take us to the next lock to run again. The M4 being what it is, Mr and Mrs W were stuck in a jam, so in a fit of stupidity, we decided to just run to the next lock - simple huh? Not quite, in that we also had a bike with us (Ben's from the last leg) - so what did we do? Hatts basically picked it up, strapped it to her back and carried it, (yes folks its true) 3 miles along the Thames to the next lock. I can categorically state that she is the craziest person I have ever met - Hatts, we salute you - and now its time to lock you up...

Other highlights - Mrs Peachy shaking the bucket at every single person at Hambledon Lock, Mr W doing the same at Maidenhead (massive thanks to all those people we chugged en route). The fabulous sight of Matt, Hattie and Si doing a triple thigh stretch on the dog-wee posts at Maidenhead (we washed the shirts afterwards, promise), and lastly, Qin giving Vix a soaking at Boveney lock - that went down well - not so much.

Lastly, a huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Hayward for coming to join the party and to the 3 Peaches - two supporters and one cox - who came to support 2 years ago and came back again for more - thank you thank you thank you.

So as the cooked breakfasts arrive, we await the start of the last day's travels and the fabulous sight of the final Putney stretch. Bring home the bacon x

Day 2 - So running a long a river, that'll be nice and flat then right?

Breakfast time, day three - sore, blistered, minus a few toes and 3 inches shorter than when we started.

But - morale is high, we're over half way!

Why no update last night??? Because we didn't get to the pub (the fabulous Bull in Wargrave) until 10.30. Oops.

Why the long day? A late (12) start as the Garnetts needed to go to Slough and back for an unmissable in the morning, huge thanks to the Wisemans for coming to collect us and to the rest of the crew who waited so patiently back in Abingdon - we owe you.

As a result, we had lunch at 6pm on the river bank in Goring - Vix being masterchef with the ciabattas and babybells - but none of us noticed it was so late. Speaks volumes.

Highs and lows of the day??

Lots of sunshine (almost too much for the running bits), Hattie's ability to run 25 miles (yes folks, thats a marathon distance from our favorite girl, what a star), Mr and Mrs W and their boundless energy and support, bike riding skills and for wining over the owner and all the staff at the Bull to keep the resturant open for us until 11pm for our supper and serve up pasta (an unheard of). To the Bull - a HUGE thank you. To Garnett - thats the first time I've seen anyone have pasta for starters, and then a bigger portion of the same for mains - nice job.

Two more for the road - Hattie and Qin feeling somewhat short of energy in Sonning having just finished their alpine stretch, struggling to find the lock, happening upon a local lady they asked for some directions only to receive the unforgettable response of 'lock?? I've lived here 15 years and I can tell you there is no lock' - mad as a box of frogs.

And lastly, Benny boy - setting off at the speed of sound en velo to meet Q&H on yet another of their long stretches, and being badgered by Si and Matt to take a bag of sarnies and supplies with him onto the next lock to feed the runners - the honourable Benny took on the bag, which promptly split - alot - resulting in him abandoing everything edible apart from the bag of twix bars which he carried Lassie style in his mouth for 3 miles. One of the funniest lock arrivals of the day. Genius.

And the lows - sore stuff, everywhere. Poor old Qinny, who got to run all 3 of the uphill, off river, over 4 mile stretches ('climb every mountain' comes to mind).
Having to manually carry the skiff through Sonning lock as we couldn't get it to work. And finally, taking nearly an hour to find the blimin' boat yard in the dark at the end of the day - WHERE IS IT???!!!

So, as they say, tomorrow is another day, and so here we are, sat waiting for breakfast and the arrival of Peach (one of today's drivers as Mr and Mrs W are off to see Baby Wiseman - Scott - compete in the elite triathlon team at Windsor this morning - gold star commitment again - before making it back to us for lunchtime).
The sun is shining (we're hoping for a bit of cloud later), there are no running legs above 4 miles today, and best of all we can't wait to get to tonight's venue - oh yes, it the Staines massive kids - as by then we'll be able to sniff London in the air and will know its only one day to go until its all over.

Oh, and by the way, we've already decided on next years challenge - we'll be spending these four days next year on a massive pizza and pie eating contest - bring it on.

More later, unless someone from the Massive nicks the laptop...

Day 1 - Mindless optimism dashed on the rocks of reality

The off at Lechlade - is that enthusiasm or naiveity?

Well here we all are, the 9 of us - rowers, runners, coxes, drivers and wags, enconsed very happily in the Broad Face brasserie at the end of a very long and nettle-stung full first day.

How can I (Garnetta) sum up the first day? Exhilarating, exciting, exhausting probably just about does it.

41 miles of hard rowing and challenging river bank running, started with high spirits, bright sunshine, a photo with old father thames - respect to the big lad - and legs full of last nights lasagne, and ended with a huge sigh of relief, the wrong oars, a very dodgy knee, a world record number of nettle stings and a lot fewer jaffa cakes than we started with.



Special mention for the legendary Mr and Mrs W who were up at 3 this morning to reach us in Lechlade on time, and then spent the rest of the day playing 'lock chasing' and traffic jam dodging, as well as being awesome supporters, food and drink purveyors, end of day taxi drivers, and the bookers of the most fabulous restaurant for this evening - Mr and Mrs W - we salute you - thank you so much.

Another special mention for those lovely riverside donators in the form of other boatsmen and a lovely lock keeper - thank you! For the fabulous rendition of 'Rowing 9 to 5' (sorry Dolly) - Matt and Si, I thank you - it was unforgettable - sadly. The lowlights? The last but one row and run being longer than the 4.6 miles we had hoped - and alot more painful. Abd Ben's injured knee - ouch...

So, whats next? A big pasta based supper, and a long sleep - although the arrival of a screaming hen do (with strippers girls - not Qin we hasten to add!) at the lovely Kingfisher Barns means we're anticipating slightly less sleep than we'd planned - no doubt more on that in the morning.

One last challenge before we get to Putney, rewriting and singing the words to Love Is All Around - we go off to a good start today - "I feel it in my fingers (as in pain), I feel it in my bum (sore), the river's all around us, my arse is feeling numb...." Any suggestions for the rest well received, get on it, popstars.

Well, time to wrap for now, wish us all the best for a good sleep and a sunny start tomorrow. And don't forget to leave us a message/huge cheque.



Laters dudes...

The night before and the tension is mounting...

Last minute fun and games meant we left London a little later than planned (nothing to do with Matthew whose time keeping was as impeccable as ever...maybe) but we got on the road decked out in our new team t-shirts: Garnetto, Garnetta, Chin, Qinny Baby & Peeky Leeky (that’s Matt in case you were wondering – and no we can’t remember where he got the name from but it seems a shame to change something that has stuck so well...)

Had to have a quick stop over in Abingdon on the way through to Lechlade to drop Kath’s car but we are now safely ensconsed in our pub in Lechlade, well fed on Lasagne and chips (sport chips you understand) and ready for a good nights kip.

Tomorrow we are due to set off at sparrows fart. The boat is being dropped off at 7:30am so as long as he gets there on time, we will be off on the B of the starters gun. Kath is coxing day 1, well supported by Mr & Mrs Wiseman in the car. Ben & Qin lead us off in the skiff on the first leg from Lechlade Bridge to St John’s Lock, with Matt & Me running.

And for those statos amongst you, revel in these beauties:

- 39.82 miles to be covered tomorrow
- Longest distance between locks – 4.74 miles from Northmoor to Shifford (run by Si & Matt)
- Shortest distance between locks – the first 0.65 miles from Lechlade Bridge to St John’s Lock
- Anticipated finish time – 19:14

That’s it – off to get our beauty sleep. Bring on the river – can’t wait.

To post us a morale boosting good luck message, click on the envelope below. If you are planning to come and see us at any point over the weekend, we would love to see you – just call one of our mobiles and we will be able to let you know where we are and when we will get to any pt on the river...we hope...

You can't keep 4 good men down

Commandeering the A-team van might be the solution if the weather doesn't get any better...

That's the bulldog spirit. Slapped down a bit by the weather (which by the way is still atrocious - every lock on the river been on red boards since we psotponed...), we dusted ourselves down and are about to get back on the horse.

Delighted to say that we are now go again from Friday 13th June to finish on Monday 16th.

Qin has been taking crash courses in diplomacy from Boutros Boutros and managed to convince the school that it really would be in their best interests to let him skip 2.5 days of school (what does that say about Mr Wiseman's teaching ability?) and the rest of us have managed to hastily cancel anything in the diary to clear the decks.

Kath will cox us on Day 1, with Hattie & Vix pulling the strings on days 2 & 3 and then probably Kath back in the hot seat for the final stint down the Thames to Putney.

And what is more, those good lads over at the Met Office are saying that there is a chance it won't wee it down all week long - which would make for a nice change...

UK Outlook for Monday 9 Jun 2008 to Wednesday 18 Jun 2008:
High pressure will dominate much of the UK on Monday and Tuesday with weather fronts spreading across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will give periods of rain or showers in the north, with the brighter, drier weather in the south. A similar theme continues for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with the brighter, drier weather in southern, central and eastern areas with showers or periods of rain in the north and northwest. Temperatures near normal in the north, slightly above normal in the south. Looking further ahead from Saturday through to Wednesday, the trend appears similar giving largely dry and bright weather in the south with the higher risk of showers in the north and northeast in a largely west or northwesterly flow. Temperatures continuing to be near normal.

And the party?

As we all know, this is just an excuse for a party so don't worry - we are back on. We are still negotiating the final location in Putney but the aim is from 7:30pm somewhere on the Putney waterfront - exact place TBC. Do let us know if you are coming by sending an email to merander2008@gmail.com

Bollocks, bollocks,bollocks

Me and my big mouth.

Just fired off an email all gung ho/Dunkerque spirit/don't worry, even if we have to crawl we will get there.

And then I went to speak to the Environment Agency who have told me that basically there isn't a hope in hell of getting on the water for Thurs or Fri and that it is highly unlikely we will get out on Sat or Sun as well. 1 or 2 days making up for cycling with rowing feels like it might be feasible, but 4 days without once getting in a boat kind of makes you question what we are doing...

Plus the severe weather warning means it is likely that parts of the Thames path could flood, it began to feel a bit stupid.

So whilst we may be down, we certainly aren't out.

A hastily convened meeting last night in the pub and we have got a new date - provisional at this stage - of Friday 13th June to Monday 16th June. A few more logistical things to sort before we can 100% confirm but hopefully we should be back on soon and ready to boss that Thames. Brint it on wet pants...

(not Ben - talking about the Thames obviously...which is surprisingly moist at the moment)