Marlow, here we come...

A TOTAL of 112 swimmers took part in the Thames Marathon on Sunday and raised £40,000 for charity.

The 13km swim, which started in New Street, Henley, and ended in Higginson Park, Marlow, was organised by Henley Swim on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The swimmers started in waves and passed through Hambleden, Hurley and Temple Locks, getting out of the water, walking round and jumping back in each time.

Friends and family members supported them along the course.

At the finish the swimmers were presented with medals and given snacks and a hot drink.

First home was Paul Marshall-Taylor, from Surrey, who said: “The water conditions were good. There was definitely some flow after the rain in recent weeks, which helps as it carries you along.

“It wasn’t quite as filthy as people were talking about. Everyone’s worried about the sewage in the Thames but it seemed okay.

“The event was brilliantly organised. People throughout the course were amazing and the volunteers gave a lot of support.”

Sports presenter Vassos Alexander, from London, said: “It was a great swim on a very beautiful stretch of river.

“I have pals who live very close by and I’ve always wanted to do this but have always been away on holiday on the day. We came back from Vietnam yesterday and I couldn’t resist.

“The last five days we were by the beach, so I did a couple of long swims there. I was meant to be doing it without a wetsuit but as I have a shoulder injury I thought I would give myself a break. I really loved it. The river was gentle and clean and I will definitely be doing it again next year.”

Liam McSauley, from Coventry, was third home.

He said: “My brother told me to do it and then left me to do it on my own because he couldn’t make it today.

“The course was nice and smooth all the way down except for the last bit in Marlow, which was a bit bumpier because of the boats. I feel tired now but good.”

The first woman to cross the line was Eileen Luther, from Southend.

She said: “It was lovely, an absolutely gorgeous swim. The wind was behind us, pushing us along. The ducks were swimming past with babies and geese flew overhead — it was amazing.

“Getting out at the locks was fine but the second one, to get in again, you had to slide down a rope, which was a bit challenging. This was a year and a week since I had open heart surgery and a year to the day since I came out of hospital. It feels great that I have got better and been able to recover and do this.”

Peter English, from Northamptonshire, was “ecstatic” to have bettered his target time of four and a half hours by almost 45 minutes.

He said: “I think the flow helped but I won’t tell anyone that, just say it was my excellent training. I have been training for this all year. I have done the half marathons for the last two years and just had to do the full one.

“I was a bit worried about it but it was okay as the water conditions were lovely.

“All the volunteers were brilliant and there were an awful lot of them around.”

Juliette Hume, operations director of Henley Swim, said: “We had a great day and were lucky with the weather, which makes a massive difference, especially at the end.

“People sit with their families together and enjoy the bar and food vans rather than just rushing home.

“The turnout was similar to last year but we had more people doing the half marathon, which was 5.5km, something we introduced a couple of years ago. People are using it as a stepping stone from our shorter events to build up to the marathon,

“We rely on a big team of volunteers spread across seven different sites, including the car parks and three locks. They are amazing and we are very grateful for their support.

“The majority of swimmers are not too focused on the racing side of it but the flow of the river made everyone’s times much faster.”