Hello Runners!
Another welcome to our 2020-21 running year!  We are so excited to restart WRW on Wednesday, September 2 at 8:15 (see below for more meet-up details!).  Can you believe it’s been nearly six months since we had to abruptly suspend our official WRW runs on March 16th?  We can’t wait to see you all (from a distance) and feel that WRW energy again!  If you are new to our group– WELCOME!  Please bear with us as we work through all of these very specific instructions to find our new normal– I promise it will be worth it!  A few of us will be waiting on the paths inside the Wellington Place entrance to the park, wearing our bright orange hats, to help greet and direct people to groups on Wednesday morning.  If you are new to WRW, please find us so we can say hello and help you find the right group to run with on your first day!  

Hopefully you all received and read the “Return to Running” e-mail a couple of days ago.  If you did not receive the full instructions (one runner received only the map– and you know there will always be text when it’s coming from me!!), please read them here.  That e-mail lays out all the basics for how we will start running together this year, and it is absolutely essential that we all follow it so that we can do all we can to keep everyone safe and to continue meeting.  I’ll summarise it again:

• Our new starting point is St Johns Wood Church Gardens (at the end of St Johns Wood High St, and on Wellington Road across from Lord’s Cricket Ground).
• Wear a mask the entire time we are in the gardens.
• Meet in pace groups (see locations below), gather in groups of six or fewer (6-packs), and observe social distancing.
• Our pace group gatherings (in the 6-packs) need to be of 30 people or less, so for now pace groups must maintain separate spaces in the park.

Our official routes will be limited to loops to start the year, and there will be two routes each day– 8s and 10s will run one, and 9s and 11s will run the other.  The ‘Hustlers’ group will run their own routes to start (more on this group below!).  We will run in groups of six or fewer (again, the 6-packs) and leave the park at 2-3 minute intervals so our 6-packs don’t converge.  The routes– all detailed below– have been carefully edited to help keep us out of busy areas at busy times, so we will all need to read them carefully and be prepared to help each other navigate!  

Covid-19.  Our general Covid-19 guidelines can be found here.  Please be sure you have read them and are prepared to observe them as we resume running.  In addition, please remember to be especially considerate to other members of the public as we return to the streets.  Everyone has a different comfort level in this time, and tensions are tending to run high.  Give plenty of space to pedestrians on the pavements.  If we are confronted about running together, be courteous and do not allow a negative interaction to develop (even if someone is rude to us).  We believe we are conducting ourselves within government guidelines, but we do not have to make that argument to every critical passersby.

Hustlers (formerly known as the ramp-up group).  We are so pleased that Tamar Brooks will once again lead a very special group for runners who are coming back from injuries or are returning to running after a lengthy hiatus and want to ease back in gently.  She and Fernanda Spinelli will lead a program of running with walk breaks that will steadily build throughout the Fall.  This is Tamar’s third year of leading this program, and it has been a great success!  Please e-mail her at [email protected], or you can e-mail us at [email protected], for details.

Beginner Group.  The first day for the Beginner group will be this Thursday, August 3. Our Tuesday-Thursday Beginner group is for true beginners, women who have never run before.  The program starts out with one-minute intervals at a very slow jog, so is not appropriate for anyone who is able to run even a mile or two.  Please help us spread the word about our beginner group– it’s really helpful if beginners can find their way to us sooner rather than later!  If you know of (or meet) anyone who is interested in the beginner group, have them email us at [email protected].  Amy Grace and her fantastic lineup of coaches– Jess, Melissa, Renata and Paola– are excited to lead another new group of women through this fun and life-changing experience! 

Running this week.  A huge thank you to our Routes Team– Darcy, Erin, Dinae, and Melissa, with support from Amy– for getting us back on the pavements with all new routes for our current circumstances!  Wednesday we will begin as we usually do, with a 5ish-mile run through Regents Park.  We have two different routes below, one for the 8s/10s and one for the 9s/11s.  Obviously this will be our first experiment with splitting routes, but hopefully we can all keep from running into each other in the park!  Also, since it’s so close to home, it’s easy to modify the run if you’re not quite up for 5 miles yet, or if you want to do a bit more.  

