23 – 27 October 2017 Running Info

Congratulations to all our WRW friends who ran the half marathon in Rhinebeck NY. We miss you in London!

Welcome back to a normal week of running. We’ve been a bit off schedule with ASL school trips and fall break. If you’ve been busy and missed a run or two, please come join us again! If you can run consistently, it’s best for your fitness/training and will help you avoid injury. Besides it’s fun! (Well, at least the coffee part is fun…)

Monday we’re running the famous London landmark, Tower Bridge. This was a new route in the spring and it got great reviews. It’s very good for photos, but it also gives a few options for distance. If you haven’t run in awhile, it’s a good route to build some mileage. Remember to bring your Oyster/Tube card because we’ll take the tube home. Wednesday we’re doing the Notting Hill route and Friday we’re back up the hill, but encouraging people to try the Highgate route.

Training Plans
We’ve posted two training plans on the website for the 18 March half marathon in Utrecht: https://womenrunningtheworld.com/training/spring-half/. There’s our standard training plan and also a gradual plan for runners who don’t want to tackle as many miles as part of training. (In the last six weeks of training, both training plans call for the same distance on the long runs.) We follow the standard training plan when we plan the routes for the group, but you’ll see there is a range of options for mileage in most of our routes. The half marathon will be here before you know it, so if you are planning to participate in the race it’s important that you commit to regular running and follow the plan to gradually increase your mileage. Looking ahead, we’ll plan to run the 9 miles to Canary Wharf at the end of January (see below). So you need to have tackled 6, 7, and 8 miles before then. If you are new to the group and all this sounds impossible – don’t worry! Just plan to come run with us regularly and we’ll gradually tackle each new distance. I heard from a few of you that you recently ran your longest runs ever – the first time you completed 6 miles – and I feel so thrilled and proud for each of your accomplishments!

Save the Date
It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of October already. Looking ahead we have the following runs on the schedule:

23 October – Tower Hill (7 miles)
30 October – Halloween run – Brompton Cemetery and Kensington Whole Foods (6.5 miles)
6 November – Hyde Park (6 – 8 miles)
8 November (Wednesday) – First tempo training session at Paddington track
13 November – Canary Wharf (9 miles)
17 November (Friday) – Borough Market (6 miles)
20 November – Finsbury Park Happening Bagel (7 miles)
27 November – Holland Park to Green Park (7-8 miles)
4 December – Wembley REVERSE (8 miles)
6 December (Wednesday) – Christmas Lights run (early start)
11 December – Hyde Park

Key Training Runs
And looking even further ahead into the new year, mark your calendar for these important training runs:

29 January – Canary Wharf (9 miles)
12 February – Greenford (10 miles)
5 March – Kew Gardens (11 miles)

WRW Shirts
 – Final Reminder
We’re starting the planning for the 2018 WRW shirt. Please email [email protected] if you have any suggestions for a fun/witty/inspirational saying for the back of the shirt. For our new runners, here’s a reminder of the shirt back from previous years:

2013 – “Run Like A Girl”
2014 – “We Run London”
2015 – “Sorry, Gotta Run!”
2016 – “In It For The Long Run”
2017 – “This Is My Happy Pace”

Stay tuned for information about how to order the shirt. We’ll be back to you soon with more details.

That’s all for now. Keep up the good work and stay tuned for more details on the Utrecht travel plans this week.

Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Monday 23 October – Tower Hill (7.25 miles)
Today we will be running across, along and across the Thames and in and around some of the oldest parts of London. The sights will be stunning!

We start off as though we are running to Borough Market-down Grove End and into Hyde Park, under Wellington Arch, along Green Park, through St James Park and towards Big Ben then across Westminster Bridge.  At the end of Westminster Bridge, exit left down the stairs and run along the Thames Path past the London Eye, Royal Festival Hall, Blackfriars Bridge, Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe to the Golden Hinde, admiring all the landmarks as you trod past. Follow the walkway to the right of the Golden Hinde and at the junction with Southwark Cathedral, turn sharp left and follow Montague Close until just before the tunnel.  At the tunnel, go up the stairway to the left (which puts you onto London Bridge Road) then turn right on London Bridge Road to the first crosswalk-cross London Bridge Road and go left; just before the river, turn right on the stairs to descend to the Thames Path. Continue on the Thames Path past the HMS Belfast, City Hall and Potters Fields, to Tower Bridge.  Climb the stairs up to the Bridge (don’t go under the Bridge), then run across Tower Bridge (the views!), continuing past the Tower of London (more views!) until you reach the stairs down to Tower of London Park.  Take the stairs down and follow the paved path along the park. Just past the park is a junction in the path-turn right to run in a tunnel under Tower Hill Road, past part of the original London Wall and up to the Tower Hill tube station.  Now, think of all the history you’ve witnessed in just 7 miles!

Wednesday 25 October – Notting Hill (4 – 6 miles)
Run west to the canal (west on Circus, left on Grove End Road, right on St Johns Wood Road, left on Cunningham Place, cross Edgeware, run along Blomfield and enter the Canal at the opening before the bridge).  Run along 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.

You also have the option of a shorter run by not running as far as Ladbroke Grove.  Instead, run half the distance you want, turn around and head home.  For example, running to the Westway flyover and back is about four miles.

Friday 27 October – The Highgate Route (7.5 miles) Option #1
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 lane, which is Fitzroy Park and has 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 near a set of bathrooms [and just before Merton Lane to the left].

Enter the Heath, run past the loos 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, track and swimming pool.  Exit the Heath past the swimming 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 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.  At Lancaster Grove, stay left on Belsize Avenue as it changes to Buckland Crescent.  Take this 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.

