Hello Runners!
It’s been another solid week of training, with some great runs done and great company had!  It was so much fun to visit Ted Lasso’s world in Richmond on Monday– we even got an ‘us-ie’ with him!  And as always, the run along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace was beautiful.  Apologies that we did not know about the palace now being closed on Mondays, or that they have changed the grounds such that you can’t access the cafe without paying admission.  That was disappointing, but good that we could take consolation in the great little cafes across from the train station.  For those who weren’t able to make the trip this time, we do usually try to run this adventure route again in the Spring after the half marathon.

Running this week.  This is a short running week, as ASL’s Thanksgiving holiday begins Wednesday.  Our only official run will be Monday, when we head to Whole Foods Piccadilly on a 6.5-mile urban run that takes in a variety of iconic London locations.  We start out east on the canal for a few miles before exiting at the Wall to head down Farringdon Road, under the Holborn Viaduct, and close to St Paul’s Cathedral (look to left at the Fleet Street intersection).  Then we run along Embankment before turning up toward Trafalgar Square and ending at Piccadilly Circus.  See the “Routes” section below for full directions, a map, and a RunGo link.  Whole Foods has a seating area upstairs if you want to take a coffee and hang out a bit, and it’s a great place to get your shopping done if you are cooking a Thanksgiving meal!  Wednesday and Friday are ‘runner’s choice’ days– reach out to your pace group via Whatsapp to coordinate if you want to do a group run with those who are in London for the break.  And don’t forget to make plans for our annual lights run next week (Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 6am). 

Shoutouts and Announcements.  Jess Browne is in Lisbon today, running the Lisbon half marathon with our alumna friend, Litsa Savastino.  The race is starting as I write this– so sending out good luck and all of our wishes for a strong and happy run!  Kudos and congratulations to the ladies who went out and ran the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon outside London last weekend: Marigold Dooley, Phil Kelvin, Abby Khatiblou, Clare Missin, and Meredith Snizek.  Well done, ladies!  And big congratulations to Francesca Rangheri on her first marathon last weekend, to Rebeca Ernrooth (who ran it as an ultra), and to Stephanie Gladis, who rocked the Ravenna marathon.  Last, but certainly not least, congratulations to Miki Neant and Kelli Willis, who quietly ran another virtual Abbott Global Marathon last weekend.  Do keep us in the loop on your upcoming running events– it’s an inspiration to see what everyone is doing and to get to cheer you all on.
Lululemon Marylebone are giving us early access to their Black Friday sale, this Wednesday morning (24 November) at 9am.  We can shop their sale an hour before it officially opens.  You can ask about our regular 15% discount, but in the past that has not always been available on top of their Black Friday sale prices.

The ever-popular London Winter Run, a 10k to benefit Cancer Research UK, is back on for 13 February, 2022 after two missed mid-winter dates (one because of high winds and one because of Covid).  While this is not an official event we run, many WRW runners sign up each year and enjoy a fun Sunday morning out running through London together, amid inflatable snowmen and people in penguin costumes!  It’s also a great opportunity and good timing to take part in a local race ahead of the Berlin half marathon.  You can find the signup page here.

Berlin Half Marathon.  Anyone planning to run the Berlin Half Marathon in April with WRW should have received an email this week confirming that you are signed up or on the waiting list for our group events.  Please let us know if you think you are registered but you did not receive an email this week.

Training note.  We will publish the training calendar leading up to the Berlin Half Marathon after Thanksgiving (last year’s training plan can be found here, if you just can’t wait for a peek). Be assured we are well on track, building a strong base now to begin going longer distances after the Christmas break.  We will also begin offering some speed training and interval options beginning next month, to help not only with speed but with overall endurance and strength.  These are always optional, depending on any physical limitations/injuries, or your inclination.  But if you are able, these sessions can be fun when done with your WRW friends!

Save the date.  Be sure to mark your calendars for some highlight runs in the coming month.  Details for the Lights run will be in next week’s e-mail, of course, but just a reminder here so you can make whatever arrangements are needed in your household to make the 6am start!  Many women manage to do the run each year, hop on the tube at Bond Street or Baker Street, and make it home before their kids leave for school.  And meanwhile, fish around in the back of your sportswear drawer, or do a little crafting or shopping if you like, to find some crazy tights for the Monday, December 6 run.  It’s always good fun, and yes, we are quite a spectacle on that day!
Wednesday 1 December – Annual Holiday Lights Run @ 6 amMonday 6 December – Crazy Tights RunWednesday 15 December – Hyde Park to Covent Garden
That’s it for this week, ladies.  Safe travels to everyone on the road for American Thanksgiving and the ASL school break.  You know that I won’t let this slip by without telling you once again how thankful I am for all of you, and for our running community. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I hope to see you in the park tomorrow morning!

xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 22 November  – Whole Foods Piccadilly via Embankment (6.5 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/sPLE0JCI3K

Here’s a chance to do some pre-Thanksgiving shopping after the run!  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 and Friday, 24 and 26 November – Runner’s Choice!  Thanksgiving break
Round up your running friends who have stayed in London, and pick the route of your choice!

Hello Runners!
It’s always nice to pause at the weekend and think about the miles we covered together in the last week: an old favorite route (Finsbury Park), a fun new route to Victoria, and a Remembrance Day route that has to be one of the best themed London tours out there.  And such is the magic of running with you all, that I didn’t even remember it was rainy on Wednesday until I noticed wet pavement in the photos!  

Running this week.  This week we get to start with our run to Hampton Court Palace!  Please note: We do NOT meet at the St Johns Wood Church Gardens for this run!  We will meet at the Finchley and Frognal Overground Station (not the Finchley Road Underground Station!) at 8:30 to catch an 8:44 train.  See the “Routes” section below for full directions.  Please communicate on your chat so that Pace Leaders know who to look out for, and please be prompt, as the group can’t miss the train to wait for an individual.  We will arrive in Richmond to start the run at 9:25, so if you are thinking about timing you can figure your run time for 8 miles, whatever time you spend in the Tiltyard Cafe, and plan for a 35-40 minute train ride back to London Waterloo, plus time to tube home.  Trains from Hampton Court depart at :24 and :54 each hour.

But now for the fun part– with this run, not only do we get to relive half-marathon glory on a portion of last spring’s route, but we also have a new feature this time.  Erin Roth has struck again, tweaking the Richmond start of the run to make it ‘Ted Lasso Style!’  We will run by the pub, by Ted’s house, and past some other locations from the show.  Maybe we’ll all be inspired to tell the people we’re running with what we appreciate about them!  All credit to Erin for the fun idea and theme!  And if that’s not enough, Dinae Norris forwarded info on the Standing with Giants exhibition taking place on palace grounds at the moment:  it’s an art installation that includes more than 100 specially commissioned silhouettes of WWI soldiers, including Indian soldiers who camped on the grounds in 1919, when they traveled to the UK to participate in the victory parades.

After that eventful Monday, we will come back to being more local on Wednesday, with a loop in Regents Park.  And Friday we are finally headed back up the hill to the Heath!  Come on, you know you have missed it!

Shoutouts and Announcements.  Francesca Rangheri and Rebeca Ehrnrooth ran the Milton Keynes ‘Enigma Millenium Falcon’ Marathon Saturday (isn’t that a great name for a race?!).  Stephanie Gladis is running the Ravenna marathon on Sunday.  Abby Khatiblou, Clare Missin, Marigold Dooley, and Meredith Snizek are running the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon on Sunday.  And I believe Miki Neant is also running the Abbot Global Marathon locally on Sunday, after having competed in another Surrey League Cross Country race on Saturday.  Cheers for all of these runners, kudos for getting out there, and apologies if I’ve missed anyone (let me know)!

Please bear with us as we repeat here the Covid-related note you may have seen on your chats this week:
As Covid cases are on the rise in our community, we wanted to send around this reminder from the first WRW email of the year:  Please do not run with the group if you are experiencing covid symptoms or if someone in your household has tested positive.  
While UK guidance does not currently require a fully vaccinated person to isolate if a member of their household has Covid, we are asking this additional courtesy to help prevent widespread exposure in our community.  Though most of us should no longer be at great risk of serious illness from Covid, we cannot assume others, or their family members, are not vulnerable.  And with the holidays upon us and a myriad of plans hanging in the balance, we need to be mindful of how great an impact an exposure and a positive test could potentially have on another family– or multiple other families– if we are careless with our choices. 
This reminder is prompted by the rising number of cases in the local community, and the possibility that this trend may continue and even accelerate throughout the winter.  As always, we want to be here to support one another.  Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any concerns or additional thoughts.  And if you do find yourself caring for a household member with Covid, and thus not running with us, also know that we will miss you during that time, and we are happy to support you in any way we can.

Looking ahead.  The Christmas Lights run is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 1 (a 6:00am start!).  It has been brought to our attention that the lights on Regents Street will be switched off from midnight to 2pm this year, so the angels will not be lit up in all their glory for our early morning run.  We think that was also the case last year, and the run was still great and there were lots of lights to see!  We’ll be doing a test run, however; and will let you know of any adjustments to the plan.  Also, start looking for your crazy tights!  The date is not officially on the calendar yet, but we traditionally have a colourful, crazy tights run around this time of year!

It’s going to be another great week for running together.  All of you showing up for yourselves and each other week after week is literally what makes WRW work, so I think I’ll get a head start on the Ted Lasso Style run and tell you all that ‘I appreciate you!’  Enjoy your Sunday!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 15 November – Richmond to Hampton Court: Ted Lasso “I appreciate you” Run (6 or 8 mile option)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/hoLSzRNtLbMapMyRun: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/4735532848
We will meet at the “Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station” at 8:30 for the 8:44 train to Richmond. We will arrive in Richmond around 9:25 to start our run. You can take a bus up Finchley Road to the station or take the tube to Finchley Road, turn left and walk up to the Overground Station.

Leave the Richmond Overground Station, cross the road just out of the station at the light and turn left. Turn right onto Duke Street (Sweaty Betty on the corner), then left onto Richmond Green road along the edge of the park. Follow straight along the Green (where scenes of pupils playing football were filmed) and you’ll come to a familiar sight from Ted Lasso: the two red phone boxes, the benches, and the pub (Crown & Anchor in the show, The Prince’s Head in real life). Go straight onto Paved Court and look for 11a, Ted’s home address. At the end of Paved Court turn right and turn left onto Friars Lane. Follow Friars Lane as it winds down to the river path.  

Now we stick to the river path along the Thames for the rest of our run. Shortly after the 2 mile mark you can look to the right and see Eel Pie Island, where some scenes from the show were filmed (and where Roy’s niece Phoebe tallies up of the number of curses he uses). Eventually we join Lower Ham Road. Keep right at the fork at Canbury Gardens, staying with the river just to your right. As you approach the center of Kingston you’ll run under a metal railway bridge; continue along as close to the Thames as possible until the next bridge, called Horse Fair Bridge. 

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

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

8-mile route: Go under the bridge and turn up the stairs and cross the river. Turn left at the end of the bridge onto a very pretty path called Barge Walk, which follows the river all the way to Hampton Court Palace. Once we arrive at the Palace and gather for coffee at the Tiltyard Cafe on the Palace grounds with lovely outdoor space (and indoor too in case of inclement weather!). Just cross the courtyard in front of the palace and then walk past the rose gardens to the cafe; no need to pay the Palace entrance fee.

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

Wednesday 17 November – Regent’s Park Inner/Outer Circle (5 miles)RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/BoeFK1Khvv
From the Church Gardens head down past the church and turn left onto Prince Albert Road. Run to the pedestrian crossing where we will cross and head to the Outer Circle. Turn right and run on the inside of the circle past Winfield House which will be on your left. Continue around the OuterCircle 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 the High Street for a stretch before heading to Starbucks or Pret.
Note – you can make this a 4 mile run by cutting out the inner loop.

Friday 19 November – Hampstead Heath (4-8 miles)
It’s Friday, so we’re heading up the hill to the Hampstead Heath!  Choose your route with your group– the standard 6 miles, the Pergola, Highgate, the Betsy?  If you choose to run the 8-mile route around Kenwood House, be aware that a lights display is going up and it’s possible part of our route will not be accessible.  You can find all of our Heath routes here, but for convenience we’ll include one of the standard 6+ mile routes below.

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running up 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!
Do I say the same thing every week?: What a fun week it has been!  It was cold, but we lucked out with bright sunshine each running morning.  And it was great to see runners mixing it up a little amongst the pace groups– it seemed like all week pace groups kept overtaking each other and getting great photos together, and some people opted to try running with a different group one day.  It is so rewarding and fun to get to know runners from all across WRW.  You can see more highlights from our colourful week in this 3-minute slideshow (thanks, Jen Iannazzo!).

