GUCR 2004 - Grand Union Canal Race
Hanno Nickau

29th May 2004, 6am, Gas Street Basin, Birmingham

The Grand Union Canal Race is the longest continuous race in the UK, 145 miles from Birmingham, Gas Street Basin, to Little Venice in London.

A big thank you to my son, Simon Nickau (simon@nickau.f9.co.uk phone 01865 760929) for maintaining this page during the race keeping everyone informed about my progress. 

I will be carrying my mobile (07751 198648) most of the time, the support crew is led by Marie-Anne Fischer (mobile 07762 937895)
If you want to come and support me, or just to see me suffer, please ring to find out where exactly we are.

Click here to see the progress table!
Some pics taken during the race.

"Hourly" Updates:

The End:
He has done it!!! He got all the way from Birmingham to London!!!! WELL DONE HANNO!!!!!
The time was 37:26, a little bit of the Target, but a great success anyway. He still got 7th place though.

Thirtyfifth Hour:
Hanno has now done 135.7 miles, and I won't be able to do updates 'til the finish, so see you in about three hour or hopefully less.

Thirtyfourth Hour:
Hanno has just left the last checkpoint before the finish at 133 miles.

Thirtythird Hour:
Hanno has run 130.8 miles so far.

Thirtysecond Hour:
The last time Hanno and Stuart met with the support crew, the weather was very summery, and they changed appropriately, he even changed his shoes to sandals, yet shortly after they departed, it started to rain. After thirtytwo hours Hanno has managed to run (and walk) 128,4 miles.

Thirtyfirst Hour:
Hanno and Stuart couldn't decide on the route, which slowed them down. Also it is very hot and at the moment in total he managed 126.2 miles.

Thirtieth Hour:
Hanno only managed to run 3 miles in this hour, so now he is at 123.5 miles.

Twentyninth Hour:
Hanno says that he is thankful for all the calls and messages of support. He has now done 120.5 miles.

Twentyeighth Hour:
Hanno is starting to feel better, because it is getting closer and closer to the end. "Every mile is a mile closer to the finish" he said. Now he has gotten 118.2 miles out of the way.

Twentyseventh Hour:
Hanno started running again, and is now at 115 Mlles.

Nineteenth to Twentysixth Hour:
After having unintentionally slept for eight hours, i now have an eight-hour report:
Since midnight the first person had dropped out, and Alicia Barahona overtook him again. in the last five hours, Hanno didn't manage to get very far, because he says that he felt absolutely shattered his feet hurt him so much, because they are so wounded (see picture site) . Will and Stuart have also come, and Stuart is cycling with Hanno at the moment. In total, Hanno only managed to get to 111.9 miles.

Eighteenth Hour:
Hanno has completed a total of 89.5 miles of the race so far.

Seventeenth Hour:
Not much to say this time. Hanno has 87.5 miles behind him now.

Sixteenth Hour:
The 10 minute break became a 35 minute break, so at the end of sixteen hours he has only run 81.9 miles

Fifteenth Hour:
Hanno is now going to take a 10 min. break to "operate" the blisters on his feet. He now has 80 miles out of the way.

Fourteenth Hour:
Hanno is slowing down at 75.8 miles from the start. He says that everything is hurting. it rained the last half-hour, but is now starting to clear up.

Thirteenth Hour:
At the last checkpoint Hanno allowed himself to have 5 minutes break. Now is almost halfway at 71.3 miles.

Twelfth Hour:
After half a day and 66.8 miles behind him, Hanno is still quite happy and still fast. He is looking forward to the next checkpoint to find out wether the three ahead of him are still in the race. Yannis and Vinci have taken over support for the next few hours.

Eleventh Hour:
Hanno has completed 61.8 miles of the course, and not looking forward to the third and final tunnel up ahead, as they have to run over it. The McMillan Brothers are hot on his heels, but he says that it is still pleasant and that at the speed he is running at now, he might make it in 32 hours.

Tenth Hour:
After ten hours of running, Hanno has run more than two marathon. The total distance so far is 57 miles and he is still feeling pretty good.

Ninth Hour:
Hanno lost a place after a toilet stop, but has overtaken all three ahead of him since then, so he is in 4th place now after 51.6 miles.

Eighth Hour:
At 46 miles, the total Hanno has run after eight hours, he had a short break to apply sunscreen and change, etc. he could see Kevin McMillan and Craig McMillan who are in 4th and 5th place. Moreover he is now in 6th place.

Seventh Hour:
41.2 miles are behind Hanno now. And even though the ground had been difficult to run on and he has to be careful not to fall in the river, he is closing down on the 5th and 6th competitors.

Sixth Hour:
The distance Hanno has run is now 35.9, the sun is Shining and he is still in 7th position

Fifth Hour:
Hanno now has 30.4 miles behind him, and has completed his fisrt marathon of the race in 4 hours 15 minutes.

Fourth Hour:
Hanno has run 24.9 miles plus about 0.5 miles, as a footpath was closed. Currently he is in 7th position.

Third Hour:
Hanno as completed 19.2 miles and is now on the left side of the canal. He reports that the weather is ideal for running, and he feels much better after his toilet stop. He can still see the leading woman and is starting to feel his right knee.

Second Hour:
Hanno ran exactly 13 miles, and has now got wet feet.

First Hour:
Hanno managed to get 6.4 miles out of the way. He ran with last years winning woman, Alicia Barahona, who thenhad a time of 33:05. It has drizzled on and off.

Hanno almost didn't make it to the start, as they (the support crew and him) did a "sight seeing tour" around Birmingham.