The Heath (4-8 miles) – Option #2

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
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

16 – 20 October 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,
This week is fall break and parent-teacher conferences at ASL so we won’t be setting official routes. If you want to run, just meet at Barclays and we’ll decide on the route on the day. Due to the holiday, we’ll be starting slightly later this week at 8:30.
Good luck US WRW runners!
We have a large group of WRW runners from the US who are gathering this weekend in New York to visit, have fun and run the Rhinebeck Fall Foliage Half Marathon. Have a fantastic weekend! We miss you in London!
Looking ahead – Halloween run 30 October
Monday 30th of October will be our Fourth Annual Halloween Costume run! Plan to dress up for Halloween – nothing too elaborate because you still have to run – but be creative! A crazy hat? A Halloween top? Last year we had some great running “costumes” and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for this year! Keeping with the Halloween theme, we’re running through Brompton Cemetery to the South Ken Whole Foods. We love this route and it’s fun to do it around Halloween.
A group of friends
A small reminder to everyone that WRW is really just a group of friends who like to run together. We have a lot of knowledge in the group from the experience of running, but none of us (especially me!) are professional experts. We tend to offer general wisdom about training such as it’s important to gradually add mileage and it’s important to properly stretch. It’s crucial that if something is bothering you, little or big, that you seek out professional advice from an expert. Or if you are new to running or new to running longer distances, you may want to see an expert to make sure that you are healthy and OK to tackle this challenge. We have the names of some experts listed on our website.
Keep running,
Jane

9 – 13 October 2017 Running Info

We had a fantastic turnout for the run to Brick Lane on Monday and to Borough Market on Friday. Two of our all-time favourite runs!
This week, we’re sticking closer to home with the Hyde Park routes on Monday. There are many distance options so it’s a good way to get back into running if you’ve had some time off or try to add some mileage if you’ve been regularly running. Wednesday we’re doing the Kensal Rise loop and Friday we’re back up the hill or you can do a route of your choice.
Good Luck Half Marathon Runners!
We have nine WRW women running half marathons this Sunday 8 October. Good luck to Claire Butler, Roni Fransis, Stephanie Gladis, Susan Johnson and Meredith Snizek who are running the Royal Parks Half Marathon. And good luck to Alysia Hoyt, Darcy Fautz and Darcy’s daughters who are running the Oxford Half Marathon. (I’m sorry if I forgot anyone!) We hope you all have a great race!
Good Luck Shoreditch Runners!
It’s a great weekend for running! We also have a large group running the Shoreditch 10K on Sunday morning. Good luck to Melinda Bariso, Bjprg Fridbjornsdottir, Amy Grace, Micki Heskett, Jen Iannazzo, Corinna Matlis, Megan Marine, Kathy McMahon, Julie Moyle, Dinae Norris, Vicki Renner, Stephanie Schueppert and Megan Weitz. (Sorry if I forgot anyone!) Enjoy the run and have fun!
STRETCH!
I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to stretch when we finish running. It’s tempting to go right for a cup of coffee, but it’s crucial that you spend some time to properly stretch. Here’s a good link to an NHS page that lists some key stretches (with pictures) for after running. How to stretch after a run.
Lululemon Shopping Event This Wednesday 11 October
Our friends at the Lululemon Marylebone Store have invited us to a “Fall Sneak Peak” shopping event on Wednesday 11 October from 7:00-8:00pm. Come check out the new collection and enjoy a 20% discount on the evening. RSVP to Kathy Anderson at [email protected]. Lululemon Marylebone is located at 74-75 Marylebone High Street W1U 5JR.
Keep running,
Jane
ROUTES
Monday, 9 October – Hyde Park  – always versatile! (5 – 8 miles)
Click here for all of the Hyde Park interactive route maps
Start:  Everybody starts the same way… head west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road 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 take the first left on Stanhope Place to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place. Cross into the Park and enjoy your run!
Wednesday 11 October –  Kensal Rise (4- 5+ miles)
The beginning of this run takes us along the canal to the west.  Please be aware of bikes along the canal and move into single file whenever you hear a ‘bike!’ shout.
Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, turning left on Cunningham then right on Aberdeen to work your way to the canal entrance on Bloomfield. 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 October – The Heath (4-8 miles)
It’s Friday which means everyone up to the Heath. 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.
If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know. 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
6-7miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath Route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