Friday we will return to the Heath.  However… we will not be running up Fitzjohn’s Avenue as usual this fall.  We simply can’t add to the congestion on that street in the early morning (especially once British schools are in session), so we’ve created two alternate routes for getting to the Heath.  In addition, some of the routes below are slightly different within the Heath both to make the mileage and elevation gain turn out right, and to help us not all be running the same paths.  There are two different distance options mapped for each route below, and of course most of us know the Heath well enough to run longer or shorter as needed.  All of the routes do currently come down Fitzjohns on the way home, partly so that we can avoid sending large numbers directly by the Royal Free Hospital.  After this week we’ll assess whether we need to re-route to take some of us back to St Johns Wood via a different path.  And in the meantime, if you’d rather not do the steep downhill, you can reroute from the Heath to come out at South End Green and cut through Belsize Park.  (For those of you new to the area, just ask a returning runner for help with this!)

Whew!  I hope that all makes sense.  Please feel free to reach out with questions or observations.  We are doing our best to think of all we need to consider in this, but we are open to input if you have ideas or spot potential issues.  As we work toward finding what will work for us in this time, let me just offer a reminder of the advice we usually include in this first e-mail:  take care of yourselves, and take care of each other!  
I won’t be able to give the customary first-day welcome to everyone together, but know that my heart– as with many of yours, I’m sure– will be full and happy to see this group together again!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Wednesday 2 September – Regent’s Park (5 miles)

8s & 10s pace groups – Regent’s/Primrose
From the church gardens, run down Prince Albert Rd to the Charlbert entrance to Regent’s.  Run straight, pass The Hub and at the next intersection after that, make a sharp right and run with the water on your left.  Curve around and then turn left to run over the bridge.  Turn left after the bridge to run past the Boating Lake and keep running around the edge of the park (keeping inside the park).  The path will start making its way to the left, putting you at the fountain at the highest part of the Broad Walk.  Go straight over the Broad Walk and keep to the right to run along the edge of the zoo.  Cross over the Outer Circle and then Prince Albert Road.  Once in Primrose Hill Park, turn right and run to the far edge, the turn left and run at a slight diagonal and make a left to run up to the top of Primrose.  Head back down towards the Elsworthy exit and go out and turn left on Elsworthy.  At Avenue, turn left and cross where you can, then turning right on Acacia to head back to SJW High Street.

9s & 11s pace groups – Reverse Inner/Outer
From the church gardens, make your way to Allitsen Road and run down Allitsen to Primrose Hill.  Enter the park and turn right.  Cross over Prince Albert Road to head into Regent’s Park.  Once across the Outer Circle, turn left to run around the outer edge of the park.  After 1.5 miles, turn right on York Bridge to get to the Inner Circle.  Run all the way around the inner circle and exit the way you came in on York Bridge.  Turn right to continue running around the outer edge of the park, exiting at Avenue Road (NOT Charlbert).  Turn left to run along Prince Albert Road to SJW High Street and Starbucks/Pret. 

Friday 4 September – The Hill!  (5 or 6 miles)
It’s Friday so it’s hill time!  To avoid the school crowd on Fitzjohn’s, we will be running reverse routes that take us up another way and back down Fitzjohn’s after the school run is finished.  The routes also avoid Royal Free Hospital so pay close attention to the street turns to avoid getting lost!

Getting to the Heath – 8s & 10s
From the Church Gardens, cross SJW High Street and take either Greenberry St or Barrow Hill Rd to Bridgeman St.  Turn right onto Allitsen and left onto Charlbert.  Take a quick left and then a right onto Ordnance Hill and run up to Swiss Cottage.  Pass the tube and turn right onto Belsize Lane.  Take the first left onto Daleham Gardens, keeping left onto Akenside Rd.  Turn right onto Lyndhurst Rd and then the first left onto Lyndhurst Terrace.  Turn right onto Thurlow Rd and run straight until you enter the park.  Take the first path on the left and follow the curve to the right between the two ponds. Then… follow the directions below for your distance/hill preference.

Parliament Hill – 6 mi
Keep running straight to go up Parliament Hill the way we normally do.  At the top, take a left on the dirt path and veer to the left at the second path and then turn left at the next path.  Veer to the right and shortly rejoin the path we usually run down (turn right to go up the hill).  At the entrance to the Heath, turn left and run back via Fitzjohn’s and to SJW via SJW Park/Ordnance.

