Hello everyone,

Another great week of running!  I think we had over 40 women run to Big Ben on Monday.  I love it!  Our plan was to run together for the month of September in order give everyone a chance to meet each other. We are really a bit too big a group to run on the sidewalks all together, but I think we can pull it off for one more week.  After this week we’ll be moving into pace groups – more on that below.

If you’re just getting back into running, and you’ve struggled a bit, don’t give up!  Keep running!  I promise with each run it will get easier and you will feel stronger.

There is a lot of important information in this email, please read!  If you are a returning runner, please look at the maps because our new runners are still learning the routes.  We need a lot of people who are able to guide this big of a group.

NEW MEETING PLACE!

We love Starbucks, but we want to make sure they love us too!  In an effort to be good local citizens we are going to meet at 8:15 in front of the Barclays bank at the corner of Circus Road and Wellington.  The bank won’t be open yet and there’s a nice plaza in front so we won’t block the sidewalk.

Coffee, Coffee and More Coffee

Despite my best attempts to get Starbucks to buy the upstairs flat so we could have a place to hang out for hours, they still haven’t delivered.  But we do have the next best thing.  Pret-A-Manger opened across the street and they do have a large seating area downstairs.   Given our large numbers, we may have to mix it up a little bit.  If Starbucks is full, grab a group and head to Pret.  I know it will be a difficult transition, but I think we can do it.  🙂

Be Careful

I know we are all tempted to dash across the street to stay with the group.  Please be careful!  In the past, we had a runner hit by a motorcycle and we also had a runner hit by a car (on a weekend run). They were both OK, thank goodness, but I’m reminding you that in London you can’t depend on the traffic to stop for you.

General Training and Pace Groups

In the next couple of weeks we will be posting more detailed information about the training schedule to prepare for the spring half-marathon.  In general, each week we run a long/slower run, a shorter/faster run and a hill run.  The Pace Groups will make it easier for folks to find each other and will be especially important for our long runs.  We follow the training principle that your long run should be at a pace slower than your race pace.  If you are new to all this pace stuff, don’t worry!  We can help you figure out where you should be.

Amsterdam Half-Marathon, 20 October 2013

If anyone is interested in running the Amsterdam half-marathon in October, please get in touch with Holly Bell-Stevens ASAP. [email protected].

Keep running,

XO

Jane

Click here to go to the interactive route maps

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Monday 16 September – Sloane Square/Battersea (4 – 10 miles)

The routes below all allow you to loop back to St. John’s Wood.  You can also take the tube home along the way at the following stops.  Marble Arch (2 miles), Hyde Park Corner (3 miles) Sloane Square (4 miles) and Sloane Square on the way home from the 10 mile route (7 miles).

4 miles: 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.  Pass Speaker’s Corner, heading east one block on Oxford street to Gloucester Place. Run up Gloucester Place, over Marylebone Road and alongside Regent’s Park.  Cross over Prince Albert Road and up St John’s Wood High Street to Starbucks.

8 miles: 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. Turn left and run along the edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner.  Cross Knightsbridge Road and run right along Knightsbridge until you reach Sloane Street, where you will turn left and run until you reach Sloane Square,  At Sloane Square, turn around and run back up Sloane Street and along Knightsbridge, where you will re-enter the park at Hyde Park Corner.  Run along the eastern edge of the park and exit at Upper Brook Street/Animals of War Memorial. Turn left on Park Street, which turns into Gloucester Road and head home as above.

10 miles: This route is for our women who are running a half marathon in a month.  (Don’t do this route unless you have been training for a half all summer.)

Follow the 8-mile run, but continue on through Sloane Square and follow Lower Sloane Street into Chelsea Bridge Road and over the Chelsea Bridge.  Enter Battersea Park and run west along the Thames to the Albert Bridge and cross back over the river.  Turn right after the bridge and run west along the Chelsea Embankment to Chelsea Bridge Road and retrace your path back to Hyde Park Park Corner.  Run alongside the eastern edge of the park and exit at Upper Brook Street/Animals of War Memorial and follow at the 8-mile route home.

