The first completion of the course as it is now was in 1948 by the Devizes Scout group; and since this was accomplished it has become an annual event every Easter weekend, with the four day event starting on Good Friday and the overnight race starting on the Saturday. The race runs a course of 125 miles along the Kennet and Avon canal from Devizes and then joins the Thames at Reading, it then continues all the way to Westminster Bridge in London.