Note – for anyone wanting more mileage, you can easily continue on from Parliament Hill to do the regular Heath 8 mile route – just follow the normal route after running up the hill.

Reverse Betsy – 5 mi
Take the second path on the left and run to the normal Betsy intersection.  Turn left and keep running straight to exit the park on Well Walk.  Keep running straight until the Hampstead High Street.  Turn right and then left to run back to SJW via Fitzjohn’s and SJW Park/Ordnance.

Getting to the Heath – 9s & 11
sExit the church gardens at the gate on the St Johns Wood High Street side, cross the street, and run a short distance to make a right on Allitsen Road.  Make a left on Townshend Road and follow it to its end, then make a right on Acacia Road and a quick left on Avenue Road.  Cross Avenue at the first crossing to run down Elsworthy Road.  At the end of Elsworthy, turn left onto Primrose Hill Road and follow it until you turn right onto England’s Lane.  At the end of England’s Lane, cross Haverstock Hill and go right just to take a left onto Parkhill Rd.  Follow Parkhill to its end, then take a right onto Mansfield Road and a left on Roderick Road.  At the end of Roderick, you will see the Heath entrance across the street.

Elsworthy to Heath Reverse 6 – 6.4 miles
Once you enter the Heath, turn right and run along the path above the track.  Turn left after you pass the cafe on your left.  Run straight along the path until you reach the end of the second pond.  Turn left and run straight along the path until it reaches a T.  Turn right and follow the path as it curves gently and then joins up with the path we take to enter the Heath on our standard 6-mile route.  Exit the park at Spaniards Road and turn left to run down Heath Street and Fitzjohn’s Avenue to Swiss Cottage.  From Swiss Cottage take St Johns Wood Park to Ordnance Road and turn right on St Johns Wood Terrace to end on the High Street.

Elsworthy to Heath Reverse 5 – 5.3 miles
Once you enter the Heath, turn left and stay to the left until you cross the pond, then carry on taking a basically straight path to exit the park at Well Walk (where the normal Betsy route enters the park).  Follow Well Walk until it turns into Flask Walk, and then carry on to the Hampstead High Street.  Cross the street and cut through Oriel Place to Heath Street, and then turn left to run all the way down Fitzjohn’s Avenue to Swiss Cottage.  From Swiss Cottage take St Johns Wood Park to Ordnance Road and turn right on St Johns Wood Terrace to end on the High Street.

Hello Runners!
I’m writing this week from somewhere in now-entirely-separate Europe.  I missed seeing you all yesterday morning, but loved getting the photos you sent, and am so excited that so many of you chose to take on the Heath Full 8 route!  Well done– this is making us SO strong!

Running this week.  For Monday our Routes team has created a new variation on an old run– through Sloane Square and on to the Thames, but then crossing the river and circling around Battersea Park before crossing back and running along Embankment to Westminster.  The route is 9 miles, but do keep an eye on your mileage because it may vary depending on which paths you take in Battersea Park.  If you need extra distance, you can always carry on to Green Park.  On Wednesday we’re doing the 2-mile tempo loop around Regent’s Park Outer Circle.  See the Routes section below for full instructions.  And Friday we’re going up the Hill and once again conquering the full Heath, 8-mile route.  This is a great time in our training to keep taking on this challenge, and hopefully it will begin to feel quite do-able and a little more familiar– but you also have the other Heath options, as always, 

Training Notes.  I’ll keep it brief this week with just a couple of reminders.  There are only six long training runs before the Prague Half Marathon!  We’ve laid out a training plan and given you routes and distances each week, and over many years this plan has trained hundreds of women to successfully run a half marathon.  But it’s important to remember that following the plan means getting out consistently for these runs.  If you aren’t training regularly, and then you go out for a long run or a tempo workout, you may injure yourself.  If you are feeling some niggling aches and pains, try to get in to see a physio/osteo/doctor or other professional as soon as possible.  And if you need help figuring out how to adapt the plan and ramp up to being ready, please get in touch– though we are not professionals, we’ve got some great resources in this group!  Another good reminder for this time of year is to think about your shoes and running kit.  If you will need to replace something before the race, it’s a good idea to take care of it now so you can get some good miles in them and be sure they are comfortable and ready to take you through the race.  It’s also good to be trying out your fueling options (which we covered in last week’s note)– gels, shot blocks, etc– during these long training runs.  The best policy is ‘nothing new for the race!’