 

Wednesday 11 September – Kensal Rise (4-6 miles)

The beginning of this run takes us along the canal east.  Please be aware of bikes along the canal.

Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west working your way to the canal entrance on Blomfield.  Enter the canal heading west and 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 highway is over our heads.)

 

Friday 13 September – The Heath (4-8 miles)

It’s Friday again. so everyone up Fitzjohn’s.  You can pick your distance and whatever you choose, there will certainly be someone else interested in running that distance.  All of these routes are on the website.

In addition, every week there are a group of women who prefer to do a flat run.  We can help make sure that you find each other.  

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill.   Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back.

5 miles: The Betsy Route

6-7 miles:  The partial Heath route

8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

______________________________________

Website:  https://womenrunningtheworld.commm

Facebook Group:  Women Running The World (request to join)

Email: [email protected]

Dear Women Running the World,

We are pleased to announce our spring half-marathon…

THE GERMAN WINE ROAD HALF-MARATHON

Sunday 30 March 2014

Bad Dürkheim, Germany

One of the most scenic road races in Europe takes us through the German wine country one hour south of Frankfurt.  

A gigantic “thank you” to Chris Roberts for all the work she has done (including visiting the area hotels and restaurants this summer) to organize the trip.  Please tell her thank you!!

I know you can hardly wait to sign up!  Please be patient with us a little longer.  We are creating a page on the website dedicated to race/travel logistics and we will post all you need to know on the site.  We’re still waiting for our last questions to be answered (and translated) and we would rather give you all the information at once.  We will email you again when the information is posted.

One very important note – the half-marathon trip is for runners only.  No husbands, no kids, no non-runners.  This weekend is all about you and the women in the running group.  If you want to talk about this, just let me know.

Mark your calendars…and keep running!

Jane

Hi everyone,

We’ve had a great start to the running season!  Wonderful to see so many new and returning runners.  What a turn-out!  I think that we pretty much take over the whole town at 8:15!

To the new runners, we’re so glad you’ve joined us!  To the returning runners, thanks for being so friendly and welcoming to our new runners- keep it up!    To everyone, if the runs last week were too slow/fast or too short/long – Don’t give up!!  It often takes a few sessions to find the smaller group of women that run the right distance/pace for you.  (If you need some help/guidance linking up with someone, just let me know.)  We have a few more shorter routes this week for the folks who are easing back into running.  

Fall Half-Marathon?:  Please let me know if you signed up for a fall half-marathon race and you are still planning to run.  We want to make sure that we have your longer runs built into the weekly routes.

Running in London:  This summer, I bought a National Geographic magazine at the airport with the cover, “The World’s Most Beautiful Places – 100 Unforgettable Destinations.”  Not surprisingly, London makes the list!   The article describes London and has a beautiful picture but when it comes right down to it, what do they say is the one most wonderful thing to do in London????  I quote:

“DON’T MISS – Take a bus to the Royal Albert Hall – being sure to sit upstairs, of course, to enjoy the views – and walk through Hyde Park, heading first to Kensington Palace, then past the Round Pond and the Serpentine concluding at Hyde Park Corner.”

That is one of our runs (minus the bus ride, of course)!  It’s official- your weekly exercise just happens to be in one of the most beautiful places in the the world!  The route Monday takes us to Hyde Park and all you need to do is run 2 miles and you’ll be at the Park and Speaker’s Corner.

One last reminder, bring your Oyster card.  Sometimes our routes loop back home, but often we stop along the way and take the tube home.

Keep running,

Jane

 

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Monday 2 September – Hyde Park (2-9 miles)

2 miles:  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.  At Speaker’s Corner, you take the Marble Arch tube home.

3 miles:  Continue south through Hyde Park, past the Serpentine and at the Carriage drive, make a left and head back toward Hyde Park Corner.  Take the Hyde Park Corner tube home.

5 miles:  At Hyde Park Corner continue back up/north the carriage drive.  Exit the park at the Animals in War memorial and follow Upper Brook Street.  Turn left on Park Street which becomes Gloucester Place and then Park Road back to St. John’s Wood.

