Hello Runners!
It was another great week to run together in London!  From the Parks to the Pergola to Peggy Porschen, we covered a lot of ground.  And thanks to everyone who went a couple of extra miles Thursday morning to cheer for the Beginners Class of 2022 as they made their first run to Big Ben– you gave them a great moment with the surprise, and a first glimpse of the kind of community they are joining!  
Running this week.  Monday it’s time for an old favorite route to Tower Hill.  It’s a beautiful 7-mile route that basically follows our Borough Market run but then continues along the South side of the Thames to Tower Bridge and across, to end at the Tower of London.  From there you can take the tube at Tower Hill, or it’s an easy walk back to London Bridge tube station for a direct line to St Johns Wood.  You can also exit the route at Borough (London Bridge tube) for 6 miles, or Westminster for 4 miles.  On Wednesday we will follow the first half of the Camden/Mornington Crescent route, then circle through Regent’s Park and around the boating pond to end at the Regent’s Park Bar and Kitchen for an all-WRW coffee (with thanks to our special consultant for coffee procurement, Magali Kivatinetz, for setting it up).  There will be space inside, as well as plenty of room outside, so come and enjoy hanging out with runners from all the pace groups– we will celebrate the prospect of our Berlin running weekend next spring, and there may even be a few small prizes on offer from our race boss Sue!  

And finally, Friday– don’t miss the annual Halloween run!  Extra points if you show up in costume for this run to the scenic Hampstead Cemetery, on your choice of a 6- or a 7-mile route (or another option is to hop on the Jubilee line at West Hampstead).  How creative can you be??  

Shoutouts and Announcements.  Anna Zlateva is running the Virtual TCS New York City Marathon today in London!  Good luck, Anna — we are cheering you as we read this!  Meanwhile, as I write, Miki Neant is guide-running again for Irish endurance runner Sinead Kane in the Gloucester 24-hour Elite Track Race.  As with the Battersea event a few weeks ago, this race runs nonstop from 10am Saturday until 10am Sunday, and Miki will likely run with Sinead for many of those hours.  

Congratulations and great job in the Oxford Half Marathon last weekend to Jess Browne, Darcy Fautz, Alysia Hoyt and Carmine Najjar!  And congratulations to Phil Kelvin on finishing the Cabbage Patch 10-Mile Race last Sunday.  

Hopefully you all received the Berlin Half hotel email (let us know right away if not), and you are signed up for the race and have reserved a room!  Do reach out if you have any questions.  And, as mentioned in last week’s email, Marissa is ready to hit ‘send’ on the WRW kit order e-mail.  Look for that in the next day or two, and be sure to read it carefully and respond promptly if you want to order an annual shirt or other kit this year, as our stock has been significantly limited by the ongoing global supply chain issues.
Speaking of global issues, please do continue to take care of one another as we enter colder weather and Covid cases continue to rise in the UK.  Most of our time together is spent outside, and most of us are fully vaccinated; so hopefully incidences in WRW will remain extremely low.  But it’s a good idea to take a lateral flow test from time to time.  If you should happen to test positive, please let us, your pace leaders or the women you ran with know right away.  Fully vaccinated people do not have to self-isolate after an exposure, but it is important for them to know they’ve been exposed, so they can monitor and test themselves.  When we have had cases in the group so far this has worked well, and we are grateful for how conscientious you all have been!

Save the Date.  Be sure to save time on your calendar for these extra-special runs/events!

Fri., Nov. 12 – The Remembrance Run– Annual WRW running tour in honor of Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).
Mon., Nov. 15 – Hampton Court Adventure Run– Block off the full morning for this twice-yearly favourite route.  Take the Overground to Richmond for the 7-mile run to Hampton Court Palace (hopefully with coffee in the Tiltyard Cafe on palace grounds!), then take the train back via Waterloo.

It should be a fun week– with great seasonal destinations, the buzz of a race and some new kit to think about, and a WRW social to enjoy!  I look forward to seeing you in the park– happy running!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 25 October – Tower Hill (7.1 miles, or options for 4- or 6-mile routes)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/eckLcQj4pf
Today 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 a Legible London standing road sign for Tooley St/London Bridge (photo below) – turn left and go through the passage to meet up with Queen’s Walk/Thames Path. Turn right onto the walk. Continue 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!

If you don’t want to do the full 7 miles yet, you can simply end at Borough Market for 6 miles, or stop at Westminster for 4 miles.

Wednesday 27 October – Camden Lock/Mornington Crescent/Regent’s Park Coffee (5.15 Miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/3Oz5Lz9hEF
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 (alternatively, turn right just at the bottom of the bridge and go through the opening between the buildings to get to Arlington Road). At the first intersection with Jamestown Road take a right after crossing 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 right 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. After you cross Chester Road, take a left on the second path and follow it, keeping toward the boating lake and running around it all the way to York Bridge, where we will turn left and run to the Inner Circle. Cross the road, turn left, and run the short distance to the cafe.

Friday 29 October – HALLOWEEN RUN! – Hampstead Cemetery (7.1 or 6 miles)
RunGo link:   https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/aVzrkOhVjU (7.1 mile route)
From the Church Gardens, head straight out to run up Cochrane St.  Turn left on Acacia and cross Wellington Rd.  Turn right on Loudoun and run until it ends at a traffic circle.  Turn left on Belsize Rd and then a quick right to head onto Fairhazel Gardens.  Take your first left onto Goldhurst Terrace and then a left when it curves around.  Turn right on Prior Rd and run to the end, turning left onto Broadhurst Gardens.  Take the next right onto West End Lane and run about half a mile, taking care to avoid pedestrians as much as you can.  Keep West End Green on your right and when the Green ends, turn left onto Fortune Green Rd.  When the street bears right, cross and enter Fortune Green Park.  Run straight through and enter the narrow pathway that leads to the cemetery.  Take the first entrance on the left and run a loop to the left around the cemetery chapel side.  Then cross the path to take a loop around the other side, running straight and then turning left just before the street exit.  There you will find the lovely Art Deco Bianchi monument as you circle through.  Once back on the cemetery road, turn right (you’ll see the chapel) and then turn right again to continue on the path you were on from Fortune Green.  Follow this path to the end, between school playing fields, and turn left to follow it out.  Once on the street, turn left to get on a path (you’ll see bike entry barriers) that takes you along the far side of the playing fields.  At the end of the path, continue straight onto Somali Rd, then jog left and then right to get onto Sarre Rd.  At the end, turn right onto Mill Lane (larger street).  Take a left onto Fordwych Rd.  At the end, turn right onto Maygrove Rd and then a left onto Kilburn High Rd.  Again, take care to avoid pedestrians.  Run a few blocks and turn left onto Netherwood St.  At the top of the hill, turn right onto the aptly named Hilltop Rd then left onto Hemstal Rd.  At West End Lane, cross and turn right and then a quick left onto Cleve Rd.  Turn right onto Priory and the second left onto Goldhurst Terrace.  Keep left onto Aberdare Gardens.  At the end, turn right onto Fairhazel Gardens and go straight across Belsize Rd.  Jog left and then right to get back onto Loudoun.  At the top of the hill, turn left onto Boundary Rd and cross over Finchley Rd.  Turn right onto St. John’s Wood Park and take that to St. John’s Wood Terrace.  Turn right and finish at Starbucks.

For a 6-mile option, begin the run as above, but after you run the two small loops in the cemetery, exit as you came in, and follow West End Lane until it meets Abbey Road.  Turn left onto Abbey and follow it back to St Johns Wood, then turn left on Grove End Road to head for the SJW High Street and a coffee.  If you need to keep the run even shorter, you can hop on the tube at West Hampstead for just over 4 miles.

