Hello Runners!
Welcome to May in London… where our runs might be soaked in summery sunshine, or they might be pelted with icy raindrops and the occasional hailstorm. Hopefully we’ll move more toward the former in the weeks ahead, but last Wednesday’s run to Covent Garden was sure cold and wet. Good thing we found a warm place to stop for giant bowls of coffee and blankets!
Running this week. Monday we are going on an Adventure Run, the ‘Country Run’ from Virginia Water to Windsor. Meet at SJW tube station at 8:15 if you are joining! This one requires a commitment– don’t plan to be back before noon– but it should be well worth it if you can spare the time (and right now the weather forecast is looking good). If you are not able to take the whole morning, meet up as usual at Barclays and there will likely be others to run with. It would be a great day to run any of our Hyde Park routes.
For those going on the Adventure Run, please be prompt in meeting at the tube station, as we are trying to make an 8:50 train from Waterloo. To save time on the way out, a couple of runners will be going to Waterloo early to purchase enough train tickets for everyone running. The total cost for train travel will be £21.20, and Oyster Cards/contactless will not work on this journey. (So it would be great if you are able to bring cash– or get it in Windsor– to repay the ticket-purchase team). If you are joining us from somewhere besides St Johns Wood, please let us know you are coming so we can look out for you and include you in our count. If you don’t let us know ahead of time you will be joining from elsewhere, please do purchase your own train ticket– one-way to Virginia Water– as we won’t have included you in our final count. Our return from Windsor into London will be into Paddington station. Complete directions for the run are included below, along with photos and extra maps. Sue, Carolyn P. and I will keep an eye on this e-mail address should you need to reach us that morning. A huge thank you goes to Erin Roth, who created this run and then went out to walk it and take photos so we won’t get lost in the countryside!
Wednesday we will keep it a little more simple, doing the Regents Park Inner and Outer Circle. (We were early for the roses last time we did this, but it might be worth the detour into the gardens to see how they’ve come along since then?). Friday we will go up to the Heath again, for more of the gorgeous green and the thrill of the hill! Alternatively, there is a 9 am rehearsal for the Trooping of the Colour on Friday, so some may prefer to head for a place along the Mall or by Buckingham Palace to try for a preview of the troops on parade.
Announcements and Shout-outs. We’ve heard of a few runners who will be taking on the Hackney Half next Sunday, May 19th (watch this space for shout-outs next week). I’m not entirely sure there are still places available, but if you want to try to sign up, the link we were given for discount spots (£55) is https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hackney-half-marathon-2019-run-for-team-rsbc-tickets-46799150519 and the code to use is RUNWITHRSBC (Royal Society for Blind Children).
The Sights of London/Leaver’s Coffee will be next Wednesday, May 22. For those who haven’t done it before, this is a different kind of run. We try to run more as one group (minding our fellow pedestrians, of course!) to some of London’s iconic sights. We stop frequently for photos, and we end at a cafe (this year it will be The Gate, a new restaurant on Allitsen Rd, just off the SJW High Street) for one of our WRW coffees and a chance to honour and say goodbye to those who will be leaving London this summer. Don’t miss it! (And bring tissues…).
SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday 22 May – Sights of London/Leaver’s Coffee
Friday 31 May – NEW Adventure Run – Dollis Hill to Hampstead
Monday 3 June – Brick Lane
This can be a crazy-busy time of year, but do come out and run whenever you can! The routes are fun, everyone is relaxed about pace and distance, and we’re all just enjoying each other’s company and this running thing we do together. It is, in fact, a great time to try running with different people– and a great time to welcome someone new into the fold. Stay open and welcoming, as always, because you never know who may become your next new running bestie! Getting out there now is also a great way to make sure we head into the summer in shape and ready to keep running wherever summer plans take us. It really is a pleasure to run with you all– I can’t wait to see you out there this week!
xx Micki
ROUTES
Monday 13 May – ADVENTURE ‘COUNTRY RUN’ – Virginia Water to Windsor – 7.4 miles
Travel: SJW Jubilee line to Waterloo (10 minute journey), Waterloo train to Virginia Water (8:50am, 41 minute journey), total outbound travel about 1 hour. Return from Windsor & Eton Central Station to Paddington (30 or 40 minutes journey).
Pricing: tube fare + £21.20 (£10.60 one way to Virginia Water + £10.60 one way from Windsor to Paddington)
Exit the Virginia Water train station and turn right, taking the stairs up to Christchurch Road.
CAREFULLY cross the road and turn left. Stay on Christchurch Road (be sure to take the correct exit off the roundabout at .8 miles) until you come to the T-junction at a traffic light. Turn right and immediately cross the A30 at the traffic light. This is a very busy road so please use caution!! Continue right down the A30 for a very short distance and turn left into the Virginia Water Lake car park, then follow the walkway through the Visitor Centre.
Turn right at the lake on the paved path and follow this paved path along the lake, past a totem pole and across an intersection.
You will see Obelisk Pond on your left, and as you come up the path past the pond turn off at the dirt path on your left.
Stay on the dirt path, over a bridge with stone benches, and then up a straight, grassy path with a huge field on your left. Continue to the end of this path and turn right through the large white wooden Cumberland Gate.
Continue on this paved path, past houses on your right, and past other paths turning off. Continue through the intersection with pink buildings on your left. Go straight to pass through the black metal gate into Windsor Deer Park.
Follow the main path here as it winds through the park. You will come to a low stone bridge (see below); just after the bridge you will run up the grassy hill towards the grand statue of King George III, known as the Copper Horse. King George III was monarch during the American Revolution and father to 15 (!) children, who later in life suffered from mental illness. His dissolute son George IV commissioned this statue and inscribed on it “the best of fathers” despite the fact that father and son apparently despised each other.
Take in the view then head straight down the hill for 2.5 miles until you reach the gates of Windsor Castle. On the way you’ll pass through a large wooden gate and cross a busy road — take care!
At the castle gates, turn left onto Park Street and continue onto the High Street. You’ll pass a statue of Queen Victoria, see the castle walls on your right, and on the left is a passage called Jubilee Arch which leads you to the train station.
Lots of options for food and drink – your choice!
If you prefer a longer run, there are many options once you reach Windsor Great Park. Take your phone and explore! Here is a link to the park website with more information: http://www.windsorgreatpark.co.uk/en
Wednesday, 15 May – Regent’s Park Inner/Outer Circle (5 miles)
From Barclay’s head down Wellington Road to the traffic circle at Lord’s Cricket Ground and bear left onto Prince Albert Road. Run to the pedestrian crossing where we will cross and head to the OuterCircle. Turn right and run on the inside of the circle past Winfield House which will be on your left. Continue around the Outer Circle until you reach the traffic light at intersection with York Bridge. Turn left and proceed to the Inner Circle. Run one complete loop of the Inner Circle and back out across York Bridge where we will take a left and continue on Ulster Terrace which is part of the Outer Circle. At the next large intersection take a left and continue on the Outer Circle, heading north back towards the Zoo and Camden. Pass the entrance to the Zoo on your left and continue to the bridge at North Gate which we will cross to reach Charlbert Street. Run up Charlbert Street until St John’s Terrace where we turn left and run back to Barclay’s for a stretch before heading to Starbucks.
Friday 17 May – The Heath
It’s Friday and you know what that means! Choose your favorite hill route or try a new one!
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 Route6+ miles: The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route OR Pergola route7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles: The full Heath route
Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.