Click here for all of the regular Hyde Park route maps.

9 miles:  This route is for our women who are running a half marathon in a month.  (Don’t do this route unless you have been training for a half all summer.)

As we enter the Park, turn right and follow the path all the way around Hyde Park, exiting at the Animals in War memorial.  Head home north up Park Street/Gloucester Place/Park Road.  Straight home is 8 miles.  If you want to do 9 miles, enter Regents Park at the Mosque and follow the drive around past the zoo to the zoo parking lot.  Turn around and come back to Starbucks.

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to London.  A special welcome to the new folks joining the group.  I hope you all had a wonderful summer.  Can’t wait to see you Wednesday for our first run of the season.  I’m going to wear my new yellow hat and my green Outward Bound shirt that has my name in big black letters on the front!  I may look a bit silly, but you’ll recognize me!  Come say Hi!   I’m looking forward to running with you.

We’ve got a lot to cover so I’ll jump right in.

Email List:  We’re going to start an alum list for those who won’t be running every week but would like to receive periodic updates.   If you would like your name to be taken off the weekly email list all together or you would like to be added to the alum list, please let us know.

Easing back to running:   If you haven’t run in awhile, no worries!  I’ve already heard from a bunch of the group who plan to start out with slow/short runs.   At the start of the year, we’ve designed the routes to have plenty of options for distance.   Most likely there will be someone running at your pace and your distance.

Welcome:  For the returning runners, as you are connecting with old friends and hearing about the summer, remember the new folks and take a minute to introduce yourself and welcome new runners!

What is your goal?:   We’re going to start the new year with everyone running together Mon, Wed and Friday.  This will give us a chance clear the cobwebs,  meet new runners,  and see how natural pace groups come together.  During these first few weeks, think about what you would like to achieve this year not only in terms of fitness, but also socially and competitively (i.e., do you want to do any races). I’m happy to talk to you if you have questions.  After a few weeks we will break into pace groups.

Spring Half-Marathon:  Chris Roberts has been hard at work planning our spring half-marathon trip.  Stay tuned for the big announcement of where and when we’ll be running in 2014.  Please remember that we have to balance many factors in choosing a race including timing, travel and finding a race that is appropriate for our beginner runners.   (Chris has investigated every single race that is being held in Europe in the spring!)

That’s all for now, except to say thanks for your patience and support as the new leadership team gets in gear.   We are all looking forward to a great year.  See you at Starbucks at 8:15!

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES THIS WEEK

Wednesday 28 August – Notting Hill  (up to 6.5 miles)

This is one of our traditional Wednesday routes and it gives everyone some options in terms of distance.  If you want to go the whole 6.5 miles, go for it!  If you want to just put in a few miles, you can run along the canal and then turn around and come back.  There is always someone else who is up for the same distance.  Everyone runs at their own pace, so don’t worry about holding anyone back.

If you are new to the route, we leave Starbucks heading west to Lisson Grove/Grove End, then wind our way down to the canal.  We follow the canal for a couple of miles then head south along Ladbroke Grove until turning on Elgin Crescent then zigzag over to Westbourne Grove.  We then run east to join the canal near Paddington and continue on to St. John’s Wood.

Congratulations to all of the WRW ladies who ran the Nike 10K last Saturday.  It sounds like it was a blast, especially with the prosecco at the end!  And so great that many ex-beginners were out there.  You guys are hooked now!

We managed to survive our first full week without Paula AND the first week of Starbucks’ renovation closure.  At least we got to see Jude at the Maida Vale Starbucks on Wednesday.  Hopefully their renovation is on schedule and they will be back open by Friday.

First piece of business – did anyone lose her pink Bratislava hat?  Cai Cai found one at ASL, so if you’re missing yours, let us know and we’ll get you reunited.

We are celebrating all the May and Summer birthdays on Friday after the run.  Head to Starbucks for some yummy cupcakes after the hill to celebrate with all the birthday girls.   

1. Kathy Schlageter – 7 May

2. Trish Willoughby – 8 May

3. Trish Striglos – 12 May

4. Amy Grace – 26 May

5. Patricia Shelton –  10 June

6. Kate Collins – 3 July

7. Jen Cohen – 4 July

8. Randa Kablawi – 18 July

9. Darcy Fautz – 26 July

10. Dee Gee – 5 August

11. Carol Campili – 7 August

12. Lisa Noel – 7 August

13. Darcy Sockwell – 9 August

14. Kelli Montanaro – 13 August

15. Nairy McMahon – 19 August

16. Diane Bell – 21 August

17. Shan McClure – 28 August

As I mentioned last week, we will be doing our annual Sights of London run, followed by the Leavers’ Coffee on Friday, 7 June.  Look for an Evite in your email.  Please take the time to RSVP so we have an accurate head count.  We are asking for a £10 contribution to cover the cost of the coffee.

Also on Friday the 7th of June, we will have our last pub night of the year.  Grab your spouse/partner and join us on a tour of some of the finer pubs in Hampstead.  We will begin our night at The Holly Bush at 7:00.  *We are making a modification – it will not be a run, but a crawl.  No running gear necessary.  🙂

Please rsvp to: [email protected] if you plan on attending.

Patricia’s contribution for the week is not as much nutrition as health, but given all the running in the sun our group is likely to do in the next few months (as long as we aren’t in London anyway), this might be a good alternative for people who fear sunscreen as much as they do sunburn.  This article talks about the essential oils that naturally protect your skin and then gives a recipe to make your own sunscreen with just three or so ingredients and a practical and easy way to do it.

1. DIY Homemade Natural and Safe Sunscreen

2. http://www.organicauthority.com/delicious-beauty/diy-homemade-natural-and-safe-sunscreen.html  (via Organic Authority)
   

Finally, if you want to have the week’s maps on your phone, you should be able click on the maps and bookmark them to your own MapMyRun account.  Then you can tell it you want to run that route and it will show you the way.

Have a great long weekend!

Amy

Key Information:

Friday, 31 May – Birthday cupcakes

Friday, 7 June – Sights of London run and Leavers’ Coffee

Friday, 7 June – Pub run

Click here for the web version of this email.

Hello everyone,

Clearly we need to assign someone in this group to work on fixing the weather here in London.  With temperatures making it feel more like February than May, something must be done.  Hopefully next week will be a warmer, and drier, one.

This week, we are trying out our new Gmail – [email protected].  You can use that email to give feedback or ask questions.

Kelli is organizing a final pub run on Friday night, 7 June.  Grab your husbands and/or friends and join us for a fun evening of drinking, socializing, and just a little running.  More details to follow.

Finally, Patricia came across this new book that could be interesting – Feed Zone Portables:  A Cookbook of On-the-Go Food for Athletes.

1. When Dr. Allen Lim left the lab to work with professional cyclists, he found athletes weary of processed bars and gels and the same old pasta. So Lim joined professional chef Biju Thomas to make eating delicious and practical. When the menu changed, no one could argue with the race results. Their groundbreaking Feed Zone Cookbook brought the favorite recipes of the pros to everyday athletes.

1. In their new cookbook Feed Zone Portables, Chef Biju and Dr. Lim offer 75 all-new portable food recipes for cyclists, runners, triathletes, mountain bikers, climbers, hikers, and backpackers. Each real food recipe is simple, delicious during exercise, easy to make—and ready to go on your next ride, run, climb, hike, road trip, or sporting event.

3. Feed Zone Portables expands on the most popular features of The Feed Zone Cookbook with more quick and easy recipes for athletes, beautiful full-color photographs of every dish, complete nutrition data, tips on why these are the best foods for athletes, and time-saving ways on how to cook real food every day.

5. In his introduction to Feed Zone Portables, Dr. Lim makes the case for real food as a more easily digestible, higher-performance source of energy than prepackaged fuel products. He shows how much athletes really need to eat and drink at different exercise intensities and in cold or hot weather. Because the body burns solid and liquid foods differently, Lim defines a new approach for athletes to drink for hydration and eat real food for energy.

Here are the routes for next week – I hope to see you all out running!

Amy

Key Information:

Friday, 7 June – Sights of London run and Leavers’ Coffee (please let us know if you are moving)

Friday, 7 June – Pub run

Click here for the web version.

Hello Runners,

Welcome to the newly formed, coordinated group format for Women Running the World.  Please be patient as we work out the kinks and find our stride.  It’s not easy replacing Paula, even with a team of people.  

Please check out your website, https://womenrunningtheworld.commm/Women_Running_the_World/home.html.  Amy Grace is making a few changes and has updated the races section with information on all the events we currently have women registered for along with contact names and links.  There are also training programs for the Windsor, Ealing and San Antonio half marathons on the site.  As always, keep us informed if you sign up for a new race and are looking for company.   

As you will see below, we’re simplifying the weekly runs to just MWF.  It’s inevitable that we’ll break into groups by pace, but our goal is for everyone to have at least one buddy.  Without Paula, we all need to look out for each other and to know where we’re going.  Our route planning girls are Jennifer Cohen, Kathy McMahon, Darcy Fautz and Jane Novak.  In the fall, we’ll try and incorporate the half marathon training runs into the weekly schedule.  If you want input or have feedback, please let me know.  It’s important the runs to work for everyone.  

Chris Roberts is working on a half marathon trip.  We’ll announce the location in the fall; but I can assure you, it’s going to be fantastic.  Kelli Montanaro is going to continue as ‘social chair’, managing the monthly birthday celebration, pub runs, and t-shirts.  Sadly, her first job is organizing the ‘Leavers Coffee’ which will be on June 7 after our traditional ‘sights of London’ goodbye run.  Please put it in your calendar and let me know if you’re moving.  

Patricia Shelton and Sunny Brenneman are going to provide occasional nutrition and/or fueling information, starting with today:

There is an Allergy and Free From Show in Olympia London on Hammersmith Road the week of June 7-9.  (Tickets are £7.50 for adults and free for kids).  In addition, as part of that show is the Veggie Good Food Show (these tickets are free!).  Here is the link to the home page for the London show 

http://www.allergyshow.co.uk/london/london-home.php

It might be fun to check out all the vendors there whether you and/or a family member have allergies, intolerances, sensitivities, what have you… or are Vegetarian, Vegan, Flexitarian, Omnivore, Carnivore :), Lacto-Ovo Vegatarian, whatever!  There are likely to be some great food samples to try and you might just learn something new about food and your body!

Most importantly, Syma is going to head up the beginners group.  Please send her names of friends who are complete newbies to running to [email protected].  Also, as you meet new people who are interested in joining WRW, forward their e-mails to me so I can add them to our distribution list.

I want to thank so many of you who have offered to help.  We will be contacting you as we sort out our needs.  Of course, if you have an idea, please, please don’t hesitate to write or call me.  

Lastly, as a final farewell to Paula, enjoy the photo at the top showing how she finally succumbed to peer pressure and became a true dog loving Brit.

Happy Running and Cheers,

Lynn

Monday Routes

Hyde Park (6-8 miles). For 8 miles, run to Hyde Park via Lisson Grove, enter the park and make a right.  Follow around the full perimeter of the park and exit park at Upper Brook Street and run to Starbucks via Baker or Gloucester.

 

If you want to run 6 miles head into the park and turn right along N. Carriage until you reach West Carriage and run until you cross over the Serpentine.  Run alongside the water and cross back over the water near the cafe. Run Diagonally back toward the east side of the park and exit at Upper Brook Street.  Take Baker or Gloucester back to Starbucks.

Wednesday Route

Notting Hill (6.75).  Run out the canal to the west and exit at Ladbroke Grove.  Run to Elgin Crescent and make a left.  Continue to Ledbury and go right and then left at Westbourne Grove.  Run down Westbourne Grove over Bishop’s Bridge and down the steps into Sheldon Square.  Go back along the canal and out where you entered and back to Starbucks.

Friday

Everyone goes up the hill to the Heath.  Pick your own distance. Enjoy!

Go here for the various Hampstead Heath routes.