Hello Runners!
It was great to be back in London and running with you this past week.  Aren’t the parks just gorgeous right now?  I expect we will see more Spring glory on our routes this week.  The photo above, from Jess Browne, is a couple weeks old, but it was too good not to use here!

Running this week.  We start off the week with a favourite Adventure Run– the Richmond to Hampton Court Palace route.  Please note– departure is from Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station at 8:30!  We’ll take the 8:41 train to Richmond (about a 30-min trip), start the run there, and follow the winding Thames Path for about 8 miles to Hampton Court Palace.  It really is a beautiful run!  If you don’t feel like doing 8 miles, you can always pull off at Kingston-upon-Thames (where we cross the bridge) for 6 miles.  But if you go on to Hampton Court Palace, meet at the Tiltyard Cafe, through the gardens, for coffee and a snack.  We take a train back to Waterloo from the Hampton Court train station.  Full directions can be found below.  For the rest of the week, we’ll keep it more local, with Kensal Rise on Wednesday, and up to the Heath for the Highgate route (or your choice). 

Shout-outs and Announcements.  It’s a big weekend for races!  Barbara Jones is running the very hilly and challenging Balmoral 15-mile Trail Run on Sunday afternoon.  Sue Wheeler and I, along with WRW alums Kate Worrell and Susan Malandrino, will be running the London Marathon tomorrow.  I have heard that some ladies are going out to watch and cheer– if you are interested in connecting with the group, just reach out to your pace group leaders, who should know the plan.  And, getting personal for just a moment, Sue and I both want to thank you all for all the good wishes and incredible support over the last weeks– you all are simply the best!

SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday 8 May – Covent Garden
Friday 10 May – NEW Adventure Run – Dollis Hill to Hampstead (tentative)
Monday 13 May – NEW Adventure Run – Windsor
Wednesday 22 May – Sights of London/Leaver’s Coffee
Friday 31 May – Borough Market
Monday 3 June – Brick Lane

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!  Looking forward to seeing you all out on the routes next week!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 29 April – Hampton Court Adventure Run (8 miles, or option of 6 miles)

We will meet at the “Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station” at 8:30 for the 8:41 train to Richmond. We will arrive in Richmond around 9:15 to start our run. You can take a bus up Finchley Road to the station or take the tube to Finchley Road, turn left and walk up to the Overground Station.

Leave the Richmond Overground Station, cross the road at the traffic lights and go straight through the narrow Old Station Passage. At the end, turn left on Little Green and follow straight past the Richmond Green until taking the left fork onto Friars Lane. Follow Friars Lane as it winds down to the river path.

Now we stick to the river path along the Thames for the rest of our run. We will pass the grand red brick Ham House on the left, and eventually join Lower Ham Road. Keep right at the fork at Canbury Gardens, staying with the river just to your right. As you approach the center of Kingston you’ll run under a metal railway bridge; continue along as close to the Thames as possible until the next bridge, called Horse Fair Bridge. 

At the bridge you have two options — turn left into Kingston to stop at 6 miles, or cross the bridge to continue to Hampton Court Palace for 8 miles.

6-mile route: Go up the stairs on the near side of the Horse Fair bridge and turn left into town. Follow the road to the Kingston train station.

8-mile route: Go up the stairs on the near side of the Horse Fair Bridge and cross the bridge. Turn left at the end of the bridge onto a very pretty path called Barge Walk, which follows the river all the way to Hampton Court Palace. Once we arrive at the Palace, take a few snaps, and if you can stay for a coffee, we’ll meet at the Tiltyard Cafe, a restaurant on the Palace grounds with lovely outdoor space (and indoor too in case of inclement weather!). Cross the courtyard in front of the palace and then walk past the rose gardens to the cafe; no need to pay the Palace entrance fee.

Head back to London via Hampton Court train station. To get there, cross over the Thames on Hampton Court Bridge and the train station will be on your left. Be sure to check your travel sites to confirm the options for the trip home. There are usually local and express trains that go into London Waterloo.

Wednesday 1 May – Kensal Rise (5 miles)
This route takes us along the canal to the west. Please be aware of bikes along the canal and form a single file whenever you hear someone call out ‘bike!”.

Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road, then right on St John’s Wood Road at the traffic light. Then turn left on Cunningham, right on Aberdeen, and cross Maida Vale to the right side of Blomfield Rd. Stay on the right side of Blomfield Road as you run parallel to the canal. Turn left at the second bridge over the canal (at Westbourne Terrace Road), turn right just after the bridge, follow the sidewalk along Delamere Terrace, and join the canal path heading west at this point. 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 motorway is over our heads.)

Friday 3 May – Highgate (7.5 miles)
Head up Fitzjohn’s, as usual, and continue past the Hampstead Tube and Whitestone Pond to stay on Spaniards Road.  Do not enter the Heath at the normal entry point, but stay on Spaniards Road as it wraps around the outside of the Heath, past Kenwood House and past The Bishops Road where Spaniards Road turns into Hampstead Lane.

Continue on Hampstead Lane as it edges around the outside of the Heath in a gentle rise until you reach The Grove, where you turn right. [The Grove is a pretty, tree lined street just before the Highgate roundabout.] Run to the first right turn, a lane called Fitzroy Park with a traffic barrier across the road. Pass around the traffic barrier—this is fine! And continue down the road, past lovely homes and a famous allotment on the right side. This road curves downhill to the left and takes you to the entrance of the Heath on your right side, near a set of bathrooms and just before Merton Lane to the left.

Enter the Heath, run past the loos (on your left) and take the path to the left as it runs along the model boating pond, the men’s bathing pond and a third pond. When the sidewalk dead ends, take a right to run along the exercise fields and running track. Exit the Heath past the paddling pool, crossing over the bridge onto Constantine Road. Take a right, running past South End Rd/Fleet Rd, past the Royal Free Hospital and cutting up the path to the left just past the Royal Free’s entrance driveway to take a short cut to Haverstock Hill. Go left on Haverstock Hill, crossing at the pedestrian stoplight to the other side, then turn right on to Belsize Avenue. Stay on Belsize Avenue (its name changes to Buckland Crescent) to Fitzjohn’s where you turn left to run towards Swiss Cottage Library, then scoot over to St Johns Wood Park Road and back to Starbucks.

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

Hello Runners!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful break!  If you’ve been away, you might have been pleasantly surprised– as I was– to find everything leafy, green and blooming when you returned to sunny London.  It really makes me anticipate the great runs we have planned for the rest of the spring!  The new Adventure Run we squeezed in just before break– to Finsbury Park via Alexandra Palace and the Parkland Walk– was a hit with those who could make it.  Thanks to the Routes team for all their hard work, and to Tamar for the photos above.

Running this week.  Monday is a bank holiday, so there is no official route, but our unofficial meet-up time/place is 8:30 at Barclays for whoever is in town and wants to run.  Or check your pace group WhatsApp or e-mail to find running buddies and decide your route.  Wednesday is our official return, and we are heading to the Benugo in St James Park, via Hyde Park.  Come for coffee and a catchup if you have the time!  On Friday we’ll run to Borough Market, which is (literally) always a treat.

Shout-outs and Announcements.  Hopefully anyone who wanted to was able to get their order in for the special kit items Carol Bertolino and Marissa O’Malia organised for us.  A big thank you to both of them for taking time out of their Spring Break to get that sorted and place the order for us!

SAVE THE DATE.  We have some new “adventure runs” coming up this spring.  These really fun routes require extra time to get trains out and/or back to our destinations.  Mark your calendars now, and join us if you possibly can!  As the end-of-year calendars fill, we also wanted to give you a heads-up on other favourite runs ahead.
Monday 29 April – Adventure Run – Richmond to Hampton Court Palace
Wednesday 8 May – Covent Garden
Friday 10 May – NEW Adventure Run – Dollis Hill to Hampstead
Monday 13 May – NEW Adventure Run – Windsor
Wednesday 22 May – Sights of London/Leaver’s Coffee
Friday 31 May – Borough Market
Monday 3 June – Brick Lane

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend, and Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all who celebrate!  I honestly can’t wait to get back to running with you this week!
xx  Micki

ROUTES

Monday 22 April –  Easter Monday
Check your What’sApp groups and meet at 8:30 to choose a route.

Wednesday, 24 April — Hyde Park to Benugo Cafe in St James’s Park — 5 miles
Let’s gather at Benugo after running Hyde Park to swap April Break stories!

We start from Barclays, run down Circus Road and turn left on Grove End/Lisson Grove. Cross diagonally at the light to run along the west side of the street. Cross over Marylebone Road, onto Seymour Place, and run until the road ends. Turn right on Seymour Street, cross Edgware Road, and turn left at Stanhope Place where we will enter into Hyde Park.
Turn right at the silver sphere after entering Hyde Park. Cross over N Carriage Rd and turn left just after the Italian Gardens. Run along the Long Water/Serpentine, with the water to your left. At the end of the Serpentine bear right then left to run along the southern edge of the park. At Hyde Park Corner, cross the road to run through Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill, along the southern edge of Green Park. Cross The Mall at the traffic light, enter directly into St James’s Park. Run down to the water and turn right, looping around the water until you come to the bridge on your left. Cross the bridge over the water and take a right, ending up at the Benugo Cafe.

Friday 26 April – Borough Market (6 miles)
We start by heading to Hyde Park via the usual route. Head west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road. At the corner of St. John’s Wood Road and Grove End Road, cross diagonally at the light and continue south on Lisson Grove. Cross over Marylebone Road and continue south on Seymour Place until it tees into Seymour Street. 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. Bear left to run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill. Run past the Victoria Memorial, cross The Mall at the light and turn right at the grand wrought iron gates into St. James Park. Run over the pond and out of the park, turning left onto Birdcage Walk and down into Parliament Square to Big Ben. Continue past Big Ben and cross Westminster Bridge. After the bridge turn left down the stairs to run along the Thames until the river path ends after Southwark Bridge. Just past Southwark Bridge, head right and then a quick left to go into a short tunnel that puts you onto Clink Street. Make a right on Stoney Street to get to the market (and Monmouth Coffee!).

Hello Runners!
Don’t the colourful hat pictures make you happy?  Thanks for making us the brightest, most cheerful thing on London’s streets last Monday!  Thanks to those who sent us photos or posted them on the WRW Facebook page!  I think sharing glimpses of our runs really helps keep a connection amongst the different pace groups.

Running this week.  Monday we are trying a new Adventure Route– which is what we generally call a route that we have to take a train or tube to the start of.  This one is a gem:  starting further north than we usually venture, at Alexandra Palace and following the north section of the Parkland Walk to connect with the south section we take on the Finsbury Park run.  Jane has written detailed instructions below, and a group of volunteers pioneered it Friday– leaving chalk marks and ribbons for us to follow (if it doesn’t rain too much!).  PLEASE NOTE that we will be meeting at 8:30 at the Finchley Road tube station (see details in ‘Routes” section below).  The run is 5 miles, and it is a tube ride home from Finsbury Park, so we should likely plan to be away from SJW until at least 11am.  If you can’t afford that much time out Monday morning, meet at Barclays as usual and decide on a route with the other runners you find!  Wednesday we will do the Camden/Mornington Crescent/Regent’s Park loop for another 5 miles.  And Friday we are up Fitzjohn’s again for the beautiful Heath Pergola run.  Full instructions are found below.

Shout-outs and Announcements.  Bjorg Fridbjornsdottir is running the Berlin half-marathon this weekend.  Go Bjorg– we’re cheering you from afar!  

A big “Well Done!!” to the Class of ’19 former beginners who trekked up the Hill for the first time last Friday!  We’ve really enjoyed seeing you out with us on the M,W,F runs!

We shared the sad news of Julienne Callaway’s passing in a separate e-mail this week, but since that time a local memorial has been planned (by Courtney Muoio and Mary Holtze) and we wanted to share the information about that with anyone not on our Facebook page. It is planned for next Wednesday, and all are welcome:  “We will gather on Wednesday 10 April (rain or shine) at 6:30 pm at the top of Primrose Hill. Everyone brings a flower to hold and leave once we depart. We will encourage people to share memories of Julienne. We will then segue to The Queen’s Pub, 49 Regent’s Park Road, to grab a drink (at everyone’s own expense) and toast her. Simple and casual, exactly as Julienne would want!”

The week of 15 – 19 April will be both Spring Break for ASL and Half-term for British schools (and I know they are on half-term this week, too!).  We will not send out an e-mail or formal routes for that week, but stay in touch with your WhatsApp group and/or meet at Barclays at our holiday time of 8:30 to run whatever routes you decide.  Mix it up, have fun, and enjoy watching spring overtake London!  I’ll send out the next e-mail on the weekend of April 20-21.  Meanwhile, here’s a look ahead for the rest of the spring…

SAVE THE DATE
Friday 26 April – Borough Market
Monday 29 April – Adventure Run – Hampton Court
Wednesday 8 May – Covent Garden
Friday 10 May – NEW Adventure Run – Dollis Hill to Hampstead
Monday 13 May – NEW Adventure Run – Windsor
Wednesday 22 May – Sights of London/Leaver’s Coffee
Friday 31 May – Borough Market
Monday 3 June – Brick Lane

Looking forward to another great week of running together, and hoping everyone has a great holiday week.  See you at Barclays!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 8 April – NEW ROUTE – Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park via Parkland Walk (5 miles)

Meet at Finchley Road tube, to depart at 8:30. Take the Metropolitan Line East to King’s Cross, switch to the Piccadilly line East to Wood Green. Transport for London estimates this to be an 30-35 minute trip. (As you follow the route, look for Dinae’s chalk “WRW” and navy ribbons to mark the trail along the way!)

After you exit Wood Green tube station, you need to follow Station Road which is the road directly in front of you. Cross the street in front of the station and follow Station Road, staying right at the roundabout, which becomes Buckingham Road. You will pass the Alexandra Palace overground station. At the T-junction with Bridge Road, turn left and cross the bridge (car and pedestrian bridge) over the train tracks.At the end of the bridge, turn left and follow Bedford Rd which becomes South Terrace and leads you directly into Alexandra Park. Follow the sidewalk along South Terrace (climbing a hill – the views are worth it!) and passing in front of Alexandra Palace. After you pass Alexandra Palace, the road turns downhill, look out for the bus stop in front of you, just after a car park (see below). You need to cross the road here and follow the path that leads away from the bus stop and parallel to the car park. Along the way you can also follow the sign for Little Dinosaurs.

Follow this path, you will run through a metal tunnel (see below) and then the path loops around and under the road. 

After you cross under the road you are entering the Parkland Walk North section. Run the Parkland Walk North and enjoy the views along the way. At the end of Parkland Walk you come out alongside Muswell Hill Road and are looking for the entrance to Highgate Wood on your right. You are on Muswell Hill Road very briefly, so don’t miss it. See below for the entrance to Highgate Wood. 

Once you are in Highgate Wood, turn left and follow the path (bear left at every opportunity and run with the road to your left) to the end of the park, you will exit at the Gypsy Gate. When you exit the park, turn right and cross Muswell Hill Road at the next pedestrian crossing light. After crossing the road, turn right and run to Archway Road. At Archway Road, turn left. You’ll be running with the shops on your right and fence, trees, Highgate station on your left. Following Archway, passing Gonnermann antiques (this is where we usually cross the road in the Happening Bagel route) and taking the next left on Holmesdale Road. Run down the hill and look for the entrance to Parkland Walk South on your left. Follow the path until the end. At the end, turn left, cross the train tracks and enter Finsbury Park. Once you are in Finsbury Park, turn right and follow the path along the outer edge of the park until you end at the Finsbury Park gate on Seven Sisters Road. Happening Bagel is across the street and Costa Coffee is to the right on your way to the Finsbury Park tube station.

Wednesday 10 April – Camden Lock/Mornington Crescent/Regent’s Park (5 miles) 

We have adjusted this route to keep to the less travelled and less polluted streets. Head to the canal going eastbound to Camden Lock, where we cross the small, cobblestone bridge, exit the canal and turn right onto Camden High Street. Take the first right turn onto Jamestown Road and then the first left onto Arlington Road. Run straight down Arlington Road, make a slight right onto Mornington Crescent, follow it around and turn right onto Hampstead Road. At the first intersection, turn left onto Granby Terrace and the second left onto Stanhope Street. Continue down Stanhope until we reach Trinton Square. Turn right and run between the office buildings at Regent’s Place, past the nice fountains, to the end of Trinton Street. Use the pedestrian crossings to cross Osnaburgh Street and Albany Street. Head left to the intersection of Euston Road, where you take a right and run briefly along Euston Road. At Park Square East, turn right through the gates towards Regent’s Park. We enter the park at the Outer Circle intersection and stay on the path on the far right (east side) of the park, cross the Broad Walk at the ornamental fountain and head along the path with the Zoo to our right. Turn left onto the Outer Circle, past the Avenue Road exit, and right at the second exit (where we usually enter for the canal or park). Run up Charlbert Street to St John’s Wood Terrace, make a left, and head back to Starbucks.

Friday, 12 April – Heath Pergola (6.3 miles) 

As spring arrives in London, it’s a great time to visit the Pergola in the Heath!
Head out from Barclays to Avenue Road, then up Fitzjohn’s per all the Heath routes.
Continue past Hampstead Tube Station all the way to the roundabout just beyond Whitestone Pond. At the roundabout, use the pedestrian crossings to cross counterclockwise over to New End Way to Jack Straws Castle (now a personal training gym) and continue past the parking lot entrance and past the bus stop to turn left onto a small street called Inverforth Close. A short way down, there is a trail to the right with a green barrier gate and a sign that says “The Hill Garden.” Here are pictures of the trail:

Follow this trail until you come to an entrance on the left for “The Hill Garden and Pergola”, enter it and go to the right around the big bushes. You will see a beautiful reflecting pool. Run alongside it and up the stairs-you are on the Pergola! Run or walk the length of the Pergola.  Don’t forget to look at the beautiful views, admire the flowers and take a pic or two. Please be considerate and don’t run if others are walking the Pergola. When you have finished with your Pergola time and reached the far end, take the stairs down and turn left to run on the wide trail back to New End Road, turning right to run by Jack Straws Castle and crossing left at the pedestrian crosswalks by the roundabout to put you back on the standard Heath route. Turn left from the crosswalk and then right to enter the Heath. Run the wide path as usual but don’t turn left to run up Parliament Hill. Instead, veer right at that juncture and follow the trail across the ponds. After the ponds, the trail veers left and shortly after there is an opportunity to take a right turn on the intersecting trail that heads towards E. Heath Rd (taking you next to the fields used for the Art Fair, parking etc at different times of the year). Cross E. Heath Rd at the pedestrian crossing, then run on Downshire Hill Rd to Haverstock Hill Rd. Turn Left on Haverstock Hill, running home the usual way (turn right on Belsize Ave, left on Lancaster Grove, right on Crossfield, right on Adamson, then cut through the Swiss Cottage public area by the Hampstead Theatre, turning onto Fitzjohns to St Johns Wood Park Rd to St Johns Wood Terrace and then to Starbucks).

As always, the other Heath routes are always an option:
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 OR the Reverse Heath route OR Pergola route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.