Hello Runners!
I hope it’s been a good week for everyone! Whether you spent it in London, the Alps, or the Maldives, hopefully you managed to take a little bit of down time (but not too much!) for our recovery week.
Running this week. This week we will ease back into our long run training schedule with a not-quite-9-mile route around Hyde Park and Regents Park on Monday. Yes, despite ASL still being on break, we do have an official route and we will meet in St Johns Wood Church Gardens at the normal time– 8:20 for 8:25 departure. If you’re not training for the half-marathon, this is a great one to join the group for, as it’s easy to customise to whatever length you are up for. On Wednesday we will take in the Primrose Hillzzz for the 5-mile intervals and hills combo– getting our hills done early because the end of this week is the first Friday of the month, and we are off to Borough Market (6 miles)! Full instructions and maps are in the Routes section below, as always.
Shoutouts and announcements. Though it seems like forever ago, we don’t want to miss a shoutout to all who ran the London Winter Run 10K two weeks ago today. There were over 50 WRW runners in the race, representing us across most of the age categories. Congratulations and a big well-done to all who showed up and ran the race– you are amazing! Additional shoutouts to those for whom it was a first-ever race. And a couple of special shoutouts– to Kelly Willis, who won her age category, and to Miki Neant, who was the 9th-place overall female finisher! It’s also worth a shout to the small group who followed that 10K with a London Landmarks virtual 10k last weekend, for which Laura Beal designed this fun ‘local landmarks’ route. Great job, ladies!
For anyone who is running their first race, first half-marathon, or who just wants some extra advice and discussion about the race, we are planning an information/Q&A session for next Wednesday, March 9 immediately following the run (around 9:30). We will grab coffee and walk over to Devy Schoenfeld’s home at 16 Blenheim Rd. Thanks to Devy for hosting us! ALSO– a reminder to those running in Berlin: please complete your Race Directory google form! Jen Iannazzo is creating the handy little photo book for all 160 of us– no small task!– so we need to get her the information asap.
A fun social, non-running, evening event will round out the March 9 activities– the WRW Pub Quiz at the Warrington in Maida Vale! Big thanks to Morgan Lintz for organising us! All are welcome to this event, but please RSVP here so we can keep a headcount for the pub. Further event details are in the evite.
Save the dates. Following are some key runs and events coming up– be sure to mark your calendars so you don’t miss them:
Monday, March 7 – Canada Water run (10 miles).
Wednesday, March 9 – race tips info session after run (around 9:30) at Devy’s house –
Wednesday, March 9 – WRW Pub Quiz at the Warrington!! (details here)
Monday, March 21 – Kew Gardens run (11 miles)
Wednesday, March 23 – Pre-race Coffee (after run, in Regents Park)
I don’t know about you, but a week away from running and the group makes me all the more antsy to meet up and hit the pavements together! Looking forward to seeing you all out there this week– and hoping we get some of this gorgeous sunshine for tomorrow’s trip around the parks. Enjoy the day, everyone!
xx Micki
ROUTES
Monday, 28 February – Hyde Park with Regent’s Park Extension (8.9 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/n8Lunvp4jD
Begin with the usual route to Hyde Park, turning right at the silver sphere once you enter the park. Cross over N Carriage Rd and keep going until the very end of the park, then turn left (south) to run down toward the palace. Before the Palace take another left to run around the front, and then turn right after the Palace to take in the last corner of the park. Follow the path on the south side of the park all the way to and across South Carriage Drive, continuing all the way around the perimeter to exit at the Animals in War Memorial. Cross the street onto Upper Brook Street, then turn left on Park St, crossing onto the right side of the street. Proceed about a mile and keep an eye out for the Windsor Castle pub on your right, shortly after which you will turn right down a path called Kent Passage into Regent’s Park. Turn right just inside the park (or stay on the Outer Circle if you like), then take a left at York Bridge, another left into the Inner Circle, and left through the gate after the big gated driveway marked “The Holme”. Follow the path straight across the park to exit at Charlbert St and head back to Starbucks.
Wednesday 2 March – 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 4 March – Borough Market (6 miles)
RunGo: https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/6U5vDjwEEA
It’s First Friday 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!).
