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!  We have more new runners starting this week. 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.) One runner said to me, “Wednesday was really difficult and I almost didn’t come back, but Friday was great. Now I’m hooked!” I know the first few runs after the summer can be challenging. Stick with it and I promise it will get better.

As a reminder to the new runners, we meet in front of Barclays Bank at the corner of Circus and Wellington Roads at 8:15 am so we can start running at 8:20. Always bring your Oyster/Tube card because we often return home on the Tube. If you are new to the group, I’ll wear my orange and blue hat so you can find me in the crowd. Come say HI!

NEW ROUTE FRIDAY
I’m really hoping that the construction on Fitzjohn’s Avenue clears up soon. (But I know many of you were perfectly happy to do a flat run last Friday!) For now we’re going to offer three options for the Friday run.

Option 1: Old Heath routes (assuming sidewalk is passable)
Our standard Hill routes up Fitzjohn’s are great at the start of the season because they offer many options for gradually adding mileage without the route being too tricky. Basically you can always run up the hill for awhile and then turn around and run down whenever you want. Unfortunately the current sidewalk situation makes it difficult for our large group to make it up the Hill without completely swamping the sidewalk which wouldn’t be fair to the other pedestrians, especially during the school run. SO for now we’re going to offer the standard routes as a possible option and I’ll email again on Thursday to give you an update on the sidewalk construction to see if they are doable.

Option 2: New Heath route – 6-mile IN REVERSE
We’re also going to start learning the 6-mile Heath route IN REVERSE. You’ll see the map and directions below. A few of us ran this route in the summer and we liked it. We have adjusted it so that we are basically off of Fitzjohn’s on the way up the Hill so you miss the busy pedestrian and traffic pollution time. Consider giving it a try this Friday and then let me know what you think about it.

Option 3: Flat run
Feel free to pick your own route if you would like to do a flat run. There is usually a group doing a flat run on Friday that you can join.

Sidewalk awareness
We are such a large group! Please remember not to block the sidewalk when we gather at Barclays or when we stop at Starbucks at the end. We want to be good citizens of St. John’s Wood.

Returning to running
I’ve heard from a few people who are returning to running after some time off. I’m happy to connect the runners who are not quite ready for our standard routes. If you are working up to 1-4 miles, you can send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll let you know about other women who are in the same boat.

T-Th Beginner Group
Our beginner group is off to a great start! If you have any friends who are interested in joining, please have them email [email protected]. Remember that the beginner group is for women who have never run before.

Stay Tuned – Spring Half-Marathon Trip
We’re hard at work behind the scenes trying to find a race for our spring half marathon. As you know, we have to balance many factors in choosing a race including timing, travel and finding a race that is appropriate for our beginner runners. We have our eye on a few races that look great and we are hard at work behind the scenes talking to the race directors, negotiating hotel contracts and researching all the logistical details. (Thank you Chris Roberts!) We can’t announce anything until those important details are finalised, but we hope to be able to announce the 2017 race around the end of September or early October. I know it’s tempting to bombard Chris with questions about the race, but please be patient. We promise we will announce the race as soon as we possibly can.

Keep running,
Jane

Start from Barclays running down Circus past the SJW High Street until it dead ends and turn left on Townshend Rd. Turn right on Acacia and then left on Avenue. Here’s the new part!  Cross Avenue Road at the Elsworthy cross walk and continue on Elsworthy. Veer left at the fork onto Harley Road and follow Harley to Adelaide. Cross Adelaide and continue past the Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre on Winchester Road. To avoid Fitzjohn’s, turn right on Adamson Rd, then left on Crossfield Rd, then left on Lancaster Grove, then right on Buckland Crescent which becomes Belsize Park,then Belsize Ave. At the end, turn left up Haverstock Hill. Run past the Royal Free Hospital on the garden path or turn right on Pond Street, which becomes Constantine Rd, then Severnake Rd. Enter the Heath at the entrance across from Roderick Road. Follow the path past the Parliament Hill Track. Take a sharp left after the Gazibo and run up Parliament Hill. Enjoy the view at the top! Run down the other side of the Hill. At the fork in the woods, take a sharp right and follow the path up until you exit the Heath at Spaniards Rd. Turn left and follow Heath Street, which becomes Fitzjohn’s Avenue back down the hill. At the Swiss Cottage intersection, cross and follow St. John’s Wood Rd and Ordnance Hill back to SJW.