2 – 6 October 2017 Running Info

I love this photo from the pergola a week ago. The weather was not as cooperative this week!
There’s a lot of important stuff in this email (so please read it!) because we’re starting to formalise our pace groups this week. I’m going to try to avoid bombarding you with too much training information all at once. I’ll give you the basics and point you to the website for more specifics. We’ll come back to these training principles often throughout the year.
We have fun routes on the schedule this week. Monday we head to one of our favourite destinations, Brick Lane, for famous east-end bagels from Beigel Bake and coffee and “fancy” doughnuts next door at Crosstown Doughnuts. We’ll try to get into our pace groups before we start, but make sure you look at the map and the photos below and take a note of the bridge where we exit the canal.
Wednesday we’re sticking close to home and doing the Regents Park outer and inner circles. Friday is our first official run to Borough Market. Yeah! We’re recommending the standard Westminster Bridge 6-mile route. If you aren’t quite up for a 6-mile run yet, you could join the group to Big Ben, which is 4 miles and then take the Jubilee Line at Westminster to London Bridge and meet the rest of the group at the market. (We also listed the 5-mile Hungerford Bridge route, but this way is more congested with pedestrians.) If you’ve never been to Borough Market before – join us! It’s a real London treat. If you need to stick closer to home, you can tackle the Hill like we usually do on Fridays.
Congratulations Racers
Congratulations to Stephanie Gladis and Audgunn Syse who ran the Windsor Half Marathon last weekend. They reported it was a great race, but very hilly! Well done! And…We’re going to miss you Audie! We wish you all the best in your new adventure and please make sure to come back and visit us.
Shoreditch 10K Sunday 8 October 9am
We have a group of women running in the Shoreditch 10K next weekend. Entries are open until 4 October if you would still like to sign up. Email [email protected] if you want to connect with the group that is running.
2018 HALF MARATHON
I sent out an email Thursday announcing that the group will be travelling to Utrecht, Netherlands to run a half marathon on Sunday 18 March 2018. Thanks for all the positive feedback! We’re really excited about this race. If you didn’t receive the email, it may have bounced to your junk box. If not, please let me know so I can check the distribution. All the information is also listed on our website. At this point, you can book your flight. We’ll be back to you soon with more details about the hotel and race registration. I will also be posting our training plan soon so that you can see how we get from where we are now to running a half marathon in March.
PACE GROUPS
Each training week is planned to have one longer/slower run on Monday, one shorter/faster run on Wednesday and one hill run on Friday. The pace groups are for the longer/slower run and the pace listed is the training pace (not race pace). For the tempo/faster day and the hill day the groups will not necessarily be together. Some folks may want to push it more than others.
For those who are interested, there is a nifty calculator on our website to determine your training pace as compared to a target race pace. For many, the pace calculator might be too technical. As a rule of thumb, you should run your long run at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation. Not too fast, not too slow. (I know that is easier said than done!) The slower run is an important part of your training because it helps build mileage without injury but it also helps your body build fuel. For more info about pace and the science behind the slower run, click here.
The pace groups are not an exact science! They serve more as a general guide. Since our group is so large, the pace groups allow for smaller groups of women that run roughly the same pace to find each other and train together. A few important things to note:
  • The pace groups names are relative to each other. For example, you would be in the 9s if the 8s group was ahead of you and the 10s group was behind you. That seems obvious, but it is the relative placement in the larger group that matters and less about the actual specific time of the pace group.
  • The pace group names are simplified. For example, most of the 10s probably run a 10:30 min/mile training pace, but we don’t call them the 10:30s, we just call them the 10s.
 
Leaders
There are 2-4 women in each group who will be pace group leaders for the long run. They’ll help keep the group together, which will be increasingly important as we do more longer runs and/or new routes. But please remember that everyone is responsible for generally knowing the route, not just the leaders. We are also having more leaders this year to help cover the natural range of the pace group. For example, in the 10s we may have a faster sub-group and a slower sub-group and we tried to have leaders who covered the range.
Please let me know if you need some help finding your group or if you have any questions.
The “Eights” Group
Leaders: Melinda Bariso, Asdis Karadottir, Marissa O’Malia, and McKenzie Webster (8:15 – 8:45 min/mile)
Leaders: Carol Bertolino, Dani Burke and Meg Stone (8:45 – 9:15 min/mile)
The “Nines” Group (9:15 – 10:00)
Leaders: Amy Grace, Micki Heskett, Megan Marine and Kathy McMahon
The “Tens” Group (10:00-11:00 min/mile)
Leaders: Darcy Fautz, Jane Novak, Carolyn Perimeter and Megan Weitz
The “Elevens” and “Twelves” Group (11:00-12:30 min/mile)
Leaders: Melissa Kay, Magali Kivatinetz, Jenn Murphy and Litsa Savastano
A big THANKS to all our leaders – you play an important role in helping such a large group work smoothly!
That’s all for now – Keep RUNNING!
Jane
ROUTES
Monday, 2 October – Brick Lane via Canal (6.5 miles)
This is a fun and funky destination run!  We will head out in the same way as though we are running to The Wall. Take the Canal east to the Wall—go up ramp to Muriel Street, take a right and then an almost immediate left up a path that winds between the apartment buildings. Here’s the entrance to the path:

Keep going straight on the path and it will become Maygood Street. When you get to the intersection of a main road (Barnsbury Road) turn right.  Run until you make the second left onto Chapel Market. (There is a metal archway saying Chapel Market and a zebra crossing at the intersection.) Follow Chapel Market until the end. Turn right at Liverpool Street to the major road Upper Street. Cross Upper Street and turn left, then make your first right at Duncan Street. Follow Duncan Street to the end and there will be an entrance to the canal directly in front of you. At the canal path continue running straight, the water will be on your right. Follow the canal until you reach the Kingsland Road Bridge, Number 45. See the photo below.
Run under the bridge and take the brick steps up on your left, see photo below.
At the top of the stairs turn left and at the main road, Kingsland Road, turn left.  (You’ll be running back over the canal.) Follow Kingsland Road, you’ll see the Gherkin building in the distance in front of you. (Kingsland Road will become Shoreditch High Street.) Turn left at Bethnal Green Road. There will be a white medal railroad bridge in front of you and the BOXPARK market will be on your right once you turn. You’ll also pass the Shoreditch High Street Overground Station on your right. Follow Bethnal Green Road until you hit Brick Lane, less than a quarter of a mile.
There is a Casa Blue cafe at the corner, turn right into Brick Lane and you’ll see Beigel Bake and Crosstown Doughnutes on the right. They are FUNKY so bring your cool attitudes! For the journey home, you can take the Shoreditch High Street Overground to Canada Water and then take the Jubilee Line home. Or you can walk through Spitalfields Market to get to the Liverpool Street tube station.

