Saturday saw the second Thames Meander a Marathon, and this year for the first time a Half, from Marymount International School in Kingston, through Richmond Park, down to the River Thames. There the Marathon went straight on and followed the River to Putney, where the runners turned round and ran all the way back to Kingston . . those in the Half turned left and ran down to Teddington Lock where they turned and returned the way they'd come, back to the finish at the School . .

I found a great spot in Richmond Park, close to Kingston Gate, in the second mile, and waited for the runners to wind their way down through the trees towards the bridge before me . .

. . and as I took my photos I also took some film of everyone enjoying the early miles . .

Once everyone had goner by I made my way to the riverbank, where I took photos of most of the Half Marathon runners at the 9 mile point, and then most of those in the Marathon in the 23rd mile, just after they'd run past Richmond Bridge . .

There was plenty to see as I waited for the runners to come past . . and there was a wide variety of weather too. Having been bright whilst I was in Richmond Park, the sky became a bit gloomy later on in the morning. But it brightened up again at lunchtime and Richmond Bridge made a great backdrop to my photos in the sunshine . .

Two hours later however, and I could hardly see the Bridge at all . . but the runners kept on running of course . . and I kept on snapping and (hopefully) encouraging, until I was no longer sure that I could keep my cameras dry, at which time I made my way back to the School, and the finish . .

I was surprised to find that it was dry up in Kingston . . but the rain soon caught up with me. Once Chantal had finished her first Marathon (one of several runners completing the distance for the first time), of course the sun came out once again, and we all began the slow process of getting everything dry . .

Use the buttons below and up at the top left to find your way around the different pages of photos . .