Thames 200 Ultra 2026: The Ultimate 200km Paddle from Lechlade to Teddington
200 kilometres. One river. One extraordinary paddling challenge. - Thames 200 Ultra 2026: The Ultimate 200km Paddle from Lechlade to Teddington
On August 29 and 30th 2026, 300 paddlers from across the UK and beyond gathered beneath Ha’Penny Bridge in Lechlade-on-Thames for the start of one of the UK’s most demanding and unusual paddle races – the Thames 200 Ultra.
The challenge was simple to describe, but considerably harder to complete.
Starting at Lechlade, competitors followed the navigable River Thames downstream for approximately 200 kilometres, finishing at Teddington Lock.
RACE START HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO
The race could be tackled non-stop by individuals or crews, or as a relay team, with paddlers changing at designated checkpoints.
And perhaps the most interesting thing about the Thames 200 Ultra is that there isn’t just one type of competitor.
You could be racing a kayak, canoe, double kayak, stand-up paddleboard or another paddle-powered craft. The official rules allow both single and crew boats, provided the craft is propelled solely by a paddle. This really is an ultra-distance race for the whole paddling community.
BBC COVERAGE TODAY
The 2026 Thames 200 Ultra
There were two main start times:
Early Start – 10:00 and Mass Start – 14:00 at Ha’Penny Bridge, Lechlade-on-Thames
From there, competitors headed downstream towards Teddington.
The race has five compulsory checkpoints:
New Bridge
Abingdon
Pangbourne
Temple
Staines
The finish is at Teddington, with competitors expected to arrive between approximately 05:30 and 20:00 on Sunday depending on their class and pace.
How do you race 200 kilometres?
There are several ways to approach the Thames 200 Ultra.
Straight Through
The ultimate challenge is to paddle the entire course from Lechlade to Teddington without handing over to another paddler. That can be done individually or in a crew boat. For an individual paddler, this becomes a true ultra-endurance challenge. You aren’t simply racing for a couple of hours. Depending on your speed, you could be paddling through the afternoon, evening, night and into Sunday morning.
The fastest competitors will be looking at an intense race against the clock, while others will be managing their pace carefully to ensure they can keep moving for many hours.
Team Relay
The alternative is to enter as a team. The course is divided into sections of approximately 30 kilometres, with competitors changing at the designated checkpoints. For experienced marathon paddlers, a 30km section is already a serious race distance – roughly comparable to an international canoe marathon.
But the team format changes the challenge completely. Instead of one person having to survive the entire 200km, a team can share the workload, with each paddler responsible for their own section.
This opens the event up to a much wider range of paddlers.
Kayak, canoe, SUP… or something different?
One of the things that makes the Thames 200 Ultra stand out is the variety of craft on the start line.
Kayaks, canoes, singles, doubles, stand-up paddleboards and skis.
That means you could see everything from specialist racing kayaks to SUPs sharing the river.
The only fundamental requirement is that the craft must be propelled solely by a paddle. Competitors are also expected to transport their craft, paddles and compulsory equipment along the course by their own efforts, unless the race organisers specifically allow otherwise.
It is this mixture of disciplines that gives the Thames 200 Ultra its character. This isn’t simply a canoe marathon that happens to be 200 kilometres long. It is an ultra-distance paddling event that brings different parts of the paddlesport community together.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW to watch my paddle adventures on this stretch.
The Thames itself becomes part of the challenge
For anyone who knows the River Thames, the route is particularly fascinating.
The race started in the relatively rural upper Thames around Lechlade before heading downstream towards Oxford and beyond.
The landscape, river character and surrounding environment gradually change as competitors progress downstream. Eventually, the rural upper river gives way to increasingly urban surroundings as the race approaches London and finally Teddington.
For a recreational paddler, the Thames is normally experienced in manageable sections.
You might paddle Lechlade to Kelmscott. Or Bablock Hythe to Godstow. Perhaps Wallingford to Reading.
The Thames 200 Ultra effectively stitches all of these experiences together into one continuous journey.
That is what makes the event such an extraordinary way of experiencing the river.
Racing through the night
For many competitors, this is where the Thames 200 Ultra becomes a completely different challenge.
The river you know during daylight becomes a very different environment after dark.
The organisers therefore have specific lighting requirements. Competitors must have forward- and rear-facing white lights with a 180-degree arc during darkness. A white/green glowstick must also be attached to the right shoulder of each paddler’s buoyancy aid. And the lights aren’t simply about visibility. They are an important part of making hundreds of paddlers visible to other competitors and the event safety team.
What makes the Thames 200 Ultra special?
There are plenty of endurance races around the world but the Thames 200 has something that makes it particularly appealing to paddlers in the UK. It’s a race down one of the country’s most famous rivers.
It starts in Lechlade-on-Thames, a town synonymous with the source region of the River Thames, and finishes at Teddington Lock, where the tidal Thames begins.
Between those two points lies an incredible journey through some of the most varied sections of the river.
The race therefore isn’t just a test of endurance, it’s a celebration of the Thames itself.
Paddle Daily reportded on the event. Follow here.
WEATHER PLAN
Read more on the expected weather here.
The history of the Thames 200 Ultra
The story behind the event is almost as interesting as the race itself.
In August 2023, BBC presenter Steve Backshall, alongside paddling partner Tom McGibbon, set a Guinness World Record for the fastest paddle of the navigable, non-tidal River Thames in a double kayak.
That record attempt demonstrated what was possible on the full navigable Thames course. Keith Moule, who comes from an international marathon canoe racing background, saw the potential.
Moule had also been involved in another major endurance paddling achievement, breaking the longstanding Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon record alongside Tom Sharpe in 2023.
The idea was to take the extraordinary challenge of paddling the length of the navigable Thames and turn it into an organised ultra-distance race.
The Thames 200 Ultra was launched in 2024, with 97 paddlers taking part in the inaugural event.
Since then, the race has continued to attract paddlers from different disciplines, including competitors attempting the full distance on stand-up paddleboards.
Follow the Thames 200 Ultra
For the latest information, race rules, GPS tracking, training advice, results and spectator information, visit the official Thames 200 Ultra website: Thames 200 Ultra – Official Website
Paddle With Tom followed the 2026 Thames 200 Ultra and the paddlers taking on this incredible 200km challenge.
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