Shoutouts and Announcements.  The Royal Parks Half Marathon ballot is open right now, but closing very soon (notifications come out February 7!).  This event, held October 11 this year, is our home-course race, encompassing the lovely park routes we run on a weekly basis.  Sign up now if you want a chance at a spot in the race.  Or, if you want to secure a charity spot, we’ve heard from The Eve Appeal– the UK’s leading gynaecological cancer charity– to offer us access to some of their places (with a fundraising commitment, of course).  You can find out more at  https://eveappeal.org.uk/getting-involved/take-on-a-challenge/running/ or reach out to our contact by e-mail.  And of course, coming up next Sunday, February 9, is the Cancer Research UK London Winter 10K.  Many of our runners will be participating, so be sure to look out for each other and cheer one another on in true WRW fashion!  Our running schedule the following week will be flexible, given that the ladies who ran the race will want to postpone their long run to Wednesday.  

Tuesday, February 11 is Kit pickup and race payment morning!  Look for an e-mail early this week with details on what the race costs are and a reminder if you ordered an annual WRW shirt, and please, please plan to stop in to settle your account and pick up any new kit you ordered in the Fall.  If you can’t make it that morning, please send a friend to do so on your behalf!

Save the date.  Our hard-working Routes Team met this week and made some updates to the upcoming schedule!  If you’ve already put in the runs as listed in the last couple weeks, please have a look and update your calendar!
Sunday, 9 February – Cancer Research UK London Winter 10K
Tuesday, 11 February – WRW Kit pickup and race payment date!
*Wednesday, 12 February – Canary Wharf w/Regents (10 miles) — *(long run that week suggested for Wednesday because of the large number of runners doing the 10k on Sunday)
Monday, 17 Feb – Friday, 21 Feb – February break for ASL, no official running schedule
Monday, 2 March – Canada Water (10 miles)
Monday, 16 March – Kew Gardens (11 miles)
Thursday, 26 March – Depart for Prague!

That’s it for this week.  Have a great weekend, everyone!  I’m looking forward to catching up with you all Monday morning for our fun, new route and, of course, the coffee afterwards!

xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday, 3rd February – Battersea Park to Big Ben (9 miles)
This route is a mash up of a few runs and includes a loop of Battersea Park…somewhere we haven’t run in a long time!

Start out from Barclays 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, 5th February – 2 mile tempo run at sub race pace; 1 mile warm up/cool down
Head to the outer circle of Regent’s Park, taking the normal way to the Charlbert entrance. Turn right to pass the US Ambassador’s house (Winfield House) and continue past the mosque to York Bridge (this is where we sometimes turn left to run the inner circle). At this point pick up your pace, as the “tempo” part of the run begins (see guidance below). Stay on the Outer Circle and keep a sub-race pace back to the Charlbert entrance area (push yourself just past it to the second driveway of the Ambassador’s house for the full 2 miles). Ease into the wide entrance area and have a little recovery jog until your group is all gathered again. Consider a nice and easy cool-down just inside the park, then take an easy pace back to the St Johns Wood High Street for stretching, followed by coffee. 
Note that the tempo part of this run should be sub-race pace. Remember this is 2 miles, not 13, so it should be faster than race pace.  Everyone should be aiming for about 30 seconds faster than your race pace. If you are not sure of your race pace, this might be an opportunity to begin to gauge it. Below are suggested times, but these are just general guidelines. Please adjust if these are too fast or too slow!
For the 8’s – 7:45-8:00 per mile
For the 9’s – 8:45 per mile
For the 10’s – 9:55 per mile
For the 11’s – 10:55 per mile

