Hi everyone,

We’ve had a great start to the running season!  Wonderful to see so many new and returning runners.  What a turn-out!  I think that we pretty much take over the whole town at 8:15!

To the new runners, we’re so glad you’ve joined us!  To the returning runners, thanks for being so friendly and welcoming to our new runners- keep it up!    To everyone, if the runs last week were too slow/fast or too short/long – Don’t give up!!  It often takes a few sessions to find the smaller group of women that run the right distance/pace for you.  (If you need some help/guidance linking up with someone, just let me know.)  We have a few more shorter routes this week for the folks who are easing back into running.  

Fall Half-Marathon?:  Please let me know if you signed up for a fall half-marathon race and you are still planning to run.  We want to make sure that we have your longer runs built into the weekly routes.

Running in London:  This summer, I bought a National Geographic magazine at the airport with the cover, “The World’s Most Beautiful Places – 100 Unforgettable Destinations.”  Not surprisingly, London makes the list!   The article describes London and has a beautiful picture but when it comes right down to it, what do they say is the one most wonderful thing to do in London????  I quote:

“DON’T MISS – Take a bus to the Royal Albert Hall – being sure to sit upstairs, of course, to enjoy the views – and walk through Hyde Park, heading first to Kensington Palace, then past the Round Pond and the Serpentine concluding at Hyde Park Corner.”

That is one of our runs (minus the bus ride, of course)!  It’s official- your weekly exercise just happens to be in one of the most beautiful places in the the world!  The route Monday takes us to Hyde Park and all you need to do is run 2 miles and you’ll be at the Park and Speaker’s Corner.

One last reminder, bring your Oyster card.  Sometimes our routes loop back home, but often we stop along the way and take the tube home.

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Monday 2 September – Hyde Park (2-9 miles)

2 miles:  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.  At Speaker’s Corner, you take the Marble Arch tube home.

3 miles:  Continue south through Hyde Park, past the Serpentine and at the Carriage drive, make a left and head back toward Hyde Park Corner.  Take the Hyde Park Corner tube home.

5 miles:  At Hyde Park Corner continue back up/north the carriage drive.  Exit the park at the Animals in War memorial and follow Upper Brook Street.  Turn left on Park Street which becomes Gloucester Place and then Park Road back to St. John’s Wood.

Click here for all of the regular Hyde Park route maps.

9 miles:  This route is for our women who are running a half marathon in a month.  (Don’t do this route unless you have been training for a half all summer.)

As we enter the Park, turn right and follow the path all the way around Hyde Park, exiting at the Animals in War memorial.  Head home north up Park Street/Gloucester Place/Park Road.  Straight home is 8 miles.  If you want to do 9 miles, enter Regents Park at the Mosque and follow the drive around past the zoo to the zoo parking lot.  Turn around and come back to Starbucks.

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to London.  A special welcome to the new folks joining the group.  I hope you all had a wonderful summer.  Can’t wait to see you Wednesday for our first run of the season.  I’m going to wear my new yellow hat and my green Outward Bound shirt that has my name in big black letters on the front!  I may look a bit silly, but you’ll recognize me!  Come say Hi!   I’m looking forward to running with you.

We’ve got a lot to cover so I’ll jump right in.

Email List:  We’re going to start an alum list for those who won’t be running every week but would like to receive periodic updates.   If you would like your name to be taken off the weekly email list all together or you would like to be added to the alum list, please let us know.

Easing back to running:   If you haven’t run in awhile, no worries!  I’ve already heard from a bunch of the group who plan to start out with slow/short runs.   At the start of the year, we’ve designed the routes to have plenty of options for distance.   Most likely there will be someone running at your pace and your distance.

Welcome:  For the returning runners, as you are connecting with old friends and hearing about the summer, remember the new folks and take a minute to introduce yourself and welcome new runners!

What is your goal?:   We’re going to start the new year with everyone running together Mon, Wed and Friday.  This will give us a chance clear the cobwebs,  meet new runners,  and see how natural pace groups come together.  During these first few weeks, think about what you would like to achieve this year not only in terms of fitness, but also socially and competitively (i.e., do you want to do any races). I’m happy to talk to you if you have questions.  After a few weeks we will break into pace groups.

Spring Half-Marathon:  Chris Roberts has been hard at work planning our spring half-marathon trip.  Stay tuned for the big announcement of where and when we’ll be running in 2014.  Please remember that we have to balance many factors in choosing a race including timing, travel and finding a race that is appropriate for our beginner runners.   (Chris has investigated every single race that is being held in Europe in the spring!)

That’s all for now, except to say thanks for your patience and support as the new leadership team gets in gear.   We are all looking forward to a great year.  See you at Starbucks at 8:15!

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Wednesday 28 August – Notting Hill  (up to 6.5 miles)

This is one of our traditional Wednesday routes and it gives everyone some options in terms of distance.  If you want to go the whole 6.5 miles, go for it!  If you want to just put in a few miles, you can run along the canal and then turn around and come back.  There is always someone else who is up for the same distance.  Everyone runs at their own pace, so don’t worry about holding anyone back.

If you are new to the route, we leave Starbucks heading west to Lisson Grove/Grove End, then wind our way down to the canal.  We follow the canal for a couple of miles then head south along Ladbroke Grove until turning on Elgin Crescent then zigzag over to Westbourne Grove.  We then run east to join the canal near Paddington and continue on to St. John’s Wood.