Hi Everyone,

I finished jury duty – yippee! I’m very glad to be back running with you. Thanks to all the runners who went to see the Queen last Wednesday – what fun! A real London moment. We’ll make sure to include this run in our spring plan for next year. On Monday we’re heading to Brick Lane and the London landmark Beigel Bake. Wednesday is our famous Sights of London run followed by the coffee to celebrate the runners who are leaving London. More details are below. Friday we’re back up the hill. We may explore a new Western Heath route for anyone that is interested. The only thing we can promise is that we will get lost a few times!

This is a great run!  Even if you haven’t run in a little while – come along!  We run as a (BIG!) group and we wait for everyone at the lights so we can stick together.  (If we get separated we’ll wait for everyone at the photo points.)  The total distance is 4-5 miles and we stop often.

We’ll stop for group pictures at:

– Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner

– Buckingham Palace

– Big Ben

– Trafalgar Square (maybe)

Depending on the timing, we’ll either take the tube back to St. John’s Wood from Westminster or Trafalgar Square. We’ll walk to the Richoux cafe at 3 Circus Road, NW8 6NX. (We’ll be in the upstairs room at Richoux.) If you can’t run for any reason, please still come for coffee. I expect we’ll be there around 10 am. Unfortunately we have many runners leaving London this year!  So take a minute to come and say good-bye. We’re going to miss them so much!

If you have any friends that are interested in being part of the beginner group for next year, please tell them to email [email protected].

We’re planning on an evening gathering with spouses on Monday 13 June. More details to follow.

We’re searching for our race destination for next year. We won’t make an official announcement until the fall, but we already know that the race will be earlier in the year, probably March or the first week in April. The ASL spring break and Easter holiday is much later next year so it will be impossible for us to do the race after the break. This may be another reason to keep up your running over the summer!

Keep running,

Jane

This is a fun and funky destination run!  We will head out in the same way as though we are running to The Wall. Take the Canal east to the Wall—go up the ramp to Muriel Street, take a right and then an almost immediate left up a path that winds between the apartment buildings. Here’s the entrance to the path:

Keep going straight on the path and it will become Maygood Street. When you get to the intersection of a main road (Barnsbury Road) turn right.  Run until you make the second left onto Chapel Market. (There is a metal archway saying Chapel Market and a zebra crossing at the intersection.) Follow Chapel Market until the end. Turn right at Liverpool Street to the major road Upper Street. Cross Upper Street and turn left, then make your first right at Duncan Street. Follow Duncan Street to the end and there will be an entrance to the canal directly in front of you. At the canal path continue running straight, the water will be on your right. Follow the canal until you reach the Kingsland Road Bridge, Number 45. See the photo below.

Run under the bridge and take the brick steps up on your left, see photo below. 

At the top of the stairs turn left and at the main road, Kingsland Road, turn left.  (You’ll be running back over the canal.) Follow Kingsland Road, you’ll see the Gherkin building in the distance in front of you. (Kingsland Road will become Shoreditch High Street.) Turn left at Bethnal Green Road. There will be a white metal railroad bridge in front of you and the BOXPARK market will be on your right once you turn. You’ll also pass the Shoreditch High Street Overground Station on your right. Follow Bethnal Green Road until you hit Brick Lane, less than a quarter of a mile. There is a Casa Blue cafe at the corner, turn right onto Brick Lane and you’ll see Beigel Bake and Brick Lane Coffee on the right. They are FUNKY so bring your cool attitudes! For the journey home, you can take the Shoreditch High Street Overground to Canada Water and then take the Jubilee Line home. Or you can walk through Spitalfields Market to get to the Liverpool Street tube station.

Wednesday, 25 May – Sights of London (4.6 miles)

 This is one of our traditional, end of the season runs.  We will start out the usual way to Hyde Park, where will stop at Speaker’s Corner for a photo.  We’ll then continue on along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, where we will cross towards and run through Wellington Arch then run down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace, where we will gather again for another photo. Then, we’ll run down The Mall and cross through St James Park to Birdcage Walk and on into Parliament Square, where we’ll take another photo in front of Big Ben. Finally, we’ll head down Whitehall through Admiralty Arch into Trafalgar Square, where we’ll take one last photo and then hop on the tube – Bakerloo, then a transfer to Jubilee at Baker Street – and head to Richoux for the farewell coffee.

Friday, 27 May – Hampstead Heath Routes

Something for everyone!