Friday, 7th February – The Heath 8 miles
Run down Circus Rd past Starbucks to the end and turn left on Townshend Rd. Turn right on Acacia then left on Avenue. Cross diagonally over Adelaide Rd to run past the Swiss Cottage tube and proceed up Fitzjohn’s Avenue. Run up the hill to the Hampstead Heath Tube. Continue up Heath St (to the left of the Tube) all the way to the stoplight at E Heath Rd. Cross at the light, continue past the roundabout, and enter the Heath at the first trail entrance on your right. Follow this major trail down past Lime Avenue and other smaller trails, fields and forested areas. As the trail starts to veer right, take the sharp left to run up Parliament Hill. Enjoy the spectacular vista (and catch your breath before continuing down the other side of the hill, keeping left when the path splits and taking a sharp left at the bottom of the hill. Run past three ponds on your right, turn right after the third pond and up the rise to a wide gate (loos on your left here). Go through the gate and turn left along the eastern edge of the Heath. Follow the path downhill then up until you reach the gate on the left that marks the entrance to the Kenwood House grounds. Enter the grounds, turn right to run past Kenwood House, then right again through the gate onto a gravelly path. Follow the path through a gate, and stay on the path as it bears left and passes a wooden bench on the left. Keep your eye out for a small clearing ahead on the left with another bench — when you see it (but before you pass it!) take a hard right down a steep path that crosses a small bridge and heads uphill again. Turn right at the main trail intersect (this is the same trail you ran down at the beginning of the Heath, in the opposite direction) and run back up to where you entered the Heath. Turn left on Spaniards Rd and retrace your steps all the way back to SJW and Starbucks.

As always, the other Heath routes are always an option:
4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
5 miles: The Betsy Route
6+ miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route OR Pergola route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route
Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

Hello Runners!

I can’t believe we will hit November this week!  A good-sized group of us had a great run to Hampton Court Palace this past week (photo above).  I even heard that several runners were so energetic they tacked on a a couple of extra miles just for fun?  Amazing, you strong ladies!  (… but maybe we’ll add a mile marker to the route instructions for where the bridge is next time!)  Anyway, hopefully everyone had a great week of running, whatever alternate routes you may have taken.  

Running this week.  This Monday we are keeping it local with the Morningside Crescent loop because we have a destination run on Wednesday.  And then Wednesday’s run is our annual Halloween Costume run to Whole Foods via Brompton Cemetery.  Finding or creating a costume to run in can take a little extra creativity, and we’ve had some great ones in the past!  But you can also keep it simple with a headband, a skirt, or a tail.  Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!  As for the run itself, the Brompton Cemetery we’ll pass through opened in 1840, and 205,000 people are buried there (including the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst).  The beautiful 39-acre space was designed to be a garden for recreation, as well as a burial space– so we should be respectful as we run through, but it is meant to be open to passers-by.  Be sure to look at the route below, so you can find your way to Whole Foods for a Halloween coffee and any last-minute treats.  Finally, Friday we run back up to the Heath, with a swing through the lovely Pergola on the 6+ mile route.

Announcements.  Yesterday you should have received an e-mail with a link to the Prague RSVP form.  Please do fill this out if you haven’t yet!  Carolyn’s team is putting together dinner plans, and we’ve got other logistics to manage, so it is important for us to have an idea how many runners are joining us.  The largest number we’ve ever had on a race was last year’s 120 women in Milan.  Because of venue and restaurant limitations, we need to cap this year at 120 runners on the trip as well.  After we reach that number, we will keep a waiting list.  So please, please, get yourself included in the count!
Save the Date.  Our calendar list keeps getting shorter as we move through the semester, but we still have lots of great runs ahead!  Following are the ones you might want to mark your calendar not to miss:
Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance Run
Nov. 25 (Mon) – Crazy Tights Run (Holland Park to St James’ Park Benugo Cafe)
Dec. 4 (Wed) – Christmas Lights Run (early morning tour of the city lights before sun-up)
The Fall has flown by, and we are another week stronger!  It’s going to be another great week to get out and run together, especially after a couple weeks of school-related breaks and interruptions.  I’m really looking forward to seeing you all at Barclays and out on the pavements this week!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 28 October – Camden/Morningside Crescent/Regent’s Park (5 miles)

