Hi everyone,

Thanks for another great week of running! You’ve all been so friendly and welcoming – I really appreciate it! We have many new runners joining us this week, so make sure you take a minute to say Hi.

This week we return to some of our favourite runs. Monday we head off to the heart of London with a 4-mile run to Big Ben and then we take the tube home from Westminster. (If you prefer a 2-mile route you can take the tube home from Marble Arch or a 3-mile route is the tube home from Hyde Park corner or a 5-mile route is taking the tube at Green Park after you hit Westminster.) Remember your Oyster card! Runners who are training for a fall half-marathon can loop back home for an 8-mile route. As always, if you haven’t been training all summer, don’t be tempted to do the longer route. Gradually adding mileage is one of the best ways to avoid injury. For the new runners, don’t be tempted to run too fast especially as you add new mileage. You should be able to talk the entire time during the Monday run. If you are struggling, consider slowing down a bit. Just let me know if you need some help finding a group that is running your pace. I’m happy to help.

Wednesday we run west along the canal and loop back home through Notting Hill. The entire route is 6 miles, but you can easily shorten it by turning back at any point along the canal. If you want to run a total of 4 miles, the 2-mile turn-around point is when the Westway motorway is over your head. Friday we’re back up the Hill!

Borough Market- Save the Date

One of our favourite routes is to go to Borough Market on a Friday. Now that the market is open earlier in the day, we’re going to add a Borough Market run into our regular running schedule as an option on some Fridays. If you want to plan ahead, our first Borough Market run will be on Friday Oct. 9 (this gives some time for the people who are getting back into running to build up to the 5+ mile distance). We also have one scheduled for November 20 right before the Thanksgiving break. For anyone who doesn’t want to do a destination run, the Hill is always going to be an option on Fridays.

Looking ahead

For those of you who like to plan ahead we have the following Monday routes over the next month:

7 September – Big Ben

14 September – Sloane Square/Embankment/Westminster

21 September – Hyde Park

28 September – Whole Foods Piccadilly

Late-Start Group

We’re trying a new thing this year. We have a group of runners who can’t make it to our regular 8:15am start (mostly because their children attend schools that start later than 8am) who are going to meet later to run together. The group meets at Barclays at 9:30 on MWF and they do the same routes set for the 8:15 group. If you have a friend who would like to join this group, please have them email us.

Beginner Group starts this week

The beginner group starts this week on Thursday 10 September. If you know anyone who is interested, please email Amy Grace at [email protected]. Please remember that the beginner group is for women who have never run before. Even if someone can only do 1-2 miles, they should be in the MWF group.

London Weather

This week was a good example of London weather. We get clouds, showers, sun, heavy rain – sometimes all in the same day! Don’t let a bad forecast discourage you from running. If you wait for the perfect day, you’d never get out the door. We had many days last year where the forecast was for rain, but it didn’t actually start raining until we were finished with our run. In any case, it does make sense to invest in a good breathable running jacket for wet weather.

Love this picture from our run to Big Ben in June!

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Monday, 7 September – Big Ben (4-8 miles)

 

This is such a fun route!  We run right through the heart of London and stop at the famous Big Ben.  The 8 mile option is for runners planning to do a fall half-marathon.  

 

On Monday we head to Hyde Park via the usual route. Start heading west on Circus Road and turn left on Grove End and follow south as it becomes Lisson Grove.  Cross over Marylebone Road and continue on Seymour Place until the end.  Turn right and cross over Edgware Road and then left to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place.   Run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill.  Run past the Victoria Memorial down the mall and enter St. James Park.  Run over the pond and out of the park, turning left onto Birdcage Walk and down into Parliament Square to Big Ben.  Those running four miles will take the tube back to SJW from here and those running eight will turn around and follow the same route back.  You can also make it about a five mile run by turning back at Big Ben and running to the Green Park Tube Station, then tubing it home.

 

Wednesday, 9 September – Notting Hill (4-6 miles)

 

Run out the canal to the west and exit at Ladbroke Grove.  Run to Elgin Crescent and make a left.  Continue to Ledbury and go right and then left at Westbourne Grove.  Run down Westbourne Grove over Bishop’s Bridge and down the steps into Sheldon Square.  Go back along the canal and out where you entered and back to Starbucks. 

You also have the option of a shorter run by not running as far as Ladbroke Grove.  Instead, run half the distance you want, turn around and head home.  For example, running to the Westway flyover and back is about four miles [two out and two back].

 

Friday 11 September – The Heath (4-8 miles)

It’s Friday which means everyone up Fitzjohn’s.  You can pick your distance and whatever you choose, there will certainly be someone else interested in running that distance.  All of these routes are on the website. 

If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know.  Every week there are a group of women who prefer to do a flat run.  We can help make sure that you find each other.

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill.   Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back.

5 miles: The Betsy Route

6-7miles:  The partial Heath route

7.5 miles: The Highgate route

8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

______________________________________

Website:  https://womenrunningtheworld.commm

Facebook Group:  Women Running The World (request to join)

Email: [email protected]