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.