I loved that run on Thursday to Brick Lane with you all!  I saw so much street art that I haven’t seen before – so much fun!!  This is what post-race running will be about – fun destinations, chatting with friends with hopefully some treats at the end!
OK – things are getting real now – just 2 more weeks until race day!
The ScheduleWeek 33 Apr 15 – Kew Gardens – 11 milesWeek 34 Apr 22 – TBD – 7-8 milesWeek 35 Apr 29 – RACE DAY!Continue to do 45 min on the weekend and 60 min on Tuesdays!
This week is the penultimate training run – Kew!  You guys have all run 10 miles – this is just one mile further.  You know you can do it!  The run takes us through Kensington to Hammersmith and then on to a path along the north side of the river before crossing to the south side.  It is beautiful and flat.  It ends in the village of Kew where there are several coffee shops.  We will take either the Overground to Finchley & Frognal or the District Line to Westminster/Jubilee to SJW to get home.
Walkers – you could tube to Hammersmith and walk from there – it will be about 5.5 miles and you’ll get the prettiest part of the route.  We’d love to have you join us!!
OK – a few things for the run this week:

• Hydrate on Wednesday – all day
• Bring your Oyster card or contactless card to take the tube back plus money for coffee afterwards
• Bring a gel, maybe two and maybe something like jelly beans, starbursts, etc.
• Bring water
• Eat well and get a good night’s rest the night before and don’t go out partying 
• Stretch the night before if you can
• Eat something for breakfast

A note about bathrooms along the run – in the past, we have been able to use bathrooms at Costa (around mile 5, attached to the Hilton Hotel on the Kensington High Street (just past the intersection with Holland Road) or the Starbucks at mile 5.7 but these days, we can’t count on that.  We are not going to plan a stop – it’s better to keep running – but if you need to stop, we can check and a coach will wait for you and other coaches will continue on with the group if necessary.  There may be a bathroom in the Hammersmith tube station.
Kew via Barnes Bridge, 11.2 miles
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/3vGe1fClDw
Bring your Oyster or contactless card and wear running shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy if you have them! 
You’ll feel exhilarated on our 11 mile run to the “kewt” village of Kew. We start out the normal way running to Hyde Park. Once in the park, we’ll turn to the left and run down the main path as we normally do, to Hyde Park Corner. Here we turn right to follow South Carriage Drive all along the south side of the park. We’ll exit the park at the Broad Walk, turning right onto Kensington High Street and continuing for about two miles until we reach the Hammersmith Tube gyratory. Run counter clockwise towards the left, ending up on Queen Caroline Street from which you turn right onto the St. Paul’s Church green. Run along the edge of the green, heading towards Hammersmith Bridge (which is closed to all traffic and pedestrians for repair). Turn right at Rutland Grove and a quick left to head to the river, then turn right on Lower Mall to run west along the Thames.

Keep the river to your left — mostly it will be visible, but sometimes there will be houses in between you and the river. Follow the signs for the Thames Path.  After 2 miles, as soon as you pass two boat houses in quick succession, you will come to Barnes Bridge, a railway/pedestrian bridge. [NOTE – there is a short diversion just before the bridge where the way is blocked – turn right, then left and then left to to around and get to the bridge].  Climb the bridge stairs and use the pedestrian access to cross the river to the south bank of the Thames, then continue west along the river for another 2 miles.

We will leave the Thames Path at Kew Bridge, see photo below:

Run UNDER the bridge and then turn left, past a couple of tiny shops and garages. Run through the small parking lot until you see the stone steps leading to the top of the bridge.

At the top of the steps turn right towards town (not back over the river!) and run along this road [Kew Road] for about a third of a mile until you reach a 3-way intersection, where you will veer right and follow Kew Road along the boundary wall to Kew Gardens until you reach the first main pedestrian entrance to Kew Gardens, the Victoria Gate. Across from Victoria Gate is Lichfield Road (sign posted on the left-hand corner). Follow Lichfield Road straight into Kew village. Starbucks is on the left where we’ll all meet up to celebrate this epic run!