Wednesday 4 October – Regents Park (inner and outer loops) (5 miles)
From Barclay’s head down Wellington Road to the traffic circle at Lord’s Cricket Ground and bear left onto Prince Albert Road. Run to the pedestrian crossing where we will cross and head to the Outer Circle. Turn right and run on the inside of the circle past Winfield House which will be on your left. Continue around the Outer Circle until you reach the traffic light at intersection with York Bridge. Turn left and proceed to the Inner Circle. Run one complete loop of the Inner Circle and back out across York Bridge where we will take a left and continue on Ulster Terrace which is part of the Outer Circle. At the next large intersection take a left and continue on the Outer Circle, heading north back towards the Zoo and Camden. Pass the entrance to the Zoo on your left and continue to the bridge at North Gate which we will cross to reach Charlbert Street. Run up Charlbert Street until St John’s Terrace where we turn left and run back to Barclay’s for a stretch before heading to Starbucks.

Friday 6 October – Borough Market
Option 1 – 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 Thamesuntil 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.

Option 2 – Borough Market via Hungerford Bridge – 5 miles
Head to Regents Park the usual way taking Circus Road to Charlbert. Cross Regents Park until you hit the Broad Walk turning right and following the Broad Walk until you exit at Park Crescent. Follow Portland Place south, it turns into Langham Place and then Regent Street until you get to Riccadilly Circus. At Piccadilly Circus, take Haymarket South to Cockspur Street into Trafalgar Square. At Trafalgar Square, continue south toward the Thames on Northumberland Ave. At the river, cross on the Hungerford Bridge right in front of you. At the end of the bridge, turn left to follow the The Queen’s Walk along the Thames until the path ends after the Southwark Bridge. Borough Market is under the railway bridge near the London Bridge station. The official address is 8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL.

25 – 29 September 2017 Running Info

Welcome to another week of running! On Monday we have a great run to the Whole Foods in Piccadilly Circus. I love the variety of the route and running along the Embankment through the heart of London. But the best part is ending at Whole Foods for some great coffee and food. (There is seating outside and upstairs.) The entire route is 6.5 miles but you can also take the tube from Blackfriars or Temple which is 5 miles. As we learned last Wednesday, a part of the canal is closed so we need to make a small diversion at the Camden Market. Make sure you take a look at the map below. Wednesday we’re running an old favourite, the Notting Hill route, and Friday we’re back up the hill and encouraging everyone to do the Pergola route so it becomes familiar to us. The Pergola is a magical spot in our neighbourhood and helps make it worth the trip up the hill.

WRW Shirts
We’re starting the planning for the 2018 WRW shirt. Please email [email protected] if you have any suggestions for a fun/witty/inspirational saying for the back of the shirt. For our new runners, here’s a reminder of the shirt back from previous years:

2013 – “Run Like A Girl”
2014 – “We Run London”
2015 – “Sorry, Gotta Run!”
2016 – “In It For The Long Run”
2017 – “This Is My Happy Pace”

Stay tuned for information about how to order the shirt. We’ll be back to you soon with more details.

Reminder – Lululemon Shopping Event – 11 October
Our friends at the Lululemon Marylebone Store have invited us to a “Fall Sneak Peak” shopping event on Wednesday 11 October from 7:00-8:00pm. Come check out the new collection and enjoy a 20% discount on the evening. RSVP to Kathy Anderson at [email protected]. Lululemon Marylebone is located at 74-75 Marylebone High Street W1U 5JR.

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday 25 September — Whole Foods Piccadilly (6.5 miles)
This is fun destination route. How can you resist a fun run that ends up with delicious and healthy food options to bring home? Don’t forget your cash and tube card! We start out heading east on the canal and run to the Wall with a small detour. DIVERSION – Follow the bridge across the canal and turn right on Camden High Street. Take the first left on Hawley Crescent and then left on Kentish Town Road. There is an entrance back to the canal path on the left side of the bridge.

​

Continue on the canal path until we reach The Wall. We’ll exit the canal there and turn right onto Rodney, which will turn into Penton Rise, then King’s Cross Road, and eventually Farringdon, which we will stay on until we reach the embankment. We then turn right and run along Victoria Embankment to Northumberland (just past Embankment Tube Station). Turn Right onto Northumberland and run through Trafalgar Square onto Cockspur and then turn right onto Haymarket. Take Haymarket into Piccadilly Circus and turn left onto Coventry. Run through Piccadilly Circus, across the street and onto Glasshouse Street, where you will see Whole Foods Market.

Wednesday 27 September – Notting Hill (4 – 6 miles)

Run west to the canal (west on Circus, left on Grove End Road, right on St Johns Wood Road, left on Cunningham Place, cross Edgeware, run along Blomfield and enter the Canal at the opening before the bridge).  Run along 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.

You also have the option of a shorter run by not running as far as Ladbroke Grove.  Instead, run half the distance you want, turn around and head home.  For example, running to the Westway flyover and back is about four miles.

Friday 29 September – Heath Pergola (6.3 miles)

We are repeating this route so that everyone knows the way and it becomes a regular favorite!

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 as it isn’t very cool to run the Pergola if others are also viewing from it (you’ll understand when you see it).

When you have are 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 (the gym) and then 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).

NOTES: 1.  You can lengthen this run by choosing to run up Parliament Hill and then run by the usual Royal Free route.  2.  You can always take Belsize Ave directly to Fitzjohns and bypass the several turns though this route has more traffic fumes.

If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know. 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
6-7miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath Route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

18 – 22 September 2017 Running Info

It was another great week of running! Keep up the good work! This week we return to some of our classic routes that offer lots of options in terms of mileage. Monday is Hyde Park, Wednesday is The Wall and Friday is the The Heath. For the new folks, please let me know if you have any questions or need any help finding a pace group.
London Weather
London weather is very changeable and we get lots of days that include clouds, showers and sun. Don’t let a bad forecast discourage you from running. If you wait for the perfect day, you’d never get out the door. We had many days last year where the forecast was for rain, but it didn’t actually start raining until we were finished with our run. Plan in your schedule that you are going to run regardless of the weather. In any case, it does make sense to invest in a good breathable running jacket for wet weather.
Why Should Long Runs Be Slower?
For a great answer to that question, read the following Runner’s World article that gives a clear, concise summary of the science behind training with a slower, long run. We’ll return to this concept a few times throughout the year. When you tackle a new distance, your mile pace should be 45 – 90 seconds slower than your race pace. “When we overload the body in gradual, incremental increases, it responds positively by becoming stronger. If we overload the body too rapidly or too heavily too soon, it doesn’t have time to adapt and we risk poor performance, injury, illness and/or mental burnout.” Long slow runs also help build Mitochondria. They are the “powerhouse” of the cell because they are responsible for producing the energy required for muscle contraction. All important stuff if you want to run an endurance race! Right now during the early fall, we’re not worrying too much about race pace and training pace. The most important thing is to run, build up your fitness, get to know the people in the group and have fun! In general, you should be running at a pace that enables you to comfortably chat and have a conversation. Next week we’ll be sharing more information about the pace groups. The pace groups will play an important role in our training schedule when we start to gradually tick up the mileage and when we’ll be doing our long slower runs.
Be Careful
I know we’re 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. Also be mindful of pedestrians and bikes. We are a big group and we’re often running on narrow sidewalks. If you notice that a pedestrian has stopped and stepped to the side to let you pass, please remember to say “Thank You.”
Fall Half Marathon
A quick reminder to please email [email protected] if you are planning to run a fall half marathon so we can connect you with the other women also running.
Keep running,
Jane
ROUTES

Monday 18 September – Hyde Park 5, 6, 6.5 or 8 milesWe start from Barclays and run down Circus Road and turn left on Grove End/ Lisson Grove. Cross diagonally at the light to be on the west side of the street. Cross over Marylebone Rd (now you’re on Seymour Pl) and run until the road ends. Turn right on Seymour St, cross Edgware Rd, and turn left at the next street (Stanhope Pl). Cross into Hyde Park, cross over the Carriage Rd and you’re ready to go.

Hyde Park 5 miles
With this route, you run straight when you enter the park and turn left when the path ends.  Turn left again at Hyde Park Corner and head back up along the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals of War exit.

Hyde Park 6 miles
Here, you turn right at the silver sphere after entering the park.  Turn left when you get to N Carriage Rd and run down to the Serpentine.  Turn right and then left to run over the bridge.  Turn left to run along the Serpentine  Turn left again at the end of the Serpentine and head back up along the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals of War exit.

Hyde Park 6.5 miles
Like the 6 miler above, you turn right at the silver sphere after entering the park.  Cross over N Carriage Rd and turn left just after the Italian Gardens.  Run along the water (it turns into the Serpentine) and turn right at the end to run along the southern edge of the park.  Then turn left and head back up along the eastern edge of the park before exiting at the Upper Brook St/Animals of War exit.

Hyde Park 8 miles
This run takes you around the periphery of the park.  As before, you turn right at the silver sphere after entering the park.  Cross over N Carriage Rd and keep going until the end of the park.  Turn left to run along the edge.  Just keep turning left until you’re heading  back up along the eastern edge of the park.  Exit at Upper Brook St/Animals of War Memorial.

Wednesday 20 September – The Wall (6 miles)
We head down towards Regents Park, then enter the canal at the Charlbert entrance and run east [left] cutting through Camden Lock Market until we run out of canal path at Islington.  Touch the canal boat tunnel wall—this is The Wall!—then turn around and re-trace your steps back to SJW.  You can turn around before the Wall if you want to have a shorter run.

Friday 22 September – Heath Pergola (6.3 miles)
This is a new and improved version of the run we did in April.  It is slightly longer but clearer and provides a full “run” of the Pergola. Enjoy!

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 as it isn’t very cool to run the Pergola if others are also viewing from it (you’ll understand when you see it).

When you have are 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 (the gym) and then 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).

NOTES: 1.  You can lengthen this run by choosing to run up Parliament Hill and then run by the usual Royal Free route.  2.  You can always take Belsize Ave directly to Fitzjohns and bypass the several turns though this route has more traffic fumes.

If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know. 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
6-7miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath Route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

11 – 15 September 2017 Running Info

Another great week of running! I’ve really enjoyed meeting the new runners – thanks for joining us! 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. Also don’t be tempted to run too fast. This is a common issue for people who are used to running alone. You tend to go too fast, feel miserable and then have a hard time sticking with running. Remember you should be running at a pace where you can comfortably talk. We will have runs where we do more speed work on Wednesdays and very few of us can talk when we go up the hill, but for the start of the year, being able to talk is a good way to make sure you aren’t running too fast. I give more information about the structure of our training week below. This email is a bit long, but it has a lot of important so make sure you read it. It will also hopefully give you some incentive to keep running when you see the interesting destinations on the schedule. AND…there is a treat that you won’t want to miss at the end of the email.
We have some great routes this week with many distance options. Monday we head to Sloane Square/Westminster/Green Park and you can pick anything from 4-10 miles. (10 miles is an option for the women doing a fall half marathon.) You’ll see all the options listed below. Remember to bring your Oyster card/Tube card. Wednesday we run east along the canal until Camden market and then exit to run through the Camden, Morningside Crescent and Euston areas until we enter Regent’s Park and head home. The entire route is 5 miles, but you could also run to the market and then turn around and run home which would be about 3 miles. Friday we’re back up the hill.
Good Luck Racers!
We have a large group running the “Run the River” 10K on Tuesday evening 12 September at 7pm including Melinda Bariso, Carol Bertolino, Dani Burke, Claire Butler, Stephanie Gladis, Amy Grace, Joanna Gusich, Megan Marine, Corinna Matlis, Kathy McMahon, Miki Neant, Leah Neenan, Marissa O’Malia and Odie Syse. Unfortunately the event is sold out so you can’t join today, but if you have already signed up and you want to join the WRW group to travel to the event together you can email Stephanie Gladis at [email protected]. We hope that everyone has a great race! Have fun!
Borough Market- Save the Date
One of our favourite routes is to go to Borough Market on a Friday. If you want to plan ahead, our first Borough Market run will be on Friday Oct. 6. For anyone who doesn’t want to do a destination run, the Hill is always going to be an option on Fridays.
Looking Ahead – Mark Your Calendar
Here are the Monday routes over the next two months:
11 September – Sloane Square/Embankment/Westminster
18 September – Hyde Park
25 September – Whole Foods Piccadilly
2 October – Brick Lane
9 October – Hyde Park
16 October – FALL BREAK
23 October – Tower Bridge
30 October – Halloween Run to Brompton Cemetery and Kensington Whole Foods
General Training and Pace Groups
In general, each week we run a long/slower run on Monday, a shorter/faster run on Wednesday and a hill run on Friday. We have pace groups that help make it easier for folks to find each other and will be especially important for our long runs. I’ll write more about the pace groups in the next few weeks. We follow the training principle that your long run should be at a pace slower than your race pace. If you’re new to the “race pace” concept, don’t worry! We can help you figure out where you should be.
Stay Tuned – Spring Half-Marathon Trip
We’re hard at work behind the scenes trying to find a race for our spring half marathon. As you know, we have to balance many factors in choosing a race including timing, travel and finding a race that is appropriate for our beginner runners. We also just learned that the date for the ASL Global Festival was changed so some races we were considering are now out and others are an option. We have our eye on a few races that look great and we are hard at work behind the scenes talking to the race directors, negotiating hotel contracts and researching all the logistical details. (Thank you Carolyn Perelmuter!) We can’t announce anything until those important details are finalised, but we hope to be able to announce the 2017 race around the end of September or early October. I know it’s tempting to bombard Carolyn with questions about the race, but please be patient. We promise we will announce the race as soon as we possibly can.
Lululemon Shopping Event – 11 October
Here’s the treat I mentioned! Our friends at the Lululemon Marylebone Store have invited us to a “Fall Sneak Peak” shopping event on Wednesday 11 October from 7:00-8:00pm. Come check out the new collection and enjoy a 20% discount on the evening. RSVP to Kathy Anderson  Lululemon Marylebone is located at 74-75 Marylebone High Street W1U 5JR.
As always, if you have any questions or if you need any guidance, just let me know.
Keep running,
Jane
ROUTES

Monday 11 September  – Sloane Sq/Westminster/Green Park–3.75 to 7/10 miles, Your choice!

Today’s routes are fun because you can pick whichever distance suits you–in this case one size can fit all!

Everybody starts out to Hyde Park, taking the usual route: west on Circus Road, left on Grove End, all the way down to Seymour Place where the road ends.  Right on Seymour, across Edgware, left on Stanhope and enter the park. At the silver orb, turn left and run down to the southern edge, following the path to the right before it leaves the Park.  Run to big gated exit before the tall ‘One Hyde Park’ complex, cross over Knightsbridge at William Street, quick right on Knightsbridge then a left onto Sloane Street.

3.75’ers:  at Sloane Sq, take the Tube home!

6.33’ers:  continue past Sloane Sq down Lower Sloane St/Chelsea Bridge Road to the Thames.  Turn left on the Thames side of Grosvenor Rd and run along the embankment to Westminster Tube–you’re done!

7+’ers:  continue left on Birdcage Walk, cutting through St James Park to the Mall, then left on the Mall towards Buckingham Palace, crossing before the circle to reach Green Park.  Run up to the Green Park Tube on Piccadilly St and head home!

10 milers:  for anyone needing a longer run today, continue past Green Park Tube, through Mayfair to Baker Street and head to SJW Starbucks–this will give you almost 10 miles.

Wednesday 13 September – Camden/Morningside Crescent/Regent’s Park (5 miles) 

We will run to the canal going eastbound to Camden Market, where we exit the canal and turn right onto Camden High Street. We’ll run down Camden High Street to Mornington Crescent Tube Station and veer right onto Hampstead Road, which we will take down towards Euston Road. Just before reaching the huge intersection at Euston Road we turn right at the Sainsburys/Itsu and run between the office buildings at Regent’s Place and past the nice fountains, through Triton Square.  Left to Euston Road, then cross Osnaburgh Street and Albany Street. At Park Square East, turn right towards Regents Park.  We make the first left onto Outer Circle and run around the loop to the Charlbert Street exit (where we usually enter for the canal or park). We’ll run up Charlbert Street to Allitsen Road, make a left, and head back to Starbucks.  [Note, some ladies choose to run into and through Regents Park to meander to the Charlbert Street exit].

Friday 15 September – The Heath (4-8 miles)

It’s Friday which means everyone up to the Heath. 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.

If you are not up for a hill run yet, no problem, just let us know. 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
6-7miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath Route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

4 – 8 September 2017 Running Info

Hi everyone,
We’ve had a great start to the running season! It was wonderful to see so many of you gathering in front of Barclays and Starbucks.
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!  We have more new runners starting this week. 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.) One runner said to me, “Wednesday was really difficult and I almost didn’t come back, but Friday was great. Now I’m hooked!” I know the first few runs after the summer can be challenging. Stick with it and I promise it will get better.
As a reminder to the new runners, we meet in front of Barclays Bank at the corner of Circus and Wellington Roads at 8:15 am so we can start running at 8:20. Always bring your Oyster/Tube card because we often return home on the Tube. If you are new to the group, I’ll wear my pink hat on Monday so you can find me in the crowd. Come say HI!
This week we return to some of our favourite runs. Monday we head off to the heart of London with a 4-mile run to Big Ben and then we take the tube home from Westminster. (If you prefer a 2-mile route you can take the tube home from Marble Arch or a 3-mile route is the tube home from Hyde Park corner or a 5-mile route is taking the tube at Green Park after you hit Westminster.) Runners who are training for a fall half-marathon can loop back home for an 8-mile route. As always, if you haven’t been training all summer, don’t be tempted to do the longer route. Gradually adding mileage is one of the best ways to avoid injury. For the new runners, don’t be tempted to run too fast especially as you add new mileage. You should be able to talk the entire time during the Monday run. If you are struggling, consider slowing down a bit. Just let me know if you need some help finding a group that is running your pace. I’m happy to help.
Wednesday we run west along the canal and loop back home through Kensal Rise. The entire route is 5.5 miles, but you can easily shorten it by turning back at any point along the canal. If you want to run a total of 4 miles, the 2-mile turn-around point is when the Westway motorway is over your head. Friday we’re back up the hill!
Sidewalk awareness
We are such a large group! Please remember not to block the sidewalk when we gather at Barclays or when we stop at Starbucks at the end. We want to be good citizens of St. John’s Wood.
Returning to running
I’ve heard from a few people who are returning to running after some time off. I’m happy to connect the runners who are not quite ready for our standard routes. If you are working up to 1-4 miles, you can send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll let you know about other women who are in the same boat.
T-Th Beginner Group
Our beginner group is off to a great start! If you have any friends who are interested in joining, please have them email [email protected]. Remember that the beginner group is for women who have never run before.
Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES
Monday, 4 September – Big Ben (4-8 miles)
This is such a fun route! We run right through the heart of London and stop at the famous Big Ben. The 8 mile option is for runners planning to do a fall half-marathon.

On Monday 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 about a five mile run by turning back at Big Ben and running to the Green Park Tube Station, then tubing it home.

Wednesday 6 September – Kensal Rise 4-5.5 miles
The beginning of this run takes us along the canal to the west.  Please be aware of bikes along the canal and move into single file whenever you hear a ‘bike!’ shout.

Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, turning left on Cunningham then right on Aberdeen to work 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, cross Harrow Road all the way 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. [Note, some runners prefer to to turn left on Carlton Hill and head to Starbucks from there] 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 8 September – The Hill
It’s Friday, so everyone up the Fitzjohn’s Hill. 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. If you aren’t yet up for running hills, just ask around -there is usually a group preferring to run a flat route!
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
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route
Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes

30 Aug – 1 Sep 2017 Running Info

Welcome back!  A special welcome to the new folks joining the group. I hope you had a fantastic summer. I’m excited for the new year at WRW and I can’t wait to see you at our first run of the season on Wednesday 30 August. We meet (rain or shine) at 8:15 in front of Barclays Bank at the corner of Wellington and Circus Roads in St. John’s Wood. For the first day, I’ll wear my pink hat so you can find me, please come say hello if you are new.

As we approach the start of a new running season, here are two important things to keep in mind:

1. Take care of yourself: This one is easy! Read the emails and learn the routes. Eat, drink (and be merry!). Don’t go too fast, or too far, too early. Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. Make sure you sleep. Have the right gear (for those of you who like to shop, this is fun). If you have an injury, see a specialist for help. If you have a question, just ask. We have lots of general knowledge in the group and we can steer you in the right direction.

2. Take care of each other: This one is fun! Welcome the new runners and the ex-beginners. (Remember how nice it was when someone welcomed you!) Say Hi! Encourage the new runners to persevere, and congratulate all on success, big and small. Notice if someone is suffering and offer to help. Sometimes an encouraging word or a distracting conversation can work wonders! Be aware of the runners in your group and stop at traffic lights so no one is left behind.

This week
On Wednesday we’re keeping it very simple and doing the route in Regents Park. We don’t have to worry too much about wrong turns or traffic lights! The outside loop is about 4 miles and if you want to add some mileage you can add the inner loop to make it about 5 miles. We’ll be very close to home so if you need to cut it shorter or walk a bit that is totally fine. We’ll meet you back at Starbucks for a coffee! On Friday, like usual, we’re heading up the hill, but if you’re not quite up for a hill run there are usually some runners who will pick a flat route. Another option is to run to the top of the hill and then turn around and run back down. There are many options for Friday hills! All the hill routes are listed on our website with the link below. The best thing is to come on Friday and ask around and we can help connect you to a group that is doing a route that works for you. The maps and the route directions are at the end of the email.

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 slower/shorter 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. We do have a group of women who are planning to run a half marathon this fall. Don’t be tempted to join them on a long run or be discouraged that you can’t keep up. Remember, they have been seriously training all summer to get ready for a fall race. Here’s my bit of start-of-the-year arm twisting – Now is the time to start back with the group. I know the beginning of the school year can be very busy, but the longer you wait to get started, the more difficult it is. Come out and run and I promise you’ll be glad you did!

A group of friends
A small reminder to everyone that WRW is really just a group of friends who like to run together. We have a lot of knowledge in the group from the experience of running, but none of us (especially me!) are professional experts. We tend to offer general wisdom about training such as it’s important to gradually add mileage and it’s important to properly stretch. It’s crucial that if something is bothering you, little or big, that you seek out professional advice from an expert. Or if you are new to running or new to running longer distances, you may want to see an expert to make sure that you are healthy and OK to tackle this challenge. We have the names of some experts listed on our website.

