Hi everyone,

We had a fantastic turnout for the run to Brick Lane and I’m so happy that so many of you tried the route. We were very disappointed that our favourite funky coffee shop, Brick Lane Coffee, has been taken over to be a Crosstown Doughnut and Coffee Bar. At least we got some delicious donuts due to the change.

This week, we’re sticking closer to home with the Hyde Park routes on Monday. There are many distance options so it’s a good way to get back into running if you’ve had some time off or try to add some mileage if you’ve been regularly running. Wednesday we’re doing the Kensal Rise loop and Friday we’re back up the hill or you can do a route of your choice. ASL is off on Friday for teacher conferences so we’ll meet later at 8:30.

Training Plans
We’ve posted two training plans on the website for the March 26 half marathon in Warsaw: https://womenrunningtheworld.com/training/spring-half/  There’s our standard training plan and also a gradual plan for runners who don’t want to tackle as many miles as part of training. (In the last six weeks of training, both training plans call for the same distance on the long runs.) We follow the standard training plan when we plan the routes for the group, but you’ll see there is a range of options for mileage in most of our routes. The half marathon is a month earlier than last year’s race so if you are planning to participate in the race it’s important that you commit to regular running and follow the plan to gradually increase your mileage. Looking ahead, we’ll plan to run the 9.5 miles to Canary Wharf on 6 February 2017. So you need to have tackled 6, 7, and 8 miles before then. If you are new to the group and all this sounds impossible – don’t worry! Just plan to come run with us regularly and we’ll gradually tackle each new distance. I heard from a few of you that you recently ran your longest runs ever – the first time you completed 6 miles – and I feel so thrilled and proud for each of your accomplishments!

Looking ahead – Halloween 31 October
Halloween falls on a running day this year and we have a few fun things planned. First, it is our Third Annual Halloween Costume run! Plan to dress up for Halloween – nothing too elaborate because you still have to run – but be creative! A crazy hat? A Halloween top? Last year we had some great running “costumes” and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for this year! Second, we’re running through Brompton Cemetery to the South Ken Whole Foods on Halloween. We love this route and it’s going to be fun to do it on Halloween.

Looking ahead – Adventure Run to Hampton Court Palace 7 November
An adventure run means that we ride the train to a location at the start of the run and then we take the train home at the end of the run. It takes more time to take the train both directions, but it gives us a chance to run some interesting routes that are outside our neighbourhood. We tried our first adventure run last spring from Richmond to Hampton Court Palace and it was a big hit. We run along the Thames path for pretty much the entire way and it’s a beautiful route. Plus you can’t beat coffee at the Palace cafe when you’re done. The entire route to the Palace is 8 miles, but there is also an option to take a train home at 6 miles. Mark your calendars now for Monday 7 November and block out the entire morning or more if you want to stay for a long coffee afterwards.

Save the Date
It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of October already. Looking ahead we have the following runs on the schedule:

31 October – Brompton Cemetery and Kensington Whole Foods (6.5 miles)
7 November – ADVENTURE RUN – Hampton Court Palace (6 or 8 miles)
14 November – Canal/Farringdon (6 miles) or Canary Wharf (9 miles)
18 November (Friday) – Borough Market (6 miles)
21 November – Finsbury Park Happening Bagel (7 miles)
28 November – Holland Park to Green Park (7-8 miles)
5 December – Wembley REVERSE (8 miles)
7 December (Wednesday) – Christmas Lights run (early start)
12 December – Hyde Park

Lululemon event – this Tuesday!
Join us on Tuesday, 25th October 7pm for a very special event at the Lululemon Marylebone store!  (Unfortunately Lululemon has said that they can’t do the yoga part of the evening that we advertised earlier but we’re still going to have a great night of shopping.) Grab a glass of champagne and start shopping! The store will be open only for our group and this is a great opportunity to pick up a few cherished pieces for yourself and maybe start your holiday shopping. There will be a few surprises on the evening so don’t miss this unique and fantastic event! AND Lululemon is offering our group a 20% discount! If you are member of the SJWWC please sign up on the SJWWC website. If you are not a member of the SJWWC, please email Kathy Anderson ([email protected]) and Stephanie Gladis ([email protected]) to sign up. Space is limited so please sign up now if you are interested.

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 24 October – Hyde Park  – always versatile! (5 – 8 miles)

Click here for all of the Hyde Park interactive route maps

Start:  Everybody starts the same way… head west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road 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 take the first left on Stanhope Place to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place. Cross into the Park and enjoy your run!

Wednesday 26 October –  Kensal Rise (4- 5+ miles)

The beginning of this run takes us along the canal to the west.  Please be aware of bikes along the canal and move into single file whenever you hear a ‘bike!’ shout.

Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, turning left on Cunningham then right on Aberdeen to work your way to the canal entrance on Bloomfield. Enter the canal heading west and run to the Ladbroke Grove exit.  Here we turn right and run over the bridge along Chamberlayne Road to Harvist Road. Turn right on Harvist, which turns into Brondesbury Road, and take that to Kilburn High Road/Maida Vale. Turn right and follow Maida Vale to Hall Road where you turn left and run back to Starbucks. If you want to shorten this route, run west on the canal and turn back at your desired half-way point.

(The two mile mark is at the point on the canal when the Westway highway is over our heads.)

Friday 28 October – The Heath (4-8 miles)

NOTE – LATE START AT 8:30 AM due to ASL parent conferences.  We run up the hill on Fridays–it’s tradition! It is hard, but you’ll feel great when you are finished.

If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know.  Every week there are a group of women who prefer to do a flat run.  We can help make sure that you find each other.

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+ miles:  The partial Heath route
6+ miles:  The reverse Heath route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.