Hi Everyone,
We have two unique runs planned this week where we’re doing something different so please read the email below. Should be very fun, hope you can join us!

Monday – Wembley Central IN REVERSE
OK, we’re trying something new on Monday. We’re going to do the 8-mile Wembley route but in reverse. That means we’re going to take the tube first, out to Wembley Central station and then run back to St. John’s Wood. The benefits are that we’ll avoid the cold trip home after running, we may also have less bike traffic on the canal and we can still meet for coffee in St. John’s Wood. Let’s try it and see what we think. We’re going to do a short run (0.75 mile, see the map below) over to the Maida Vale station and then take the Bakerloo line to Wembley Central Station. (We’re going the opposite direction to the commuter traffic so we’re hoping that the trains won’t be too crowded at that time of day.) You may want to stretch again on the train. If you’re not sure if you want to tackle 8 miles, it’s 6.5 miles to the canal exit in Little Venice so you could easily walk to town/home from there.

Wednesday – Christmas Lights, 6:00am start
We did this run last year (after a great suggestion from Diane Bell – thanks!) and it was good fun. Why get up so early? It’s pretty much deserted, the shop windows look amazing and it’s just so pretty in the morning. It really is quite spectacular to see the Christmas lights at night and without the crowds. For those who are interested, meet at Barclays at 6:00am. It’s 4.4 miles to Bond Street station and 5.3 miles to Baker Street. (Last year I took the tube from Bond Street and was home around 7:15.) If you’re planning to run at 6:00am please wear bright or reflective clothing and maybe even carry a bike light if you have one. (And be extra careful of the cars!) If you’re not up for an early morning run, they’ll be a group that meets at the regular time on Wednesday. You can decide to do the Christmas Lights route at that time, or you can do the regularly planned Wednesday route of The Wall or another route of your choice.

Friday – The Hill
It seems that the Swiss Cottage and Fitzjohns construction is different each week. We’ll just have to keep monitoring the situation and adjust the route if the sidewalk gets too congested. Remember to be extra careful and considerate of the pedestrians.

THANK YOU to Starbucks
The holiday time of year is here and we’ll be organising a gift for the employees at our local St. John’s Wood Starbucks. We’re suggesting a £5-10 donation but feel free to give whatever you would like.  We’ll also be donating some home-baked goodies. Give your donation, in an envelope with your name to me before Tuesday Dec. 15. Please email [email protected] if you would like to contribute baked treats. We’ll gather the baked goods on Tuesday Dec. 15 and we’ll give the gift to Starbucks on Wed Dec. 16 so please get your gift to us soon if you would like to participate.

A photo from last year to inspire you for an early-morning run!

Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

LONG RUN – Monday 7 December – Wembley Central Tube Station (IN REVERSE) 8 miles

This week we are trying something new – reversing a long run back to St. John’s Wood. We are going to take the tube out to Wembley Central station and then start our run home for coffee.

Part 1 – Run to Maida Vale tube station
Take Circus Road/Hall Road to Hamilton Terrace. Turn right on Hamilton Terrace and then left on Abercorn Place and cross Maida Vale. The tube station is ahead of you on the left. We’re taking the Bakerloo Line to Wembley Central station.

Part 2 – Wembley Central station to St. John’s Wood
Out of the station, turn left on the High Street and then take your first left on to Ealing Road. Follow Ealing Road (past the Alperton station) to the T- junction and turn left. You’ll cross over the canal bridge and see the entrance to the canal path on your left. There is a 243 Ealing Road sign for new apartments at the entrance to the canal (see photo below.) We’ll follow the canal back home and then exit the canal off Bloomfield Road in Maida Vale and run back the usual way to Starbucks.

Here’s a photo of the entrance/exit on to the canal. You are looking for the 243 Ealing Road sign

Wednesday 9 December

Option One (6:00 am start) – London Holiday Lights (4-5 miles)

[NOTE – this is the version revised January 2016 by Kathy]
The first part of the route we run through Regents Park. Head out St John’s Wood Terrace, right on Charlbert and enter Regents Park. Turn right at the Outer Circle and follow the outer edge of the circle until we exit at York Gate. [Note we are running by residences in Regents Park so try not to talk—our conversations echo in the early morning calm!] Cross Marylebone Road, running through the Marylebone Church courtyard and follow Marylebone High Street down until you turn right on George Street, then left on Spanish Place to Manchester Square (past the Wallace Collection) then right on Fitzhardinge Street, left on Orchard Street until you reach Oxford Street. Left on Oxford Street and continue until you reach Regents Street and turn right. Follow Regents Street to Great Marlborough Street, take a left, go past Liberty and then take a right on Carnaby Street.  Follow Carnaby to its end at Beak Street, right on Beak then left on Regents Street, all the way into Piccadilly Circus.  Turn right on Piccadilly Street and then right on Old Bond Street. Follow Old Bond which turns into New Bond back up to Brook Street. Turn left then right onto South Molton Street up to Oxford Street.  You can stop at the Bond Street Station (4.4 miles) or continue up Gee’s Court (a tiny alley street diagonally across from Bond Street Station) which becomes St. Christopher’s Place. Cross Wigmore Street up Marylebone Lane, back up the Marylebone High Street, through the Marylebone Church courtyard to Marylebone Road.  Options:  turn left at Marylebone Road to reach Baker Street Station and you will have run 5.4 miles; alternatively, retrace your steps through Regents Park outer circle back to Starbucks via Allitsen and St Johns Wood Terrace and you will have run 6.5 miles. Latte time!

