Hello Runners!
What a great job everyone did this week!  Each of our official routes had an element of challenge to it– navigating something new, running hard on the track, or taking an extra hill.  That deserves a big ‘well done!’ at the very least!  And no matter which routes any of us ran, bravo to us all for being out there (in the cold, again!) putting in the miles and enjoying our time together.  What an incredible group of women!
Running this week.  Monday we will do a 9-mile route that runs down through Hyde Park and Sloane Square, then on across the Thames for a scenic lap around Battersea Park before crossing back over the river and running along it to Big Ben.  If you are not quite up to 9 miles, you could route yourself to the Pimlico underground station, which would give you about 8 miles, or you could shorten or skip the loop of Battersea Park.  (As you can see in the schedule below, we have another 9-mile run in the queue for next Monday, so you will get another chance soon!).  Wednesday we go back to interval training, with the pyramids in Regents Park.  See the description in the Routes section below for full instructions.  If you are feeling strong, feel free to add in another 3-minute interval at the top of the pyramid.  And finally, Friday we head back up the hill to the Pergola for 6.3 miles.

REMINDER!!!! WRW Kit Distribution and Collection is this TUESDAY.  We are so excited for the big annual shirt/race hat reveal!  If you ordered 2021-22 WRW kit items last fall or you are signed up for the Berlin Half Marathon, you received an e-mail this week with details for pickup and payment day.  Please read the e-mail closely and plan to come to the pickup location at the appointed time.  And if you have any questions, do let us know!

Shoutouts and Announcements.  The ballot opens Tuesday (January 25) for entry into the Royal Parks Half Marathon to be run on October 9.  Though it can be hard to get a spot in this one, many of our runners have run this ‘home course’ through all the parks we regularly run in, and the race always gets rave reviews.  You can also still register for the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run 10k to be run Sunday, February 13.  A WRW alum reached out this week with a connection to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has some spots available (with fundraising requirement) for the London Marathon on October 2, 2022.  See here for the application information.  Last but not least, Kitmaster Marissa O’Malia has come through for us again with Lululemon extending us a 20% discount for this weekend in the Marylebone store (and possibly online).  If you didn’t see the coupon, check your pace group whatsapp chat again, or reach out to one of your pace group leaders for the code and coupon.
This week we’re sending a shoutout to someone nominated by her pace group friends for some extra grit in getting her training done… kudos to Tanya Sinha, who has been training for the last month in India, with some of her runs having to be around and around (and around) the garden because of local Covid restrictions.  Way to keep it going, Tanya!  We’ve also had Miki Neant and Kelly Willis continuing to race with their Surrey League XC team last weekend.  And a group of 10s– Clare Missin, Clementine Drackett, Katie Zolnierz and Abby Khatiblou– ran their first independent half marathon of the year last Sunday.  I’m very sure I’m missing kudos for some noteworthy runs; but as always, please let us know if you or someone you run with deserves a shoutout– for any reason!  

Training Notes.  Last week we gave you links to Paula’s advice on slowing down for your long run (easier said than done sometimes, but it’s really, really true!)  Just to reinforce all of that, here is a training pace calculator from running coach Luke Humphrey.  (Our usual go-to calculator from Runners’ World seems to have been taken offline– for those of you accustomed to that one).  If you put in a past race time (5k, 10k, half or full marathon) or the time you would like to run in our half marathon, it will calculate the optimal pace range for various types of training runs.  For our training plan, the most important one is the long run, and I will be the first to admit that I don’t slow down as much as advised on these long runs– which may also be true for many of us.  But the point of sharing this is not to prescribe what pace anyone should run, but just to emphasize that we are, indeed, meant to slow down for our long runs.  In addition to the physical aspects of building up mitochondria to improve our body’s ability to fuel for endurance, one nice psychological benefit of slowing down is that it also takes some of the ‘scary’ factor out of longer runs for those who are training for their first half or who haven’t done a lot of long runs yet.  As long as we are not fighting off injuries or other complications, we can do more than we might think we can if we just slow down!

