Hello Runners!
Hope you all had another great week of running our city?  We really covered all the bases this week: park, canal, urban streets, Heath, and Parkland Walk/rail trail.  It’s really hard to narrow down photo choices when there are so many great ones– thus we have the weekly collage again!  And there’s a bonus at the end, because Miki Neant did a photo “ambush” on the canal this week– so fun!  (I’m sorry we’re missing a group in these!  Do feel free to share photos from your runs, and I’ll do my best to be sure we get a glimpse into what all the pace groups are up to!)
Running this week.  Monday is October Break for the American School, so we are not doing an official route.  Our holiday plan is generally ‘Runners’ Choice’– meet at Barclays at 8:30, and just decide then, with anyone else who shows up, what route you will run.  There will undoubtedly be plans and chatter on your WhatsApp groups as well (if you are new or not on one of these chats, please just let someone know– we want everyone to be in the loop, and anyone in the group can help find the right person to get you connected!).  On Wednesday we are debuting a new run– Primrose Hillzzz– that comes to us from the 11s pace group and their leaders, who created the run last year.  Please read the description below– we are so excited to have a fun new way to get in some quick hill work close to home!  And Friday, since we will have already done some hills, we will reward ourselves with the 6-mile Borough Market run.
Stay Healthy… and STRETCH.  As we start to add longer runs over the coming weeks, it’s especially important to pay attention to how your body is responding.  If you’re feeling something beyond normal fatigue, even just a niggling pain, now is absolutely the time to get it checked out!  I know we’ve mentioned it before, but there are physio and training experts listed here on our website, and the ladies you run with will undoubtedly have further recommendations for professionals to see.  Catching and treating an injury early can make a real difference in the severity and recovery time.  And, of course, stretching before and after your run is another way to help yourself stay healthy.  We are all tempted to head straight in for coffee (or bagels or doughnuts or whatever) as soon as we wheel up to Starbucks or another destination, but let’s help each other in this– find a sunny spot and stretch while finishing those conversations you started on the run!  Need inspiration for a few basic post-run stretches?  This NHS page is a good one:  How to stretch after a run.
Announcements and Shoutouts.  On Sunday we have five WRW women running the Royal Parks Half Marathon:  Laura Beal, Marigold Dooley, Roni Fransis, Meredith Snizek and Katherine Greig.  Good luck, ladies!  This is such a fun race to go out and watch, because it is on our home course, winding through all the parks we run in regularly.  If you’d like to pop down to Hyde Park to cheer these runners on, check out the route and all the other information you need on the Royal Parks Half Marathon web page.  If you have a bright pink hat to wear, all the better!
Look out for another 2020 Half Marathon e-mail coming soon, with next steps and instructions for race registration and hotel room reservations.  Carolyn is quietly working behind the scenes to make sure everything goes smoothly for us, so as always, a big thanks to her!  
London Marathon lottery results were announced this week.  Let us know if you were the lucky winner of a rare lottery spot!  We do have a few women who have secured marathon places running for charities.  If you want to go after a charity spot, now is the time to act!  Check out “How to Enter” on the Virgin Money London Marathon website to explore what opportunities remain.  Also feel free to email [email protected] and we can connect you if you want to talk with someone who has run it before and may have advice on how to get a bib.
Save the Date.  The Routes Team have put together some fun plans for us in the next couple of months.  Here are some highlights you might want to put on your calendar:
Oct. 21 (Mon) – Hampton Court Adventure Run
Oct. 30 (Wed) – Halloween Run to Whole Foods Kensington via Brompton Cemetery (start working on your costume!)
Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance Run
Nov. 25 (Mon) – Crazy Tights Run (Holland Park to St James’ Park Benugo Cafe)
Dec. 4 (Wed) – Christmas Lights Run (early morning tour of the city lights before sun-up)
Safe and happy travels if you are hitting the road for ASL’s Fall Break.  It will be great to hear the travel stories when we come back together at Barclays Wednesday!  Meanwhile, wishing a wonderful weekend to all of you!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 14 October – School Holiday, so “Runners’ Choice”

Wednesday 16 October – Primrose Hillzzz (4 miles)  
Let’s mix things up and try something a little different!  We’re calling it Primrose Hillzzz, the zzz for the zig zag hill repeats that are sure to get your hearts pumping and glutes working!
Head out from Barclays, past Starbucks, and take a right on Charlbert Street, heading into Regent’s Park at the North Gate entrance. Run straight into the park, following the left fork until you get to the first intersection, where you go left. The Hub and the cricket nets will be on your far right. Follow this path until the end, over the Outer Circle and the bridge, then bear right and cross the zebra crossing to the entrance to Primrose Hill. Once in the park, take the first path on your left, run up past the entrance from St Edmund’s Terrace and continue up until the path forks, taking the path to your right all the way up to the top. Enjoy a brief moment taking in the view and then head down the left path all the way to the bottom corner of the park (corner of Albert Terrance and Prince Albert Rd.) Run along the bottom of the park, past the Children’s Playground, Cafe and outdoor gym to where you entered the park. Repeat this loop two more times (or more if you like!). On your final loop run back up to the St. Edmund’s Terrace entrance and turn left out of the park. St Edmund’s Terrace will become Allisten Rd and will take you back to St John’s Wood High St. Turn right and head back to Starbucks.

Friday 18 October – Borough Market via Westminster Bridge (6 miles)
We head to Hyde Park via the usual route. Start heading west on Circus Road and turn left on Grove End 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 left to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place. Run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill. Run past the Victoria Memorial down the mall and enter 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 to run along the Thames until the river path ends after Southwark Bridge. Borough Market is under the railway bridge near the London Bridge station. The official address is 8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL.