Hello Runners!

What a bright and gorgeous day to bring November to a close!  I hope all of you celebrating Thanksgiving had a happy break and delicious feast!  If you’re feeling a bit lethargic, as I am, maybe the crazy tights photo can offer a lift of motivation for getting out on the pavements in our running shoes again this week.

Running this week.  Monday we are doing a loop that takes us to Hyde Park on a slightly different route through Paddington, then on to Green Park and back through Mayfair.  Routemaster Darcy Fautz deserves credit and thanks for realising that the SJWWC holiday luncheon would mean a good number of ladies will need to stay close to home, so we made a last-minute switch (despite the fact that Darcy already had a different route ready to go).  Hopefully this means more of us can make the Monday run!  Wednesday is our annual Holiday Lights Run at 6am from Barclays (see below).  If you can’t make the early start, there will likely be some runners meeting at the usual time.  We’ve suggested The Wall (see map and directions below) as another option.  And Friday we have a new route up to Hampstead, but running through Golders Hill Park– an area we have been neglecting– before crossing into the Heath and coming home on a slightly different path.  Please check the map and instructions below so it’s not too confusing on Friday when we all tend to go on ‘auto-pilot’ around the regular Heath routes!

The annual Holiday Lights Run is this Wednesday at 6:00am!  This is a highlight in our running year, and a unique way to experience central London decked out for the holidays– so join us if you can!  The mileage is flexible so you can cut out to get back to your households as needed for morning demands.  A few things to remember for this run:

• Wear bright colors for safety in the dark, and bring a bike light or headlamp if you have one.  
  
• Please try to keep our volume down at Barclays and on the part of the run through residential areas!  We have heard from neighbours in the past that we’ve woken them!  People are still sleeping in the houses we pass, so best to keep conversation to a minimum until we get to the more commercial part of the run.
  
• Watch your footing!  Uneven pavements, curbs, and other obstacles (benches? poles?) can be especially problematic in the dark!  No sprains or scrapes!

Shoutouts and Announcements.  We have two huge shoutouts for race accomplishments this weekend!  Miki Neant finished her 100k Channel Islands ultramarathon earlier today– just over 14 hours of running time, straight through the night!  That is simply an amazing achievement!!  Congratulations, Miki!  And WRW alum Rekha Kumar, who became a runner during her time with WRW London, ran her second marathon today in Singapore!  Well done, Rekha– we are so proud of you!     

Great news for holiday shoppers… We have been invited to a private shopping event at Lululemon, alongside the St Johns Wood Women’s Club!  The Marylebone shop will open for us on this Thursday, Dec. 5 from 7:30-8:30, and we will receive a 20% discount.  Please RSVP to Marissa O’Malia ([email protected]) or Mary Clyde ([email protected]), and big thanks to both of these lovely runners for bringing us this event!  And note their wise advice– because the event will be well attended and fitting room space is limited, it’s a good idea to do a bit of pre-shopping research if possible, so you will know what you want. 

Speaking of holidays, it’s time to think about the annual WRW tradition of showing our appreciation for the employees at our local coffee stops.  As Starbucks and Pret function as our unofficial clubhouses, and the employees are generally very friendly and kind to us as a group, we like to give a tip and a basket of home-baked goods on our last run before the holiday break.  Laura Beal has agreed to coordinate the cash gifts again this year, so if you’re inclined to contribute £5-10 toward our thank you, you can hand your gift to Laura (or to me) at Barclays this week, or no later than next Wednesday, Dec 11.  And there is absolutely no obligation whatsoever to contribute!  We are also seeking baked contributions for Friday, Dec. 13, and we’d love to have a “Cookie Master” step forward to take charge of coordinating and collecting the baked goods for delivery.  Please email [email protected] if you can commit to making a baked contribution for Friday, Dec. 13, or if you’re up for coordinating the baked goodies! 

Wow.  How did December sneak up on us this way?  Despite the burgeoning to-do lists this time of year brings, I am so looking forward to some of the fun and festive runs we do together at this time of year.  Something about our mornings together makes me feel like we can do anything and everything on our respective lists!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  See you Monday!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 2 December – Canal West/Paddington/Hyde/Green/Mayfair Loop (6.89 miles)

Start out by heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, running along Blomfield towards the canal.  Do not get on the canal but instead cross over the canal and take the Westbourne Bridge over the Westway A40.  Run south on Westbourne Terrace and at the fork, bear right to enter Hyde Park at Lancaster Gate.

Run along the west side of the Italian Gardens and continue along the south side of The Serpentine until you reach Hyde Park Corner. Run through Wellington Arch and turn left to enter Green Park. Run to the Green Park Tube, cross Piccadilly and head north (turn left) on to  Berkeley Street. After Berkeley Square Gardens, turn left and then right onto Davies Street. Run north on Davies to the Bond Street Tube. Go left on Oxford and then right onto James Street. Run north on James which becomes Marylebone High Street.  At Marylebone Road, turn left and then right to enter Regents Park at York Gate. Once in Regents Park, turn left and run along the Boating Lake back to the Charlbert Street exit. Take Charlbert back to SJW Terrace and Starbucks.

Wednesday 4 December
Option One (6:00 am start) – London Holiday Lights (4-6 miles)
We start out straight down Wellington Road past the Mosque onto Park Road and down to the Baker Street tube station.  Turn left and run along Marylebone Road, crossing after Madame Tussaud’s to cut through the Marylebone Church courtyard and turn right to follow Marylebone High Street, enjoying its lights until you turn right on George Street. After just a couple of blocks, take a left on Spanish Place to Manchester Square, running to the right (past the Wallace Collection) to make a right on Fitzhardinge Street, then a left on Orchard Street (at Portman Square) until you reach Oxford Street.
Turn left on Oxford Street and continue until you reach Regents Street and turn right. Follow Regents Street to Great Marlborough Street, take a left, go past Liberty and then take a right on Carnaby Street.  Follow Carnaby to its end at Beak Street, right on Beak then left on Regents Street, all the way into Piccadilly Circus.  Turn right on Piccadilly Street and then right on Old Bond Street. Follow Old Bond which turns into New Bond back up to Brook Street. Turn left then right onto South Molton Street up to Oxford Street.  You can stop at the Bond Street Station (4.4 miles) or continue up Gee’s Court (a tiny alley street diagonally across from Bond Street Station) which becomes St. Christopher’s Place. Cross Wigmore Street up Marylebone Lane, back up the Marylebone High Street, through the Marylebone Church courtyard to Marylebone Road.
Options:  turn left at Marylebone Road to reach Baker Street Station and you will have run 5.4 miles; alternatively, retrace your steps through Regents Park outer circle back to Starbucks via Allitsen and St Johns Wood Terrace and you will have run 6.5 miles. Latte time!

Option Two (8:15 for an 8:20 start)  The Wall (3-6 miles)
We head down towards Regents Park, then enter the canal at the Charlbert entrance and run east [left] cutting through Camden Lock Market until we run out of canal path at Islington. At The Wall, we turn around and head back to St. John’s Wood. This is a great route to do a tempo run because there are no traffic lights. Please be aware of the bikes on the path and move into single file on the inside (away from the water) when they are approaching.
If you run all the way to The Wall and back it is 6 miles.  But it is very easy to run half the distance if you want and turn around and head home. As a marker, if you run to the Camden market (where we have to exit the canal path and run past the food stalls for a minute) and return home it is a 3 mile round trip.

Friday 6 December  Golders Hill Park (7miles)   
We’re exploring another part of the heath today! Head up Fitzjohn’s as usual but cross the road at the pedestrian crossing (opposite Oriel Place on the right and before the Tesco on the left) and back track a bit to turn into Church Row. Follow Church Row all the way until Frognal where we turn right and then quickly make a left onto Redington Road. Follow Redington Road as it curves around to the right until reaching the T junction with West Heath Road, where we turn left. Cross West Heath Road at the zebra crossing, continue left until you make a right onto a wide dirt path. There are many options of looping the whole park and seeing the zoo or the deer enclosure but for now we will cut straight through the woods, crossing a few paths, almost to the other side. Take a sharp right near the edge of the wooded area and some buildings. After the path curves to the right, take the first left and head up hill towards the pergola which will be on our right. We run out Inverforth Close, head right on N End Way back up to the roundabout where we cross to enter the heath at the usual Friday entrance. Run down the main path towards Parliament Hill but bear right at the bottom past the ponds and out to Downshire Hill. At the end of Downshire Hill, turn left down Rosslyn Hill and right on Belsize Ave to head back to St John’s Wood the usual way.

Hello Runners!
Some chilly weather, a little mud, and a fresh tempo workout?  Nothing this group can’t take on– and with a smile, even!  Great running this week, everyone.  It’s so good to finish November strong as winter break and all the busy-ness that precedes it can sometimes mess with our training schedules.  But not to worry, we’ve still got some great runs in the next couple of weeks.

Running this week.  Put on your wildest, brightest tights for Monday’s “Crazy Tights” run!  We’ll pause for a photo of all the crazy legs at Barclays, then head out via the canal west to Holland Park, straight through to Kensington High Street, and then down along Hyde Park and Green Park to St James Park for coffee together at Benugo.  See the map and route description below for details.  Wednesday and Friday ASL is out for American Thanksgiving, so we will operate on our holiday schedule, which is that whoever is available to run meets at Barclays at 8:30 and the group gets to choose their own route.  As always, it’s a good idea to also check your group’s Whatsapp chat.

Shoutouts and Announcements.  The first shout-out this week has to be a huge thank you to Marissa O’Malia for bringing us the fab new long-sleeve running shirts just in time for the cold weather!  What a great job by our new Kit Master, who made it all look smooth and easy– no doubt because she was working extra hard behind the scenes.  And thanks also to those volunteers who helped with kit distribution, as well as to all of you who responded to the call to do your pick up and payment, or make other arrangements, on a quick turnaround this week– much appreciated.
Good luck to Francesca Siebel, who is running the Hertfordshire Half Marathon at Knebworth House tomorrow (Sunday)– it looks like a great course!  And later this week, in fact beginning at 10pm on Friday (Nov. 29), Miki Neant will be taking on a 100km trail ultra marathon (yes, that’s 62 miles!) on Jersey Island.  She will run through the night on the hilly, coastal course (overall elevation gain 9000ft!) with a total of no more than 40 runners, and aid stations only every 10 miles.  Sending lots of WRW support and cheers with you, Miki!  And speaking of ultra marathons, today as I write, alumn Barbara Jones (who left us last year for Virginia) is running the JFK 50-miler in Maryland– so sending her strong WRW thoughts, too!
So many shout-outs for recent races… you ladies have been extra busy the last couple of weeks!  Last Saturday, a handful of WRW runners and alums–Carmine Najjar, Bjorg Fridbjornsdottir, Mee Lee, and Poornima Guruprasad— jumped in to a Central Park 10k to Save the Elephants (see photo at the end of e-mail).  Well done to all!  And I will add that, even doing it on a whim, Bjorg ended up winning her age group!  Also last weekend, Stephanie Gladis, Sharon Lemburger, and Kelly Willis ran the Victoria Park Half-Marathon.  All three had really strong runs and good things to say about the race itself, with Sharon and Kelly each winning their age groups, and Stephanie having a top 5 finish in hers.  Amazing, ladies!  I hope I didn’t miss anyone– please do let us know if you’ve been off running the world somewhere.

Finally… the best shout-out of all:  Leah Neenan had a beautiful baby girl, Helena Rose, on November 8!!  Tiny Helena is already a WRW veteran, because Leah ran the Milan Half last March with her ‘on board’– so a happy, happy welcome to our newest little lady in the group!  And big congratulations to Leah and her family!

Save the Date.  We only have half a dozen regular runs before the winter break, but be sure to mark your calendars for the very special, early morning Christmas Lights Run on December 4.  We meet at Barclays at 6:00am for a private tour of the city’s festive lights before the sun comes up and the crowds come out.  You don’t want to miss it!
I hope you all have a wonderful break this coming long weekend!  With all sincerity, as we pause to be thankful for the good things in our lives, I will count this group and all of you near the top of my own list.  The friendships and laughter, the solidarity and support, and the joy of running together in this beautiful city– thanks to all of you for making it such a wonderful thing!  Happy Thanksgiving…
xx Micki

The Central Park runners last weekend.

ROUTES

Monday, 25 November– Holland Park to St. James Park cafe (8 miles)

Don’t forget your crazy tights!  We start out the same as our traditional Notting Hill Route [Circus Rd to Grove End, to St Johns Wood Rd to Cunningham, to Blomfield to the Canal, going west past the Westway to Ladbroke Grove].  Once on Ladbroke Grove, run south all the way until it ends at Holland Park Avenue.  Cross Holland Park Avenue, take a right and then a quick left on Holland Walk [just past Aubrey Road].  Holland Walk is a pedestrian way.  Run up Holland Walk until the first entrance into Holland Park on your right [opposite the Duchess of Bedford Walk].  Run into the park and then turn left on the broad walk which goes the length of Holland Park until it ends at Kensington High Street; turn left and run along Ken High Street.  (For a shorter run, you can leave at the Ken High St Tube which makes it about a 5 mi run).  Otherwise, continue on until you reach Kensington Park, where you enter it at the junction with the Broad Walk [just before Palace Gate road]. Take the Broad Walk to the first path on the right which turns into So Carriage Dr. You’ll run past The Albert Memorial and cross West Carriage Dr at the light. Continue on So Carriage Dr all the way to Apsley House/Hyde Park Corner.   Cross over Piccadilly and run under Wellington Arch, then cross at the light to run along the path to the left of Constitution Hill [the same route we take in going to Big Ben],  At the Mall, cross the street to run along the north side of St. James Park.  Turn right into the second entrance and go diagonally to the left (not straight as we usually do to run to Big Ben) and run to Benugo cafe where we will all meet up for coffee.  We can take the Jubilee Line home from Green Park after our coffee.  

Wednesday, 27 November and Friday, 29 November – No School at ASL, meet at Barclay’s at 8:30 to pick your own route.

Hello Runners!
It seems like maybe I say this all the time, but… what a great week running with you all!  The Remembrance Day run was, for me at least, a very meaningful way to mark the day.  Wednesday’s Hillzzz started the day with a feeling of accomplishment, and the Borough Market run was a treat as always.  Scroll to the very end of the e-mail for a glance at this past week’s runs.  Apologies for the late e-mail this weekend– I’ve been fighting technical issues all weekend to get the routes and photos to load into the e-mail (fingers crossed that they appear correctly here… if not, I’ll be back with another try later today!).  

Running this week.  Monday we are running to Finsbury Park via Highgate and the Parkland Walk.  We’ll sneak in the hill (since we didn’t do one Friday), but just remember there are bagels to reward you at the end!  Wednesday we will take on a different tempo workout– the Hyde Park triangle.  The full description is in the “Routes” section below, but basically we run hard along each side of a triangular-shaped route, and we jog very slowly around the corners.  Though your group will spread out during the up-tempo run, use the corners to regroup so that you can set out together on the next long section (tip: the second fast segment is the longest one.)  Friday we head up the hill again to do the Heath route of your choice.  Full directions and route maps are below, as always.

Training calendar.  Our WRW founder, Paula Mitchell, designed the training program we follow each year leading up to our Spring half marathon.  After the winter break, I will start sharing more of her training wisdom.  But in the meantime, here is a look at the training calendar our running schedule is based upon through March 2020.  Our routes team has taken this calendar into consideration when designing our runs, so if you are running the regular routes with WRW you are already following a training plan designed by a very accomplished runner and coach!  There is also a more gradual version of this plan (though not customised to our race date) on our website– it’s a great idea to take a look at this if you are new to running or are recovering from an injury or returning after a hiatus from running.

Announcements and Shoutouts.  Last weekend’s Rocky Run alumni race in Philadelphia was a big success, with almost 40 women coming from all over the U.S. and the world (a few from London– Alysia, Carmine, Darcy…).  If you’ve run with WRW for more than a year, there will also be familiar faces of friends who have moved away from London.  It is such a fantastic thing that this group of alumni including Paula (front and center, below), the mastermind behind our group, have found a way to keep the WRW spirit going outside of London!  And a huge shoutout again to Ariadne Petrucelli for pulling together the organising end of things!

Save the date.  Mark your calendar for these upcoming runs you won’t want to miss:Monday, Nov. 25th, we’re doing a “crazy tights” run to Benugo in St James Park– who will find the wildest tights to wear?  Wednesday, Dec. 4th, we will meet at Barclays at 6:00 am for the annual Christmas Lights run– it’s our own private tour through the mostly deserted streets of central London to view the festive lights.
A happy and restful Sunday to everyone.  Looking forward to seeing you at Barclay’s tomorrow!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 18 November – Finsbury Park via Highgate/Parkland Walk (7 miles) For this run we start up Fitzjohn’s as if we’re going to the Heath, but pass the Heath entrance and continue up Spaniards/Hampstead Lane into Highgate. Turn left down Southwood Lane (the road next to Gail’s) and go down the hill, then veer to the right (not a hard right turn!) onto Jackson’s Lane. Continue down Jackson’s to Archway Road and make a right, then a relatively quick left onto Holmesdale Road. Run a short distance on Holmesdale and the entrance to Parkland Walk will be on your left. Follow the path to Finsbury Park, cross over the train tracks, turn right and run along the western edge of the park and exit onto Seven Sister’s Road. Happening Bagel is across the street, Costa is to the right, and Finsbury Park Station is further down on the right (on the Piccadilly and Victoria tube lines).

Wednesday 20 November – Hyde Park Tempo Triangle
Head down to Hyde Park the usual way at a very gentle pace. Once you reach the park pick up the pace a bit around Speaker’s Corner, and then run very fast down to the SE corner of the park. Jog slowly around the corner while you try to bring your heart rate back down to a recovered rate. Once you reach the straightaway, run hard again to Carriage Road. Slow down to a recover rate again as you cross over the bridge and up to the path, where you will turn right and run hard along the diagonal back to Speaker’s Corner. Jog very slowly back to SJW or, even hop on the bus or tube from Marble Arch. If you are not doing tempo work, you can do this run at a regular pace (if you run back to SJW it is about 6.5 miles).

Friday 22 November – The Heath (4 – 8 miles)
It’s Friday, so we are headed back up the hill to Hampstead Heath!  Choose your route from 4-8 miles, as listed below.  This link will take you to all the Heath route descriptions and interactive maps, and our standard Heath route is shown below.
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

Bonus photos… last week at a glance!

Hello Runners!  

Listening to the rain fall as I write gives me a little satisfaction that we managed to dodge the raindrops this week.  I KNOW that tempts fate, but it’s still worth acknowledging our good fortune to have had these beautiful runs around London.  Along with this week’s photo highlights, I snuck in a picture of the magical rainbow unicorns, because I didn’t get one in last weekend (and unicorns are so elusive).  Also, look for the specially skilled selfie-takers above– not all of us have that skill, so thanks for sharing your abilities and your photos, ladies!
Running this week.  Monday is Remembrance Day– Veteran’s Day in the U.S.  Last year’s run to the special “Shrouds of the Somme” exhibit was quite meaningful to many runners, so this year our Routes Team took on the challenge of finding another special run for the day.  The amazing Erin Roth has put together a very special route through our home turf– SJW, Paddington, Hyde Park, Westminster, Regents Park– and highlighted some surprising and touching historical sites most of us will not have been aware of, as well as some of the major memorials in central London.  Truly, I can’t say enough about the effort she put into researching and writing this for us– thank you, Erin!  So please, please take a look at the attachment we’re including, with all of its history of London and Londoners– particularly women– and how they lived and what they dealt with during times of war.  It will put you in the right frame of mind for an Armistice Day run.  The directions and maps below contain the highlights (and thanks to Amy Grace for doing the photo-highlights map!), but again, do take the time to view the attached pdf!  And note that even if the full 9 miles feels a bit long at this point, there are many places to exit via tube and shortcut back to St Johns Wood!  As for the rest of the week, we’ll switch our hill day and do the new Primrose Hillzzz route on Wednesday, then reward ourselves with a run to Borough Market on Friday.
Announcements and shout-outs.  Today in the U.S., about 40 WRW alumni are converging on Philadelphia to run various distances in the “Rocky Run”– you know, up the courthouse steps, like in the original Rocky movie?  It’s wonderful that so many women are gathering in the WRW tradition!  Best to all of you, and a special shout-out to Ariadne Petrucelli for organising the weekend, with the help of Alyse Driscoll, Stefhanie Howe, and Michele Cale!  We’re sending cheers, shouts and hugs from here and hoping you all have a great weekend together!
Save the date.  Mark your calendar for these runs you won’t want to miss:Monday, Nov. 25th, we’re doing a “crazy tights” run to Benugo in St James Park– who will find the wildest tights to wear?  Wednesday, Dec. 4th, we will meet at Barclays at 6:00 am for the annual Christmas Lights run– it’s our own private tour through the mostly deserted streets of central London to view the festive lights.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everyone!  Thank you for being this wonderful community you are– showing up for ourselves and each other, staying positive, and generally making every great thing about living here even greater!  See you on Monday…
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 11 November — Remembrance Day Run (9 miles, or exit early at any of the many tube stops close to the route)
Head down Circus Road and cross Grove End Rd to Hall Rd. Remember Davies the dental surgeon at the corner of Hamilton Terrace. Run down the hill to the Sutherland roundabout, taking the left after the Warrington Pub onto Warrington Crescent. Keep an eye out to the left for the five tudor style houses on your left — this is the site of the WW1 bombing. Carry on down Warrington Crescent, past the Warwick Avenue Tube Station until you reach the bridge over the canal — and picture those incredible “Idle Women” making their way in narrowboats carrying crucial war supplies from London to the industrial north and back again. Straight on to the tunnel that goes under the Westway, then over the curving metal pedestrian bridge to run alongside Paddington Station. You’ll pass a Paddington Bear statue on your right — a reminder of those young evacuees. 
Keep Paddington Station to your right as you leave the canal area, cross Praed St, cross Sussex Gardens and continue straight down London St until you come to a small roundabout with a Fuller’s pub ahead on the left. Turn left in front of the pub onto Strathearn Pl, right onto Clarendon Pl, and cross at the zebra crossing into Hyde Park, which would have had a very different feel during the two wars. Cross N Carriage Dr, the sandy horse trail and the hard path paralleling it, and then take the SECOND angled path to the left to head towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park — the goal is to get to the corner we always exit the park from onto Hyde Park Corner. There are a few path options but as long as you angle left here you will eventually end up in familiar territory. 
Cross into Hyde Park Corner with its four war memorials. After taking a look, cross at the traffic light as normal to Green Park, but turn left in the park to get to the Bomber Command Memorial inside its columned portico. Continue for a very short distance past the memorial and the path forks to the right — it is signposted “Buckingham Palace”. Follow this path towards the palace. At the open area where many paths meet and a large Victorian lamppost stands, turn right towards the palace. You’ll pass a modern, low-built Canadian war memorial in the grass to your left — it isn’t in the write-up but is something to visit sometime. 
Continue towards the palace, across the top of St James Park and left on Birdcage Walk. There is a long iron fence that runs along the right side of the road. Just after the gate marked with the “Wellington Barracks” sign in blue you will see the side of the rebuilt Guards’ Chapel with its low bell tower. Continue to Parliament Square with the statue of Churchill, then turn left onto Whitehall. The Cenotaph is in the center of the road and shortly after that you will come to the Women of World War Two Memorial.
Continue up Whitehall to Trafalgar Sq and stay on the right side of the road while edging around the right side of Trafalgar Square. Shortly after St Martin-in-the-Fields you will see the Edith Cavell Memorial, opposite the National Portrait Gallery. Use the crossings to get across to the Portrait Gallery, go around to the right of the Portrait Gallery onto the angled Irving St that becomes a pedestrian way into Leicester Square. Cross Leicester Sq on the diagonal and take a right after the big clock and M&M World onto Wardour St. Follow Wardour St all the way up to Oxford St. This will likely be a very busy stretch of the run…be careful of pedestrians and cars! 
At Oxford St, look across at the Next store, housed in the grand Bourne & Hollingsworth department store building with its handsome green window panels. Continue straight across Oxford St onto Berners St, left on Mortimer St, right on Langham Pl, right on Park Crescent, across Marylebone and into Regents Park. Follow along the right side of Regents Park and emerge onto the Broad Walk. The Home Depot would have been nearby buzzing with mail distribution 101 years ago. Cross the Outer Circle at the traffic light, across the canal, left to Primrose Hill. Run across Primrose Hill to the gate at St Edmund’s Terrace, and proceed to Starbucks as normal.

Wednesday 13 November — Primrose Hillzzz (4 miles)  
We’re switching the hill workout this week to a Wednesday session on the 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 Allitsen Rd and will take you back to St John’s Wood High St. Turn right and head back to Starbucks.

Friday 15 November — Borough Market (6 miles)
Let’s mix it up with a destination run to Borough Market, official address 8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL. We can grab coffee at Monmouth before doing any shopping and catching the tube at London Bridge station back to SJW. Don’t forget your Oyster!

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. 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!
How much fun was it to get into costume this week?  You all looked fantastic!!  So many great photos this week, but I had to give the panorama top billing here (and I can’t resist asking ‘where’s Waldo?’).
Running this week.  Monday we are running a favorite destination route to the Tower of London.  We’ll go through Westminster, across the bridge and along the Southbank, past the turn for Borough Market and along another nice stretch of the Thames past the HMS Belfast and London City Hall.  Then we run across the Tower Bridge and finish outside the Tower of London.  Please check the directions and map below!  There is a big Starbucks near the Tower’s main tourist entrance if you have time to continue around the walls instead of turning toward the Tower Hill tube station as the run finishes.  
Wednesday we will do our first tempo session, a series of short, faster-speed intervals spaced with slow-jog recovery intervals in Regent’s Park.  This is a fun workout to do together!  During the up-tempo stretches, your group will naturally spread out, but the people near the front can circle back to rendezvous during the recovery jog part, so that everyone begins the next tempo interval together again.  You will be amazed at how quick this workout seems, and how good you feel for having done the change of pace!
Friday we are suggesting the Highgate route in the Heath.  It’s 7.5 miles and takes you up around the back side of the Heath into areas of the park not on our regular route.   But as always, you can find all our Heath routes here (our brilliant webmaster Amy Grace has recently updated all the maps on our website, so a big shoutout and thank you to her!).  Just a word about the Heath as we move into chillier days– be aware that the pavements there freeze sooner than they do in St Johns Wood, and they stay frozen later into the morning.  Do be careful up there if we have any precipitation, and look out for frost on cold mornings!
Announcements and Shoutouts.  As you already know from previous e-mails this week, we have moved to a waitlist for the Prague half marathon in March.  Here is the link to register yourself on the waitlist.  We will move most of our Prague communications out of this e-mail so that those not attending don’t have to skim over details, but please feel free to e-mail if you have any questions about the race trip.  And speaking of race trips, next weekend a large group of our alumni will be attending the Rocky Run in Philadelphia. I’ll do a proper shoutout next week on the day of the race, but I imagine a few of our London ladies might be headed out to join friends there, so an early good luck to all!
A few upcoming runs to note:Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance RunNov. 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)
I’ll leave you with this stunning photo from Monday’s run, when three pace groups converged in Regent’s Park.  So beautiful (and the tree is nice, too)!   Wishing you a good weekend, and looking forward to seeing you next week!
xx Micki

Monday 4 November – Tower Hill – 7 milesToday we will be running across, along and across the Thames and in and around some of the oldest parts of London. The sights will be stunning!

We start off as though we are running to Borough Market— down Grove End and into Hyde Park, under Wellington Arch, along Green Park, through St James Park and towards Big Ben then across Westminster Bridge. At the end of Westminster Bridge, exit left down the stairs and run along the Thames Path past the London Eye, Royal Festival Hall, Blackfriars Bridge, Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe to the Golden Hinde, admiring all the landmarks as you trod past. Follow the walkway to the right of the Golden Hinde and at the junction with Southwark Cathedral, turn sharp left and follow Montague Close, passing through the tunnel. You are now on Tooley Street. Shortly, you will see the “Number 1” bar on the right and a London map sign on the sidewalk (see photo below)- turn left here and go through the passage to meet up with Thames Path, where you turn right. 

Continue east on the Thames Path past the HMS Belfast, City Hall and Potters Fields, to Tower Bridge. Climb the stairs up to the Bridge (don’t go under the Bridge), then run across Tower Bridge (the views!), continuing past the Tower of London (more views!) until you reach the stairs down to Tower of London Park. Take the stairs down and follow the paved path along the park. Just past the park is a junction in the path-turn right to run in a tunnel under Tower Hill Road, past part of the original London Wall and up to the Tower Hill tube station. Now, think of all the history you’ve witnessed in just 7 miles!

Wednesday 6 November –  Tempo Diamonds – Regent’s Park

We are focusing on tempo running on Wednesdays.  This week we will do ‘diamonds’—they are fast but also fast to be done with so give them a try!

Head over to Regents Park, the normal way.  Enter the Park at the Charlbert Entrance and veer to the left path.  When you reach the first intersection with the other sidewalk, it is time to turn on your running jets.  You will run hard for 1 minute, then recover by running slowly for 3 minutes; then run hard for 2 minutes and recover by running slowly for 3 minutes; then run hard for 3 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes; run hard for 2 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes and finally run hard for 1 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes.

The ‘diamond’ looks like this:

1 minute hard                     3 minutes jogging recovery
2 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
3 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
2 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
1 minute hard                     3 minutes jogging recovery

If you need to extend the amount of time for the jogging recovery, that’s fine, you can jog up to twice the amount of the hard run time [so 6 minutes max recovery jog for the 3 min hard run]

This type of running is best done within the park so you don’t have to contend with driveways etc.  If you find you need more mileage in Regents Park, just keep looping however you see fit.

Friday 8 November –  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 lane, which is Fitzroy Park and has 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 near a set of bathrooms and just before Merton Lane to the left.

Enter the Heath, run past the loos 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, track and children’s swimming pool. Exit the Heath past the swimming 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 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. At Lancaster Grove, stay left on Belsize Avenue as it changes to Buckland Crescent.  Take this 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.

The Heath (4-8 miles) – Option #2
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
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.