Head to the canal going eastbound to Camden Lock, where we cross the small, cobblestone bridge, exit the canal and turn right onto Camden High Street (alternatively, turn right just at the bottom of the bridge and go through the opening between the buildings to get to Arlington Road). At the first intersection with Jamestown Road take a right after crossing Jamestown Road and then the first left onto Arlington Road. Run straight down Arlington Road, make a slight right onto Mornington Crescent, follow it around and turn right onto Hampstead Road. At the first intersection, turn right onto Granby Terrace and the second left onto Stanhope Street. Continue down Stanhope until we reach Trinton Square. Turn right and run between the office buildings at Regent’s Place, past the nice fountains, to the end of Trinton Street. Use the pedestrian crossings to cross Osnaburgh Street and Albany Street. Head left to the intersection of Euston Road, where you take a right and run briefly along Euston Road. At Park Square East, turn right through the gates towards Regent’s Park. We enter the park at the Outer Circle intersection and stay on the path on the far right (east side) of the park, cross the Broad Walk at the ornamental fountain and head along the path with the Zoo to our right. Turn left onto the Outer Circle, past the Avenue Road exit, and right at the second exit (where we usually enter for the canal or park). Run up Charlbert Street to St John’s Wood Terrace, make a left, and head back to Starbucks.

Wednesday 30 October – Whole Foods via Brompton Cemetery (6.5+ miles)  HALLOWEEN RUN!Today we’ll earn our post-run treat by ending at Whole Foods on the Kensington High Street!  Bring your shopping list if you want.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.  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.  

Friday 1 November  – The Heath Pergola (6.3 miles)Head out from Barclays to Avenue Road, then up Fitzjohn’s per all the Heath routes.
Continue past Hampstead Tube Station all the way to the roundabout just beyond Whitestone Pond. At the roundabout, use the pedestrian crossings to cross counterclockwise over to New End Way to Jack Straws Castle (now a personal training gym) and continue past the parking lot entrance and past the bus stop to turn left onto a small street called Inverforth Close. A short way down, there is a trail to the right with a green barrier gate and a sign that says “The Hill Garden.” Here are pictures of the trail:

Follow this trail until you come to an entrance on the left for “The Hill Garden and Pergola”, enter it and go to the right around the big bushes. You will see a beautiful reflecting pool. Run alongside it and up the stairs-you are on the Pergola! Run or walk the length of the Pergola.  Don’t forget to look at the beautiful views, admire the flowers and take a pic or two. Please be considerate and don’t run if others are walking the Pergola. When you have finished with your Pergola time and reached the far end, take the stairs down and turn left to run on the wide trail back to New End Road, turning right to run by Jack Straws Castle and crossing left at the pedestrian crosswalks by the roundabout to put you back on the standard Heath route. Turn left from the crosswalk and then right to enter the Heath. Run the wide path as usual but don’t turn left to run up Parliament Hill. Instead, veer right at that juncture and follow the trail across the ponds. After the ponds, the trail veers left and shortly after there is an opportunity to take a right turn on the intersecting trail that heads towards E. Heath Rd (taking you next to the fields used for the Art Fair, parking etc at different times of the year). Cross E. Heath Rd at the pedestrian crossing, then run on Downshire Hill Rd to Haverstock Hill Rd. Turn Left on Haverstock Hill, running home the usual way (turn right on Belsize Ave, left on Lancaster Grove, right on Crossfield, right on Adamson, then cut through the Swiss Cottage public area by the Hampstead Theatre, turning onto Fitzjohns to St Johns Wood Park Rd to St Johns Wood Terrace and then to Starbucks).

And of course there are always the other Heath routes if you prefer:

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
5 miles: The Betsy Route
6+ miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route OR Pergola route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