Running this Week.  Monday we are doing a destination route with hills, to Finsbury Park.  Sometimes when we don’t get our hills in on Friday (we did Borough last week, and this Friday will also be a generally flat run), we like to throw in a hill or two on a different day.  It’s a great run, taking in the beautiful Parkland Walk, which may still have some colourful foliage and gives us the chance to visit the ‘Spriggan’ (Cornish fairy) sculpture embedded in the walls of an old railway arch. Supposedly, this sculpture and the Parkland Walk itself, provided the inspiration for Stephen King’s short story “Crouch End”.  If you’re not up for the full 7 miles yet, you could exit the run at Highgate Station, or perhaps take transport to start the run at Swiss Cottage or Hampstead.  On Wednesday we have a brand new route brought to you by Paola Di Meo, who has created a fresh way to get to Victoria, where we can take our pick of coffee spots before jumping on the tube to get back to SJW.  Or if you need a looped run on Wednesday, you can run with your group to Hyde Park, then meander back for the distance of your choice.  

And finally, on Friday, we have the annual Remembrance Run.  This amazing run tour was created a few years ago by route-master Erin Roth, and it is a meaningful and fascinating way to observe Remembrance Day and take in some of the history on our local streets.  Please take the time to look at Erin’s guide (attached below), which tells the story of the landmarks we pass.  I promise you will be moved and inspired by it– this is no ordinary run!  There are plenty of places to exit if you need to keep it shorter, but it also begs for many stops to check out the landmarks, so you may find it a good run for extending your mileage.  Enormous thanks to Erin for this special contribution to the WRW running repertoire!

Announcements and Shoutouts.  Sending big cheers out for Kelly Willis, who is running the New York City Marathon Sunday.  Good luck, Kelly!  And though we aren’t always able to keep up with all that our alums are doing, it did cross my chats this week that Becka Goldberg and Mariya Treisman are running the Newburyport half marathon in Massachusetts tomorrow.  So a good luck shoutout to these ladies as well!
Do let us know if you take on a race– or if you know a shy WRW runner who is doing so– so we can add cheers and kudos for them.

Christine Wilt is part of the organising group for the kids’ version of the Park Run series.  These 2k runs take place every Sunday morning at 9am at Paddington Recreation Ground for kids aged 4-14.  It is a fun, no-pressure environment for kids to try out running.  The organisation needs volunteers every week to help make the event work.  Find more information on the event here, and more on volunteering here!  

Save the Date.  We have some great runs coming up, including the Hampton Court Adventure Run, next Monday, November 15.  Don’t forget to block off the whole morning for this ‘adventure run,’ and be sure to save time on your calendar for these extra-special runs:
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.
Wed., Nov. 17 – The Wednesday Scramble— A new WRW social running event designed to mix it up a little bit!  Stay tuned for details!
Wed., Dec. 1 – The Christmas Lights Run— Kick off the holiday season with an early start to run to central London and view the holiday lights before dawn (and before the crowd descend!)  A WRW tradition!

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!    It’s going to be a great week for running together.  Can’t wait to see you in the park and on the pavements!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday, 8 November – Finsbury Park via Highgate and Parkland Walk (7 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/OqSvoVYSBa
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. Bear right onto Highgate High Street. 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 Sisters 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).

This route is a little trickier than most to cut short for less mileage, but the Highgate tube stop (Northern Line) is around the 5-mile mark on this run, so it is possible to catch the tube back to St Johns Wood.

Wednesday, 10 November – Hyde Park/Belgravia/Victoria (5.67 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/qB5iJAnbET
Head out to Hyde Park, taking the usual route. At the silver orb turn right on N Carriage drive. Follow the path straight all the way and then turn left to W Carriage Drive. Keep following the path crossing the bridge reaching the exit of the park. Exit the park crossing Kensington road and enter Exibition Road (you’ll pass the London Imperial College on your left and the V&A Museum on you right).
At the end of Exhibition Road turn left onto Cromwell road. Cross at the traffic light to change side of the road and continue on Cromwell Road. Turn left to Beauchamp place, go straight until you’ ll see on your right Pavillon road. Follow Pavillon road until the end and  turn left to Sloane Square. Cross the square and head to Lower Sloane Street. Turn left on Pimlico Road and keep going straight until reaching Orange Square. Then turn left to Ebury Street. Go straight until  Grosvenor Gardens. With the Grosvenor Gardens on your right turn right and cross the road and then cross again to the left. Head inside the Nova food Complex if you are up for a coffee at Ole and Steen or  a doughnut from Crosstown. Victoria tube station is on your right. To make it 6 miles, take Buckingham Palace Road to Green Park tube station.

Friday, 12 November – Remembrance Day Run (9 miles, with stops)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/7qQw1Iwo3X
Don’t forget to look at the attached guide that accompanies this run and tells you about the sights we will be passing!
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 the 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 Regent’s Park. Follow along the right side of Regent’s 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.

Hello Runners,
It’s been a busy week for WRW, with our fun Fall Coffee at Regent’s Park Bar and Grill Wednesday, and our (partially rained out) Halloween Run on Friday.  Also, between ongoing Berlin hotel reservations, the race signup, and our exciting WRW kit order, you have received about five times the normal e-mail communication from us!  Thank you for your brilliant response rate– it really does help with the planning.

Running this week.  Monday we will run to Kensington High Street via Brompton Cemetery for our rescheduled Costume Run.  It’s All Saints Day– the day after Halloween– when some faiths and cultures visit the graves of family members.  When the rain was falling heavily early Friday morning, we sent word round through the pace group leaders to reschedule our costume run for Monday, so check your chats to see who will be in costume on the ‘makeup’ run on Monday!  The Brompton Cemetery is one of the Royal Parks, and has been open as not only a cemetery, but also a public park, since 1840.  Over 200,000 people are buried there, including such notables as suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst (her grave is on the main path near the exit). You can find some of the cemetery’s fascinating history and a map here.  The run ends on the Kensington High Street, which gives us many options for coffee, from Whole Foods to Ole and Steen or Joe and the Juice!  Wednesday we are running the 5.5-mile Kensal Rise loop.  And Friday we have the 6-mile Borough Market run, which we will be putting on the schedule for the first Friday of each month.

2022 WRW Half Marathon in Berlin– now on a WAITLIST basis!  Your enthusiasm for the spring half marathon has been off the charts– we’ve literally never had such a huge and immediate response!  We have now reached capacity for event space, which is why we have closed the Google Form RSVPs for the WRW trip.  From this point we will keep a waitlist of people who would like to join the trip.  If you did not complete the RSVP but would like to be added to the waitlist, please e-mail tripmaster Sue Wheeler.  Note that registration for the race itself is still open.  If you have told us you are coming on the trip, please be sure to register for the half marathon itself before it sells out!  And please remember our longstanding WRW policy of no non-runners on the trip.  This is a special weekend for WRW runners to share with the women they run alongside throughout the year.  Do get in touch with us if you have any questions about this or anything else to do with the race plan.  We will shortly be moving all race communications to a separate mailing list of those who have signed up. 

Training note: background on routes and mileage.  We are still in base-building mode of our training, so we should be enjoying runs that are a comfortable pace and distance for us– perhaps building toward being comfortable with a 6-mile base by winter break, if you will be training for the half marathon.  We are a big group, with many different types of runners, all running with different objectives and fitness levels (but pause here a moment to reflect on how fantastic our general fitness level is!).  That’s why we offer routes each week that fit our general training plan but can be adjusted in length depending on your own needs.  When the routes team plans our calendar, they are looking at at least four years’ worth of previous runs, as well as the general training plan.  The mileage will never be something we haven’t done at this point in the year in previous years, and we will always try to mention options for shortening the run either in this note or in the routes section.  In addition, they are trying to fit in all the old favorites, and also trying to think of new routes, destinations and fun ideas.  They consider whether a route offers any nonstop running, and if possible, they consider traffic, detours, and any other complications.  This is definitely not to say pace groups or parts of pace groups can’t do their own thing from time to time!— it’s great to come up with your own ideas or redo routes that make you happy!  It’s just to give you the perspective on what goes into the routes you see published here each week.

One of the most beautiful things about this group is that we encompass everything from the most casual of beginning runners all the way to ultrarunners and semi-elites– and we all support each other, cheer for one another, and share this community built around running.  If you are newer to the group, or on the casual end of things, it may seem daunting to see the longer runs posted.  But there are always ways to make those runs shorter, and no one in this running group will ever judge a runner for taking the shorter route or for running whatever pace is comfortable for them.  At the other end of things, some runners extend the routes, or turn the destination runs into out-and-back runs; and it is wonderful that we so often get to see them on our routes even when it means they have to consider how to adapt them to meet their training goals.

Shoutouts and announcements.  Congratulations to Anna Zlateva on finishing her virtual NYC marathon last weekend!  And a shoutout to Miki Neant for her guide-running support for Irish ultrarunner Sinead Kane in last week’s 24-hour race in Gloucester.  Finally, one further shoutout for Phil Kelvin, who set a new course record in the W70 category at the Cabbage Patch 10-Mile Race two weeks ago!  Amazing!  Apologies if I’ve missed any runs or races this week.  Do let us know if you have a notable run coming up, or if you’ve just completed one!

More thank you’s for some of the people who have done so much to make the last week exciting for us all.  Magali Kivatinetz organized such a great coffee in Regents Park– the venue, the food, and the coffee were all fantastic!  Thank you, Magali!  And huge appreciation to kitmaster Marissa O’Malia, who not only managed to secure kit for us despite the challenges everywhere this year, but also has done countless rounds of design and numbers e-mails with suppliers.  Most of all, even now Marissa is trying to secure specific kit items to match demand with the limited supply we mentioned in the kit e-mail.  She is like a high-end personal shopper for kit– with hundreds of clients!  

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.
Wed., Nov. 17 – The Wednesday Scramble— A new WRW social running event designed to mix it up a little bit!  Stay tuned for details!
Wed., Dec. 1 – The Christmas Lights Run— Kick off the holiday season with an early start to run to central London and view the holiday lights before dawn (and before the crowd descend!)  A WRW tradition!

Happy Halloween to all!  Hopefully the rain will clear out for any festivities around St Johns Wood this evening.  But meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep last night and are warm and dry this morning.  See you out on the pavements this week!

xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday, 1 November – Brompton Cemetery to Kensington High Street (6.5 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/Sv1mfzlEl2
We start out the normal way to Hyde Park. Once you enter the park, turn left and run along the east side of the park. At Hyde Park Corner turn right and run along the south side exiting at the gate we normally use at William Street [next to the French Embassy]. Cross the street, take a right. Turn left at Brompton Road (just past the tube) and take Brompton all the way (admiring Harrods as you pass) until Fulham Road. Veer left on Fulham Road and continue to Brompton Cemetery – with its black wrought iron gates and a red phone box on either side. Turn right to enter the Cemetery. Run through the Cemetery then exit and turn right onto Old Brompton Road, then turn left onto Earls Court Road. Cross Cromwell Road, then turn right onto Cromwell Road and then turn left onto Marloes Road. Continue north on Marloes making your way through the streets to Kensington High Street. Whole Foods will be to your right.

To shorten this route, try running straight across Hyde Park, going straight at the silver sphere and exiting the park directly on the other side at William Street.  This cuts approximately half a mile from the route.  Other suggestions could be to walk across the cemetery and take in the sights, then carry on with the last part of the run as a cool-down; or walk the last bit of the route to the High Street.  The Earl’s Court tube station is along the route should you want to exit early– with the shortcut across Hyde Park, Earl’s Court should be just over the 5-mile mark.

Wednesday, 3 November – Kensal Rise (5.5 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/1rhb3AdSh7
This route takes us along the canal to the west. Please be aware of bikes along the canal and form a single file whenever you hear someone call out ‘bike!”.

Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road, then right on St John’s Wood Road at the traffic light. Then turn left on Cunningham, right on Aberdeen, and cross Maida Vale to the right side of Blomfield Rd. Stay on the right side of Blomfield Road as you run parallel to the canal. Turn left at the second bridge over the canal (at Westbourne Terrace Road), turn right just after the bridge, follow the sidewalk along Delamere Terrace, and join the canal path heading west at this point. Run to the Ladbroke Grove exit. Here we turn right and run over the bridge along Chamberlayne Road to Harvist Road. Turn right on Harvist, which turns into Brondesbury Road, and take that to Kilburn High Road/Maida Vale. Turn right and follow Maida Vale to Hall Road where you turn left and run back to Starbucks. 
If you want to shorten this route, run west on the canal and turn back at your desired half-way point.  (The two mile mark is at the point on the canal when the Westway motorway is over our heads.)

Friday, 5 November – Borough Market (6 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/6U5vDjwEEA
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!).

The Westminster tube station is at the 4-mile mark on this route if you need an early exit.  Or, if you are looking for a shorter run but still want to end at Borough Market, try taking the tube to Westminster or Green Park and intercepting your group at the desired location along the route.