Pace Groups
We tend to be flexible about the pace groups at the start of the year, but I imagine that we’ll naturally fall into our groups pretty quickly. Please remember to look out for new runners who may need some help finding the right group. We’ll share more details about the pace groups in the coming weeks.

Tuesday – Thursday Beginner Group
The first day for the beginner group will be this Thursday 31 August. Our beginner group is for real beginners, women who have never run before. We start our training with running for a minute and walking for two minutes. Please help us spread the word about our beginner group. If you know anyone who is interested in the beginner group, have them email us at [email protected].

Fall half marathon?
Please let me know if you are planning to do a half marathon this autumn so I can connect you with the other women who are currently training for a long race.

Thanks for your patience with this long email. That’s all for now – see you at Barclays at 8:15 on Wednesday!
Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Wednesday 30 August – Regents Park (inner and outer loops) (5 miles)

From Barclay’s head down Wellington Road to the traffic circle at Lord’s Cricket Ground and bear left onto Prince Albert Road. Run to the pedestrian crossing where we will cross and head to the Outer Circle. Turn right and run on the inside of the circle past Winfield House which will be on your left. Continue around the Outer Circle until you reach the traffic light at intersection with York Bridge. Turn left and proceed to the Inner Circle. Run one complete loop of the Inner Circle and back out across York Bridge where we will take a left and continue on Ulster Terrace which is part of the Outer Circle. At the next large intersection take a left and continue on the Outer Circle, heading north back towards the Zoo and Camden. Pass the entrance to the Zoo on your left and continue to the bridge at North Gate which we will cross to reach Charlbert Street. Run up Charlbert Street until St John’s Terrace where we turn left and run back to Barclay’s for a stretch before heading to Starbucks.

Friday 1 September – The Hill
It’s Friday, so everyone up the Fitzjohn’s Hill. 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.

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
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles: The full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes

12 – 14 June 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,

We reached the end of the WRW 2016-2017 year! We have our last two official runs this week, but we’ll still be running over the summer. If you’re in town, plan to meet at Barclays at 8:30 on Mon-Wed-Fri and the group will decide on the route that day. We tend to have a small group that runs most weeks, especially in June and early July. It just depends on who is in town. The best way to keep your conditioning and avoid injury is to keep running.

Monday we’re suggesting one last run to Big Ben. The 9s group has said that after Big Ben they are going to continue on to do the Tower Bridge route that we couldn’t do last week. That’s a great idea and some other groups may want to do the same. We’ve added the Tower Bridge route in the description below. Wednesday is the last day of school at ASL so we have the 4-mile extended Regent’s Park loop. Come celebrate the start of summer with a short, local run!

Congratulations to all the Richmond 10-mile runners!
It sounds like it was a great race (except for a few hills!) and one that we can recommend for  next year. Well done for tackling this challenge!

See you in August!
The first official running day of the 2017-2018 year will be Wednesday 30 August. If you know anyone interested in the Mon-Wed-Fri group or the beginner group, please have them email [email protected]. Spread the word about WRW! We’re looking forward to meeting all our new members!

I’m already looking forward to next year! Have a fantastic summer!

Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Option 1 – Monday, 12 June – Big Ben (4 miles or 8 miles if you loop back)

This has become a tradition to run to Big Ben as WRW winds down for summer.  As you know it is a historic run seeing many of the famous along the way.

We head to Hyde Park via the usual route and 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.  You can take the tube back to SJW and call it a day.  IF you are feeling ambitious you can turn around and run back to Starbucks for 8 miles.

Option 2 – Monday, 12 June – After Big Ben continue on to Tower Hill (7.25 miles)

Today we will be running across, along and across the Thames and in and around some of the oldest parts of London. The sights will be stunning!

We start off as though we are running to Borough Market-down Grove End and into Hyde Park, under Wellington Arch, along Green Park, through St James Park and towards Big Ben then across Westminster Bridge.  At the end of Westminster Bridge, exit left down the stairs and run along the Thames Path past the London Eye, Royal Festival Hall, Blackfriars Bridge, Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe to the Golden Hinde, admiring all the landmarks as you trod past. Follow the walkway to the right of the Golden Hinde and at the junction with Southwark Cathedral, turn sharp left and follow Montague Close until just before the tunnel.  At the tunnel, go up the stairway to the left (which puts you onto London Bridge Road) then turn right on London Bridge Road to the first crosswalk-cross London Bridge Road and go left; just before the river, turn right on the stairs to descend to the Thames Path. Continue on the Thames Path past the HMS Belfast, City Hall and Potters Fields, to Tower Bridge.  Climb the stairs up to the Bridge (don’t go under the Bridge), then run across Tower Bridge (the views!), continuing past the Tower of London (more views!) until you reach the stairs down to Tower of London Park.  Take the stairs down and follow the paved path along the park. Just past the park is a junction in the path-turn right to run in a tunnel under Tower Hill Road, past part of the original London Wall and up to the Tower Hill tube station.  Now, think of all the history you’ve witnessed in just 7 miles!

Wednesday 14 June – Regents Park (4 miles)

This is the last day of school for ASL and the last official WRW run until the end of August. So we are keeping it short and local to entice you to come out for a quick one!

Head down Grove End Road as though going to Hyde Park BUT at Marylebone Road, turn left and follow Marylebone Road, past Madame Tussauds, then turn left at York Bridge and right at the Outer Circle.  Follow the Outer Circle counter clockwise, all the way to the crosswalk by the US Ambassador’s House. Cross out of the Park and head to Starbucks.