Option Two (normal 8:20 start) – The Wall (3 to 6 miles)
We head down towards Regents Park, then enter the canal at the Charlbert entrance and run east [left] cutting through Camden Lock Market until we run out of canal path at Islington and hit “The Wall.”  [Don’t forget to touch The Wall or else your run doesn’t countJ ].  At The Wall, we turn around and head back to St. John’s Wood.  This is a great route to do a tempo run because there are no traffic lights.  But please be careful and aware of the bikes on the path. If you run all the way to The Wall and back it is 6 miles.  But it is very easy to run half the distance if you want and turn around and head home.  As a marker, if you run to the Camden market (where we have to exit the canal path and run past the food stalls for a minute) and return home it is a 3 mile round trip.

Friday 11 December – The Heath 4-8 miles

It’s Friday [again!], so 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, ask around at Barclays;  every week there is a group who prefer to do a flat run and you can decide together which flat route to tackle.

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill.   Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
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.

Hi everyone,
Is it possible that we’ve reached December?! Monday we run to Battersea Park which is a route with many distance options. If you’re looking for a shorter run, you can take the tube from Sloane Square for about 4 miles. If you want a long run, the full loop is about 10 miles. A good midway option is to run to Battersea Park and then loop back to Sloane Square for about 6.5 miles. Wednesday is Notting Hill and Friday we’re back up the Hill. The sidewalk on Ftizjohns Avenue is currently under construction. As of last Monday, it was still open, but very narrow in parts. I think we should try running on the other side of the street. I would suggest that after Swiss Cottage we cross at the zebra crossing just past Belsize Lane. At the top we could cross back at the light near Tesco. Let’s try it and see if it’s an improvement.

Save the Date – Runs Next Week
On Monday 7 December we’ll run to Wembley. There are options for a 7, 8 or 9-mile route. This is a great destination run and a good opportunity to tackle a new distance. On Wednesday 9 December we’ll do our second annual Christmas Lights run. We’ll meet early, at 6am, so we can see the lights in the dark and without the crowds. If you’re not up for an early start, there will be a group that also meets at the regular time.

WRW Hat Order Due Wednesday 2 December
We have had several requests for a WRW running hat similar to the black hat for the race in Germany a couple of years ago – a good, neutral, everyday running hat. We are now pleased to offer a WRW hat as additional WRW kit (thank you, Chris!). The hat will be a Nike Dri-Fit featherlight hat in a graphite gray color. The expectation is the WRW logo will be on the front of the hat similar to how it is on the yellow hats from last year’s race (we have not yet received final confirmation from the stitching place, however). In place of the year, it will say London and the flag color will be the regular Union Jack red/white/blue. The price will be between £25 and £30 depending on the number we order. Please note that this is NOT the race hat for Nice. If you are interested in ordering a hat, please email [email protected] with the subject “WRW Kit – Running Hat” by Wednesday, 2 December. The hats should arrive early in the new year.

Reminder – Race Hotel Booking Deadline Monday 30 November
Our block of rooms at the hotel in Nice, France expires on 30 November. Please book your room now if you are considering attending the half-marathon race. All the details are on our website at https://womenrunningtheworld.commm/Women_Running_the_World/Spring_Half-Marathon.html

Windsor Half Marathon
Registration is now open for the Windsor Half Marathon on 25 September 2016. This is a great autumn London race. The course is supposedly a bit hilly, but also beautiful. Our runners who have done this race in prior years give it good reviews. http://www.runwindsor.com

For those who celebrate, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of you!
Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Monday 30 November –  Battersea Loop  7.5-10.3 miles
 
Today we do an up and back and you can pick your turnaround point to meet the distance in your training schedule. 
 
We head out to Hyde Park, along the eastern edge of the park, and down Sloane Street to Sloane Square the usual way.  We continue through Sloane Square, down Chelsea Bridge Road, and over the Chelsea Bridge to the south bank of the Thames.  We will then turn right into Battersea Park and run along the south side of the Thames to the Albert Bridge, where we cross back over the Thames and then turn right again and run along the north side of the river back to Chelsea Bridge Road, where we will turn left and run back up through Sloane Square to Knightsbridge, turning right then left to retrace our way back into Hyde Park by the French Embassy.  Run to the paved path, turning right towards Hyde Park Corner, then left long the eastern edge of the park to the exit at Upper Brook Street [by the Animal war memorial] and back to Starbucks the usual way.

Wednesday 2 December – Notting Hill 4-6+miles
 
Keep your eyes open as this is often a celebrity spotting route!  
 
Start out by heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, working your way to the canal entrance on Blomfield.  Enter the canal and run to the Ladbroke Grove exit then run down Ladbroke Grove 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 [across from Paddington Station].  Go back along the canal and out where you entered, then run back to Starbucks. 
 
You also have the option of a shorter run by not getting off the canal. Run half the distance you want, turn around and head home. As a rule of thumb, the two mile mark is the Westway overpass.

Friday 4 December – The Heath 4-8 miles

It’s Friday so it’s back up the hill. Not always easy but oh so worth it!

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
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.