Save the Date.  Whether you are planning to run the half or not, we have some great runs planned for the next few months.  Here are some upcoming dates for your calendar:
Tuesday, January 25 – WRW Kit pickup and collection for kit and Berlin trip
Monday, January 31 – Canary Wharf (9 miles)
Sunday, February 13 – London Winter Run 10k
Monday, February 14 – Greenford (9.75 miles)*
Monday, March 7 – Canada Water (10 miles)
Monday, March 21 – Kew Gardens (11 miles)
* optional swap of Monday/Wednesday runs the week of Feb 14 for those running the Winter Run 10k on Sunday

Can’t wait to see you out running this week, as well as at race and kit pickup/payment on Tuesday!  Keep getting out there– nothing chases away the January doldrums like a nice run with friends!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
xx  Micki

ROUTES
Monday 24 January – Battersea Park to Big Ben (9 miles)RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/eZjBUWocao
Let’s keep that race training going!  This route is a mash up of a few runs and includes a loop of Battersea Park.

Start out from the church gardens to Hyde Park, along the eastern edge of the park, and down to Sloane Street the usual way.  Continue through Sloane Square and down Chelsea Bridge Road, and over the Chelsea Bridge to the south bank of the Thames.  Turn right into Battersea Park and run along the outer perimeter of the park.  The park paths will meander some but that’s the fun of running in a park!  Once you make your way around the park and back to the Thames, run along the river path back to the Chelsea Bridge.  For the final part of the run head back over the bridge and run along the north side of the Thames along the Embankment all the way to Big Ben and the Westminster Tube Station. 

Wednesday 26 January – Regents Pyramids interval training

Continuing our tempo/interval training, this week we will do ‘pyramids’—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 (or when you feel properly warmed up– take more time if you need it!), 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; and then start back down the pyramid, running hard for 2 minutes, recovering for 3 minutes and finally running hard for 1 minute, and recovering for 3 minutes before doing an easy cool down in the park and back to the High Street.  If you are feeling strong, consider adding in a second 3-minute hard run and 3-minute recovery at the top of the pyramid!

The ‘pyramid’ 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

Please use the recovery time to circle up and reconnect with your pace group, as everyone will do the hard run at different paces.  This kind of workout is much more fun if done as a group, and it can be demoralizing to those at the back of the group if they are trying to catch up to the rest of the group during the recovery time.  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 street crossings or driveway entrances, and the workout is about progressing up and back down through the intervals rather than about the actual route– so just keep looping in the park however you see fit until the intervals are done and you’ve gotten a good cool-down run.

Friday 28 January – Heath Pergola (6.3 miles)RunGo link:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/soXpd8ec3K/edit

Head out 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.”
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).

Hello Runners!
Well done on our first official week back to WRW running!  We had some cold days, but getting out and running does chase away the chills pretty quickly.  We all know the pavements in London are often mysteriously wet in the mornings, even if it hasn’t visibly rained– but we may forget that they become really frosty and slippery when the temperatures dip close to freezing!  I’m so relieved we seem to have escaped this week without any big slips, but please do continue to watch your footing if the cold temperatures hold!

Running this week.  We have a fun week ahead!  Monday we get to run a brand new and really cool route created by routemaster Miki Neant– into some territory we haven’t traditionally covered much.  We’re taking a spin around the City, past St Paul’s Cathedral, through Barbican, past a few Banksys, and back to Bond Street tube station for 8 miles, but also with options to go shorter (5, 6.25, or 7 miles) or longer (9.5), as detailed in the writeup below.  It’s going to be such a fun and rewarding route, and Amy Grace has given us some audio prompts in the RunGo route.  But it will be unfamiliar to many of us, and it gets a little complicated around Barbican– so make sure to study the route ahead of time and keep the directions and/or RunGo handy as you run!
On Wednesday we are doing a track workout at Paddington Recreation Ground, in Maida Vale.  We’ll warm up with the run to the track, do some striders, then four sets of 800 meters at an up-tempo pace (see below for details), and then a mile cool-down either within and around the park to finish at the large Starbucks in Maida Vale, or back to St Johns Wood High Street.  If you are not doing tempo workouts, then take a runner’s choice local route and meet the rest of your group for coffee afterwards.  And finally, on Friday we will head back to the Hill, with a recommendation to carry on up to Highgate this time and then run back across the Heath to our normal exit and return to St Johns Wood, for a 7.5-mile route.

WRW Kit Distribution and Collection.  It’s time for the big reveal!  Those who ordered 2021-22 WRW kit items last fall will be receiving an e-mail this week with details for kit pickup and payment, and we will finally see this year’s fabulous annual shirt with its mystery colors and slogan, as well as all the other great items brought to us by kitmaster Marissa O’Malia and trip boss Sue Wheeler!  In addition we will be collecting for Berlin Half-Marathon expenses (group meals and tours).  Watch your Inbox for details, and plan to personally collect and pay for (in cash, please!) your kit on the morning of Tuesday, January 25. The e-mail will provide details on what your total owed will be, so that you will have time to obtain cash for pick-up morning.  If you are unable to attend at the given time, please arrange for a friend to do the pickup for you.

Training Notes.  In case you missed it in last week’s email, here is our training schedule for the next eleven weeks up to the Berlin Half Marathon.  Last week we talked about the weekly schedule of long, slow runs, tempo training, and hill runs.  We mentioned that the long, slow distance run is the most important run to stay consistent with.  By “slow” we mean comfortable and conversational– about 60- to 90- seconds slower per mile than your goal race pace.  Paula Mitchell, our founder, explains the compelling reasons for slowing down on the long run here.  In a ridiculously oversimplified nutshell, long, slow runs are what triggers your body to produce mitochondria, which is the ignition tool for fueling our runs most efficiently.  If we don’t slow down, we miss out on that benefit.

Save the Date.  Whether you are planning to run the half or not, we have some great runs planned for the next few months.  Here are some upcoming dates for your calendar:
Tuesday, January 25 – WRW Kit pickup and collection for kit and Berlin trip
Monday, January 31 – Canary Wharf (9 miles)
Sunday, February 13 – London Winter Run 10k
Monday, February 14 – Greenford (9.75 miles)*
Monday, March 7 – Canada Water (10 miles)
Monday, March 21 – Kew Gardens (11 miles)
* optional swap of Monday/Wednesday runs the week of Feb 14 for those running the Winter Run 10k on Sunday

That’s it for now, friends.  It was so much fun to see everyone out on our runs this week– you are all looking so strong!  Keep running, stay healthy, and don’t forget how lucky we are to be able to run together in this beautiful city!  See you out there!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 17 January – Covent Garden/St Paul’s/Barbican Banksy (8 miles)RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/u1F8chnwdo
This route finishes at Bond Street tube for 8 miles.  You can shorten it easily by getting on the tube at Barbican (5 miles), Chancery Lane (6.25 miles) or Tottenham Court Rd (7 miles).  Lengthen it by running back to SJW to add another 1.5 miles.
Exit the church garden SJW high street entrance and turn to the right/south.  Cross Prince Albert Rd and turn right onto Park Rd to the Mosque.  Turn left onto Hanover Gate and continue straight to enter Regent’s Park.  Turn right at the first path and run along the lake.  Run straight, cross York Bridge Rd and continue straight until the first exit of the Park on the right – Park Square West.

Run onto Park Square West and cross Marylebone Rd. and run around Park Crescent on the right side.  Turn right onto Portland Place.  Cross Oxford Street and keep straight onto Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus.  Keep straight onto Coventry Street towards Leicester Square.  Keep straight, pass Leicester Square Tube station.

At the 6 street junction, keep straight onto Long Acre. After the Covent Garden Tube station, turn right onto James Street to Covent Garden.  Go straight through Covent Garden to the other end then turn left towards London Transport Museum.  Turn right into a small path onto Tavistock Court and then left onto Tavistock Street.  At the end of the street, Turn right onto Drury Ln.  At the end, turn left and run along the Aldrich crescents.  Continue onto The Strand and then onto Fleet Street, Ludgate Hill, until St Paul’s Cathedral.

Run into St Paul’s Churchyard and turn left to run under the Temple Bar Gate.  You are at Paternoster Square –  immediately turn right, turn left at the kiosk.  After the tube station, cross 2 streets to turn left onto St Martin’s Le Grand, then Aldersgate.  Keep right and at the end of the road, just before the roundabout, look for the little entrance on your right to the escalator that invites you to go upstairs.
Cross the footbridge and head towards the Museum of London.  Turn right to continue onto Bastion Highwalk.  At the first opening, turn left onto Albian Highwalk.  Keep running straight onto Gilbert Bridge.  Keep straight, pass the huge golden statue on your left.  Turn right onto the Speed Highwalk, following the yellow line.  At the end, take the stairs down to Moor Lane and turn left.
Turn left onto Chiswell St.  As you continue straight, run past the street sign for Lamb’s Passage.  Be vigilant and continue straight about 10 meters.  STOP in front of Sundial Ct.  TURN LOOK BACK! Banksy’s Robb London is there.  Continue running towards West on Chiswell St.  Keep right and head into the tunnel.  At the first street on your right, Golden Lane, STOP! look right on both sides of Golden Lane are 2 Banksys.

Continue running until the end of the tunnel and cross Aldersgate St.  You can stop at Barbican tube to make it 5 miles.  Otherwise, continue straight onto Long Ln.  Turn left at W Smithfield and half way through turn left onto Giltspur St.  Turn right on Newgate St and continue straight onto Holborn Viaduct.  Continue straight onto Holborn.  You can stop at Chancery Lane station for 6.25 miles.  Continue straight onto New Oxford Street and then Oxford St.  Finish at Bond Street Station or head back to SJW to add another mile and a half.

Wednesday 19 January – Paddington Rec Track intervals (4 x 800s) (approx 5.5 miles total)

Meet as usual, then the groups will jog the 1.5 mile warm-up to the track at Paddington Recreation Ground.  Run up to Barclays and turn left on Circus Road, which becomes Hall Rd and then Sutherland Rd (without any turns). There is a crosswalk just before Randolph Ave. and the rotary. Turn right onto Randolph Ave, pass Maida Vale tube, then the entrance to Paddington Rec is on your left on the next block.  Look for the red phone booth!

The workout is a total of 5 miles:

– 1.5 mile jog to track

– Stretching and some striders before you begin the workout. (See link for explanation of striders).

– 4 x 800 meters (2 laps) with one lap recovery at a very slow jog in between each 800.  

– 1 mile warm down around the park at Paddington and on to the Starbucks in Maida Vale, or a 1 mile warm down back to St. John’s Wood

Two quick tips:
1. Try to run each of the 800s at a similar speed. Ideally you don’t want to push so hard on the first one that you are significantly slower on the last one. It would be better to hold back a bit in the beginning so that you can maintain the same speed or even speed up toward the end.  The following are suggested pace group targets, but please adjust according to how you feel, your current fitness level, and whether you have been doing any speed work or tempo runs so far this season:

8’s – 3:30 for 800 metres

9’s – 4:00 for 800 metres

10’s – 4:45 for 800 metres

11’s – 5:15 for 800 metres

12’s – 5:45 for 800 metres

2. See if you can get into a group of 5-8 runners that have a similar pace and then do the workout together. It is so much more fun and inspirational if you tackle this challenge together. You will likely spread out a bit in the running, but when you get to the recovery lap, wait for the others to catch up so that you can start the next interval together.

Friday 21 January – 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.

OR – run the route of your choice in the Heath:
<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

Happy New Year, Runners!

I hope 2022 has begun splendidly for you, and that the long break was filled with good things– whether it was favorite people and places, or simply a chance to relax and recharge!  Whatever the news cycle is on a given day, let’s begin our running year together with gratitude and optimism.  Every day that begins with a run with friends is something to be grateful for!  

Running this week.  We like to come back from break with a few old favorites that give us all the flexibility to run together even while adjusting the routes according to whatever kind of running we’ve each been able to do while apart.  So Monday we will run the Big Ben route– which can range from 4 to 8 miles.  Route instructions for various distances are in the writeup in the ‘Routes’ section below.  Whichever you choose to do, don’t forget to greet Big Ben, as it is emerging from the scaffolding cocoon it’s been inside for the last few years!  Wednesday we will run the Primrose Hillzzz.  We’re extending the warmup run a little bit, and then three hill reps is our official workout.  But if that’s too much straight off, we will be repeating this run in a few weeks, so you can do what you are able to this time, and work toward the full three loops (or more?) next time.  And Friday we will do our ‘first Friday’ Borough Market run.

Training Note.  We are 12 weeks out from our planned half-marathon in Berlin!  It’s time to take stock of where we are and look at the training plan that will get us to 13.1 miles.  Below is a screenshot of the standard training plan from now to the race.  This is what we base our route planning on, but remember it is a guideline, not an absolute prescription!  We know that some of you regularly run more miles than this, and that some have to be very careful about mileage totals so as not to get injured.  We trust you will tweak the schedule as necessary for your own goals and circumstances.  

Just a reminder of a few basic tenets of our training schedule:

• Our long, slow, distance runs are generally scheduled for Mondays.  These are our key, endurance-building runs, and they are essential– probably the most important run of the week!  They are best done at a steady pace considerably below your race pace.  We’ve talked about this before, and I will provide the links and explanation again in an upcoming training note.  But trust us, you will benefit from taking these at a contained pace that will build your endurance rather than depleting your legs and your energy!
• We will be offering a tempo workout option most Wednesdays from now until early March.  This is the way to improve your speed and pick up your pace if you have time goals for your half (or if you just want to run faster).  If you don’t want to do the tempo workouts, no problem!  There will definitely be people running a normal mid-distance run on Wednesdays, and that is absolutely fine!  A 5-6 mile midweek run, perhaps at a slightly faster pace than your Monday runs, is a perfectly solid training plan!
• We still do hill runs on most Fridays.  These are great for building your cardio, strengthening the legs, and getting us up into the green spaces of the Heath!  There will always be people who are not running the hills, so if you need to keep to a flat run, you will not be alone.  We schedule the Borough Market run the first Friday of every month, and in those weeks we try to work a little bit of hill work into the runs on the days around it (like doing Primrose Hillzzz on Wednesday, or Holland Park the following Monday).

Shoutouts and Announcements.  Don’t forget to let us know what shoutouts and recognition to give in our weekly note.  As we head into the long, dark part of winter, we’re keen to celebrate every bright spot!  It looks like registration is still open for the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run 10K on February 13.  Though we do not officially do it as a group, this has been a popular run amongst WRW runners for several years now.  There is a good chance you have friends already signed up, and that makes it easy to make an event of it!
There’s an old Irish blessing that goes: “May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.”  I love that an old, wishful saying basically summarizes our daily experience in this group!  It’s wonderful to get back to our running routine– can’t wait to see you all in the church gardens Monday morning!  

xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 10 January – Big Ben  (4- 8 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/JDPjKnb1VC

On Monday let’s get back into the routine with an oldie but a goodie.  We head to Hyde Park via the usual route. Start heading west on Circus Road and turn left on Grove End and follow south as it becomes Lisson Grove. Cross over Marylebone Road and continue on Seymour Place until the end. Turn right and cross over Edgware Road and then left to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place.   Run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill. Run along the edge of Green Park, past the Victoria Memorial and cross The Mall at the traffic light. Run down The Mall and enter St. James Park.  Run over the bridge across the lake and out of the park, turning left onto Birdcage Walk and down into Parliament Square to Big Ben. Those running four miles will take the tube back to SJW from here and those running eight will turn around and follow the same route back.  You can also make it a five-mile run by turning back at Big Ben and running to the Green Park Tube Station, then tubing it home.

Wednesday 12 January – Primrose Hillzzz  (5 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/rCmIF5iIyY
We’re combining hills and intervals this week with Primrose Hillzzz, the zzz for the zig zag hill repeats that are sure to get your hearts pumping and glutes working! We’ve doctored the usual start of the run to give us a little more warmup distance in Regents Park before tackling the first hill.

Head out from St Johns Wood Church Grounds to enter Regents Park by the Mosque. Run straight into the park and turn right after you cross the bridge, following along the water to the end of the lake and then curving around to the right to join the Broad Walk. Turn left and run to the fountain, and then go left to run the diagonal path alongside the zoo. Say hello to the camels, look for the tigers, and carry on out the park at the path that leads across the Outer Circle to Primrose Hill. Once in Primrose, 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 Terrace 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 14 January – Borough Market  (6 miles)
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/6U5vDjwEEA
It’s not the first Friday in January, but it’s our first Friday together– so let’s do our Borough Market run! We can grab coffee at Monmouth or Rabot Estates before doing any shopping and catching the tube at London Bridge station back to SJW. Don’t forget your mask and your contactless card! 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 or Rabot Estates!).