Hello Runners!
Or maybe I should say, Guten Tag!  I hope you are as excited as we are about the race announcement yesterday!  Tripmaster Sue Wheeler has worked tirelessly to bring us to this point– vetting options, establishing contacts, negotiating with hotels– all things that make my head explode.  So I want to start out the email today with a huge “Thank You!” to Sue for bringing us the WRW Half Marathon 2022!   (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check yesterday’s email and your spam folder– and let us know if you did not receive the race announcement!).  Also, thanks to everyone who reached out to express appreciation to Sue– I know it means a lot to hear your excitement about the plans in the works!
Running this Week.  This week we will start off with a Hyde Park run on Monday.  There are route options from 4 to 8 miles, all described and with links in the Routes section below.  We often run through Hyde Park on our way to other destinations, but sometimes it’s nice to just make the park the star of the show and take in the full lap.  Wednesday we will take a lap around Regents Park before jumping on the canal headed east to the Wall, and then turning back to finish at Coal Drops Yard for a coffee.  If you need to do a loop back to St Johns Wood instead, just jump right on the canal and run the 6-mile loop to the Wall and back.  And Friday we go back up the hill for a run through the beautiful Pergola.

Training notes.  Now that we have a firm date for the half marathon, we will refine and publish our basic training plans (standard and gradual) for you in the next week or two.  These are based on the plans created by our founder, Paula Mitchell; and they have helped hundreds of women to thousands of half-marathon finishes through the years!  Many of you have trained independently for races of all kinds, and you have undoubtedly found or created training plans that work for you, but it is still helpful for all to be able to see what we are basing our weekly schedule on.  Meanwhile, as we are in the base-building phase, we continue to offer routes that give you flexibility in mileage, both to meet you where you are at the moment in your training and to accommodate those who do not want to do longer runs.  This gets a little harder when our training runs get longer, but there is almost always a way to come along for a shorter run if you are creative with public transport!

Shout outs and Announcements.  Great job to our runners who did the Royal Parks Half Marathon last week: Marigold Dooley, Clementine Drackett, Francesca Seibel, Meredith Snizek and Katie Zolnierz– well done!  On Saturday, Kelly Willis and Miki Neant ran the Surrey League Cross Country race in Richmond; while their fellow 8, Elin Anderson, ran the Dunwich Suffolk trail marathon with her mom, Jenny (together they are running a marathon every weekend in October for charity).  
Sunday we have another group running the Oxford Half Marathon– good luck to Jess Browne, Darcy Fautz, Alysia Hoyt and Carmine Najjar!  We look forward to seeing photos of what must be a beautiful race.  And Phil Kelvin will be running the Cabbage Patch 10-Mile Race– a longstanding and famous event beginning and ending in Twickenham, and taking in the Thames River paths to Kingston and Richmond.  Good luck to everyone!

Look for an important email coming soon from kitmaster Marissa O’Malia, who has been working hard on designing and procuring another set of irresistible WRW kit for the 2021-2022 running year!  You have probably noticed that we are having worldwide supply chain disruptions and shortages, so huge kudos to Marissa and team for securing us our kit earlier this fall.  What this does mean for us is that we had to do a pre-order based on past years’ kit demand, so we will have a limited number of items and sizes.  Be sure to order right away when the email arrives to secure the items you want in the sizes you need!

Save the Date.  Be sure to save time on your calendar for these extra-special runs/events!
Wed., Oct. 27 – All-WRW Coffee— The run will be a fairly local route, ending at the Regents Park Cafe for all-WRW coffee.
Fri., Oct. 29 – The Annual WRW Halloween run— We will roll out an appropriately themed route, so start thinking about your costumes– but don’t forget you have to run in it!
Fri., Nov. 12 – The Remembrance Run– Annual WRW running tour in honor of Armistice Day (Nov. 11).
Mon., Nov. 15 – Hampton Court Adventure Run– Block off the full morning for this twice-yearly favourite route.  Take the Overground to Richmond for the 7-mile run to Hampton Court Palace (hopefully with coffee in the Tiltyard Cafe on palace grounds!), then take the train back via Waterloo.
After a week away from you all, I can’t wait to see your faces in the park this week!  (And for anyone new to WRW, if we haven’t met yet– I would love it if you would find me and say hi sometime!). It’s a great time of year to enjoy our base-building runs together, remembering to be grateful that we are, indeed, running together this year!  Have a great weekend, everyone!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 18 October – Hyde Park (4-8 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/ybk4zOsBh9 (6-mile route)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/VTrc0Y0EdT (8-mile route)
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—you’ll see a silver orb just inside the Park.

for 5 miles: After entering the Park, run straight and turn left when the path ends. Turn left again at Hyde Park Corner and head back up along the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals of War exit. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.
for 6 miles: Upon entering the park, turn right at the silver sphere and run until you meet N Carriage Road where you turn left. Run down to the Serpentine, crossing over the bridge then left to run along the Serpentine. At the end of the Serpentine, turn left over the bridge and make your way to the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals in War exit. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.
for 6.5 miles: Turn right at the silver sphere after entering the park. Cross over N Carriage Rd and turn left just after the Italian Gardens. Run along with the water on your left (it turns into the Serpentine), at the bridge turn right and then a quick left to run along the southern edge of the park. Then turn left at Hyde Park Corner and head back up along the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals of War exit. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.
for 8 miles: Upon entering the park, turn right at the silver sphere and run straight, over N Carriage Road and follow all the way to the last gate on the right. Exit the park at that gate, turn left, then left again through the grand gate onto Kensington Palace Gardens. Turn left at the end of this road onto Kensington High St, then left again into the park at the SECOND gate into the park. Run along the southern edge of the park towards Hyde Park Corner, then turn left on the eastern edge and exit at Upper Brook St/Animals in War exit. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Bear left onto Park Rd, then right on Kent Passage into the Outer Circle where you will turn left. After you pass Winfield House exit the park to the left, run up Charlbert St and make your way back to Starbucks.

The Hyde Park 6.5 mile route

Wednesday 20 October – Coal Drops Yard via the Wall (5 Miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/0MK1528hq3
Run down Wellington Road and curve around to cross at the crosswalk as usual.  Run down to the mosque and turn left to enter Regents Park.  Cross into the park and turn right to run along the path that will lead you to the boating lake.  Stay on that path until the English Gardens where you turn left.  Run straight through, crossing the road and continuing straight all the way to the Outer Circle.  Cross the road and at the other side of the bridge, turn right along the road and then a quick right to head down onto the canal.  Run along the canal towards Camden.  Turn left into Camden Market and run around the food stalls to get back onto the canal.  Continue along the canal all the way until The Wall.  Touch The Wall (per WRW custom!) and turn around.  Exit at the wide green steps to get to Coal Drops Yard and find a new coffee spot for your group to celebrate another great run!

Friday 22 October – The Heath Pergola (6.3 miles)
RunGo link:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/soXpd8ec3K/edit

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).

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.

Hello Runners!
Today’s e-mail comes to you from Boston, where the air is buzzing with marathon energy ahead of Monday’s rescheduled Boston Marathon.  Between that and having had the opportunity to reconnect this morning with WRW London friends who now live in Boston, I find myself especially grateful today for the friendships and fun our running community brings to our lives!  Thank you for being a part of it:)

Running this Week.  This week is a short one, with ASL fall break on Monday and Tuesday, so we don’t schedule a regular run.  Instead, use your Whatsapp chats to set up your meeting time and place OR go crazy and do it like we did back in the not-so-distant days before Whatsapp– just show up at the SJW Church Gardens at 8:30 and run wherever you like with whomever else shows up!  Wednesday we are doing a standard loop route we haven’t done yet this year, the 6-mile Notting Hill route, which goes out on the canal to the west, exits at Ladbroke Grove and crosses the famous Portobello Road before turning back toward Paddington.  And Friday we are going back up to the Heath because, that’s right, Fridays we run hills!  This week we’re featuring again the short and sweet Betsy route and the longer but lovely Highgate route.

Shoutouts and Announcements.  Another giant huzzah for our seven ladies who ran the London marathon last week:  Laura Beal, Jess Browne, Stephanie Gladis, Clare Missin, Miki Neant, Charlotte Sinclair and Kelly Willis!  You are some seriously strong, awesome runners, and it was a privilege to go out and cheer you running London (or send long-distance cheers for Miki running Nice!).  This weekend will include more race vibes and WRW spirit, as Marigold Dooley, Clementine Drackett, Francesca Seibel, Meredith Snizek and Katie Zolnierz are running the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday.  The race starts in waves from 9am, and runs around St James Park and through Green Park before running around and around in Hyde Park (see course map here) so it’s a great one to go spectate and cheer.  We also have several women running a half marathon next weekend in Oxford, so the cheering will continue!
One operating note– please try to be prompt to arrive at the St Johns Wood Church Gardens for an 8:20 departure in the mornings.  Some groups may, indeed, linger in the park beyond that time, but others may want to leave promptly because of group members’ other commitments.  If you have a consistent conflict that makes it hard to arrive bang-on time, then speak with your pace leaders and we can try to work out a solution.  If you are late in a one-off situation, message the group– maybe you can meet them along the route, or maybe they will have the flexibility to wait a few minutes.  But for the most part, please don’t expect your group to wait if you are consistently late.

Save the Date.  Mark your calendars for a couple of fun events coming up!
Wed., Oct. 27 – All-WRW Coffee— Stay tuned for details on this post-run event.
Fri., Oct. 29 – The Annual WRW Halloween run— We will roll out an appropriately themed route, so start thinking about your costumes– but don’t forget you have to run in it!

Hope you are having a beautiful weekend, wherever it finds you.  Can’t wait to meet up and head out for a run together again soon!
xx  Micki

ROUTES
Monday, 11 October – ASL School Break, no official run
Meet up on your own to do a runners’ choice route!

Wednesday, 13 October – Notting Hill (6+ miles)
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 Blomfield Rd.  Run along the sidewalk all the way down Blomfield to and across the Westbourne Terrace bridge.Turn right 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 then run down Ladbroke Grove to Elgin Crescent and make a left. Cross Portobello Road and continue on what is now Colville Terrace until it meets Ledbury Road where we turn right and then left at Westbourne Grove. Run down Westbourne Grove to the top of Bishop’s Bridge, then left down the steps into Sheldon Square (across from the Paddington Station entrance). Stay along the canal to where you entered, then run back on Blomfield to SJW and Starbucks.  (Note that the route is slightly shorter than shown because it begins at the Church Grounds, but you can also shorten it by walking the last little bit into SJW if you want to keep it to 6!)

Friday, 15 October – The Heath (4 – 8 miles)

Most Fridays we run the Heath!  This week we are highlighting two options depending on where you are in your training.  For both options, head out to Avenue Road, then up Fitzjohn’s per all the Heath routes.  

The Betsy (5 miles)
RunGo for The Betsy option:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/dkhuleD0zF
The first option is The Betsy.  Named for the runner whose favorite route this was, it is a shorter option that leaves out the second hill after you reach the tube station in Hampstead.  At the top of Fitzjohn’s, cross over towards the station and turn right.  Take the first left down Flask Walk and continue straight until you reach the Heath.  Enter the Heath and run until you intersect with the wide path.  Turn right and run down the path, curving to the right.  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. 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).

OR 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.

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.

Hello Runners!
Way to go this week, WRW– it obviously takes more than some soggy weather to dampen our spirits!  (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one).  I think those who made it out found the Monday Brick Lane and the Friday Borough Market runs were worth getting rained on a bit.  And, of course, Wednesday around Regents Park we had a reprieve with blue skies (and a few pink tutus).  It seems like pace groups are settling in well, and everyone has found a good group to run with– but as always, please let us know if you are having trouble finding your place.  

Running this Week.  On Monday we have a great run to the Whole Foods in Piccadilly Circus. Though the route begins along the canal like last Monday’s Brick Lane run, we exit at the Wall and run along Farringdon Road all the way to the Thames, then along the Embankment and through Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly, where you can finish at Whole Foods, or any number of coffee shops nearby (Soho Grind, Hideaway Coffee, etc.). The entire route is 6.5 miles but you can also take the tube from Blackfriars or Temple for 5 miles, or Embankment for 5.75 miles.  Wednesday we will do the Primrose Hill and Regents Park route, for just over 5 miles (or can be whatever fits your mileage needs).  And Friday we will head back up the hill to do the Heath route of your choice.  Maps, directions and links can be found in the Routes section below.

London Marathon.  Sunday is maybe the most exciting run day of the year in our city:  the London Marathon!  WRW will have several runners participating this year.  Bear with me as I try to run through the logistics:  Kelly Willis, Stephanie Gladis and Charlotte Sinclairwill be running the “mass event,” traditional marathon along the Official London Marathon course beginning at 9:30 (Kelly) and 10:00 (Stephanie and Charlotte). Meanwhile, beginning at 8:00 am, Laura Beal, Jess Browne, and Clare Missin will be running the virtual event on a great course they designed (see here for map).  And finally, Miki Neant will be running the virtual event early tomorrow in France, along the marathon course between Nice and Cannes.  If you are lucky enough to be in the neighborhood to cheer her on, please reach out and we’ll try to get you more information!
While the official marathon website is encouraging people to follow the mass race from home via BBC coverage and the live tracking app you can use to follow your runners (more on the app and downloading it here); spectators will be allowed along the course, but are asked not to gather in large groupings.  It is great fun to go out and cheer, and though in the past we’ve organised big cheering groups, it seems better this year to encourage people to form some smaller squads and go out more independently.  In past years we have found some good viewing spots along the course:  near Surrey Quays (overground, or accessed from Canada Water tube with 8-min walk) for a good view along Lower Road between miles 8.5-9;  near Limehouse (on the DLR), where the course loops around and you can see them at mile 14 and 21;  at South Quay (also DLR) where you can see them at both 15.5 and 18 miles; and finally, at Embankment, where you can see them heading in toward the finish around mile 25!  Use the tracking app to help predict when/where to intercept our mass London Marathon runners Kelly, Charlotte and Stephanie!
We won’t have the ability to track our virtual marathoners Laura, Jess and Clare, but we do have a great estimate of approximately when they will hit various landmarks on their route.  As you’ll see on their map, they are beginning at the Regents Park Benugo on the Inner Circle at 8:00am, and expecting to finish at Eaton Square at around 1:00pm.  Some time landmarks will be the following:  Hyde Park Sphere (1.5 miles) about 8:15, River Thames at the end of Church Street/Chelsea (4.5 miles) at about 8:50, Barnes Bridge (11.8 miles) about 10:10, south side of Westminster Bridge (20.5 miles) at about 11:40, and Hyde Park Corner (25.3 miles) at about 12:40.  The full list is included in the ‘London Virtual Marathon’ (attachment below).  There will be groups of 10s running with them for segments, and biking along as support– and all are welcome and encouraged to come out and cheer them on!  
Good luck and ALL the happy running vibes to our marathoners!  We are so proud of you!
Shoutouts and Announcements.  Congratulations to Katie Zolnierz, Laura Beal and Clare Missin, who ran the Hackney Half last weekend!  And next weekend we have at least a couple of runners doing the Royal Parks Half Marathon, so the race streak will continue!  Let us know if you are planning to run, so we can shout it out next week!
A very big thank you goes out to Jen Iannazzo, who, in addition to welcoming new members and keeping our lists, has now wonderfully agreed to help me curate photos for the email each week!  It’s a fiddly job, with a constantly changing array of tech issues– but also rewarding as she will get to comb through all the gorgeous photos of the week.  I am grateful for the help from Jen, and we are all grateful to our photographers who snap and send us the shots each week.  At the moment, the best way to get photos into our files is to e-mail them to [email protected].
We also have a few additional pace group leaders to introduce:  Katie Zolnierz and Clare Missin will be joining the 10s pace leader crew, and Shakha Mehta and Jeanne Jermyn are joining the 11s pace leaders.  Thanks to these ladies for taking on the role!
Save the Date.  We have a couple of fun items coming up later this month:
Wed., Oct. 27 – All-WRW Coffee— Race Boss/Tripmaster Sue Wheeler and ‘Coffeemeister’ Magali Kivatinetz (yup, just made up that title on the spot!) are working on a post-run WRW-wide coffee you won’t want to miss!  Stay tuned for details, and keep a spot in your calendar!
Fri., Oct. 29 – The Annual WRW Halloween run— costumes encouraged– is on!  We will roll out an appropriately themed route, so start thinking about your costumes– but don’t forget you have to run in it!
Meanwhile, your hardworking tripmaster Sue is busy negotiating to make something exciting happen for us in the spring, and kitmaster Marissa O’Malia is plotting with her to be sure we look good when it does!  Keep the excitement balanced with patience, and we hope to have an announcement sometime this month!
I’m looking forward to cheering with (and for) some of you tomorrow, and to running with you this week!  Happy weekend!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 4 October – Whole Foods Piccadilly via Embankment (6.5 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/sPLE0JCI3K

Another foodie destination for everyone who missed Borough Market last week!  We start out heading east on the canal and run to the Wall.  We’ll exit the canal there and turn right onto Rodney, which will turn into Penton Rise, then King’s Cross Road, and eventually Farringdon, which we will stay on until we reach the embankment. We then turn right and run along Victoria Embankment to Northumberland (just past Embankment Tube Station). Turn Right onto Northumberland and run through Trafalgar Square onto Cockspur and then turn right onto Haymarket. Take Haymarket into Piccadilly Circus and turn left onto Coventry. Run through Piccadilly Circus, across the street and onto Glasshouse Street, where you will see Whole Foods Market.

Wednesday 6 October – Primrose Hill/Regents Park (5.15 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/S0AwJViBrd
Start out as if we’re headed for the Heath, running down St Johns Wood Terrace until it reaches the T.  Turn left, then right, then left again at Avenue Rd.  At the crossing just a short distance up  Avenue Rd, cross over and run down Elsworthy Rd a short distance until you see a small road on the right that ends in the entrance to Primrose Hill park.  Once in the park take the path that angles to the left, then bear right at the first fork and left at the second.  This will take you up for a fantastic view from the top of Primrose Hill.  After you’ve caught your breath, take the path that goes down on the right (if you are looking out toward London), then curve around to the left at the first split.  Follow this path all the way down the hill to the crossing at Prince Albert Rd.  Cross at the zebra and head straight into the park via the bridge and across the Outer Circle (NOT a zebra, please note!).  In Regents Park, take the path that angles to the left, running behind the zoo.  Cross the Broad Walk by the fountain and continue across on the path that heads toward, but not all the way to, the perimeter of the park.  Follow this to the far corner, and then turn right to run along the southern edge of the park, inside the fence.  Continue to follow this around  the boating pond to run across the little bridge at the far end of the pond, then bear right to follow the contour of the pond to its end.  Continue on the same path until it meets the diagonal path that runs behind the zoo (the same one we ran in on).  Turn left to follow that to its end and then turn left onto the Outer Circle and follow it for a short distance to the crossing at Charlbert.  Exit the park and take Charlbert to St Johns Wood Terrace to finish at our Starbucks/Pret corner of the High Street.

Friday 8 October – The Heath (4 – 8 miles)Yes, we’re back to it!  There’s nothing like a Heath route for making you feel like you’ve accomplished something with your day– and by mid-morning, even!  Choose your route from the 5-mile Betsy to the 8-mile full Heath and everything in between.  Below is the map for the standard, 6.5-mile Heath route, but you can find all the maps at the links 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
Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.