Hello Runners!
Hope you all had another great week of running our city?  We really covered all the bases this week: park, canal, urban streets, Heath, and Parkland Walk/rail trail.  It’s really hard to narrow down photo choices when there are so many great ones– thus we have the weekly collage again!  And there’s a bonus at the end, because Miki Neant did a photo “ambush” on the canal this week– so fun!  (I’m sorry we’re missing a group in these!  Do feel free to share photos from your runs, and I’ll do my best to be sure we get a glimpse into what all the pace groups are up to!)
Running this week.  Monday is October Break for the American School, so we are not doing an official route.  Our holiday plan is generally ‘Runners’ Choice’– meet at Barclays at 8:30, and just decide then, with anyone else who shows up, what route you will run.  There will undoubtedly be plans and chatter on your WhatsApp groups as well (if you are new or not on one of these chats, please just let someone know– we want everyone to be in the loop, and anyone in the group can help find the right person to get you connected!).  On Wednesday we are debuting a new run– Primrose Hillzzz– that comes to us from the 11s pace group and their leaders, who created the run last year.  Please read the description below– we are so excited to have a fun new way to get in some quick hill work close to home!  And Friday, since we will have already done some hills, we will reward ourselves with the 6-mile Borough Market run.
Stay Healthy… and STRETCH.  As we start to add longer runs over the coming weeks, it’s especially important to pay attention to how your body is responding.  If you’re feeling something beyond normal fatigue, even just a niggling pain, now is absolutely the time to get it checked out!  I know we’ve mentioned it before, but there are physio and training experts listed here on our website, and the ladies you run with will undoubtedly have further recommendations for professionals to see.  Catching and treating an injury early can make a real difference in the severity and recovery time.  And, of course, stretching before and after your run is another way to help yourself stay healthy.  We are all tempted to head straight in for coffee (or bagels or doughnuts or whatever) as soon as we wheel up to Starbucks or another destination, but let’s help each other in this– find a sunny spot and stretch while finishing those conversations you started on the run!  Need inspiration for a few basic post-run stretches?  This NHS page is a good one:  How to stretch after a run.
Announcements and Shoutouts.  On Sunday we have five WRW women running the Royal Parks Half Marathon:  Laura Beal, Marigold Dooley, Roni Fransis, Meredith Snizek and Katherine Greig.  Good luck, ladies!  This is such a fun race to go out and watch, because it is on our home course, winding through all the parks we run in regularly.  If you’d like to pop down to Hyde Park to cheer these runners on, check out the route and all the other information you need on the Royal Parks Half Marathon web page.  If you have a bright pink hat to wear, all the better!
Look out for another 2020 Half Marathon e-mail coming soon, with next steps and instructions for race registration and hotel room reservations.  Carolyn is quietly working behind the scenes to make sure everything goes smoothly for us, so as always, a big thanks to her!  
London Marathon lottery results were announced this week.  Let us know if you were the lucky winner of a rare lottery spot!  We do have a few women who have secured marathon places running for charities.  If you want to go after a charity spot, now is the time to act!  Check out “How to Enter” on the Virgin Money London Marathon website to explore what opportunities remain.  Also feel free to email [email protected] and we can connect you if you want to talk with someone who has run it before and may have advice on how to get a bib.
Save the Date.  The Routes Team have put together some fun plans for us in the next couple of months.  Here are some highlights you might want to put on your calendar:
Oct. 21 (Mon) – Hampton Court Adventure Run
Oct. 30 (Wed) – Halloween Run to Whole Foods Kensington via Brompton Cemetery (start working on your costume!)
Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance Run
Nov. 25 (Mon) – Crazy Tights Run (Holland Park to St James’ Park Benugo Cafe)
Dec. 4 (Wed) – Christmas Lights Run (early morning tour of the city lights before sun-up)
Safe and happy travels if you are hitting the road for ASL’s Fall Break.  It will be great to hear the travel stories when we come back together at Barclays Wednesday!  Meanwhile, wishing a wonderful weekend to all of you!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 14 October – School Holiday, so “Runners’ Choice”

Wednesday 16 October – Primrose Hillzzz (4 miles)  
Let’s mix things up and try something a little different!  We’re calling it Primrose Hillzzz, the zzz for the zig zag hill repeats that are sure to get your hearts pumping and glutes working!
Head out from Barclays, past Starbucks, and take a right on Charlbert Street, heading into Regent’s Park at the North Gate entrance. Run straight into the park, following the left fork until you get to the first intersection, where you go left. The Hub and the cricket nets will be on your far right. Follow this path until the end, over the Outer Circle and the bridge, then bear right and cross the zebra crossing to the entrance to Primrose Hill. Once in the park, 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 Terrance 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 Allisten Rd and will take you back to St John’s Wood High St. Turn right and head back to Starbucks.

Friday 18 October – Borough Market via Westminster Bridge (6 miles)
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 past the Victoria Memorial down the mall and enter 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 to run along the Thames until the river path ends after Southwark Bridge. Borough Market is under the railway bridge near the London Bridge station. The official address is 8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL.