5 – 9 June 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,

I hope you have been able to enjoy the London summer weather. I miss you! My foot is improving, but I’m not ready to run yet. I’m going to try to stop by Starbucks one day so I can say hello to everyone.

We planned a new route to Tower Bridge for Monday. We’re following the route we usually take to Borough Market and then continuing along the Thames (or the roads when necessary) until we reach Tower Bridge. This could be named the London History route – so many great opportunities to appreciate our wonderful city and take some photos. Please note that many of our leaders will be out because they are running the Richmond race on Sunday (see below). So if you are planning to run, make sure you take a look at the map and directions. Wednesday we’re doing the Kensal Rise route and on Friday we’re suggesting the Heath Pergola route. Once again, take a look at the directions for the Pergola route because we’ve added some new details, directions and photos so we can enter the Pergola at the beginning and see the entire garden.

GOOD LUCK Richmond Runners!
We have a very large group of WRW runners racing in the Richmond Park 10-mile race on Sunday including Carol Bertolino, Carrie Brady, Dani Burke, Gisele Caseiras, Katy Cohan, Paola Di Meo, Bjorg Fridbjornsdottir, Maureen Fossum, Denise Glaser, Jordanna Hoffman, Alysia Hoyt, Asdis Karadottir, Rekha Kumar, Corinna Matlis, Nicole McNaughton, Julie Moyle, Dinae Norris (and daughter and friend), Marissa O’Malia, Stephanie Schueppert, Mia Schlappi, Audgunn Syse, Jen Rakvin, Sue Wheeler and Liane Zielinski. (Sorry if I forgot anyone!) GOOD LUCK and we hope you have a great race!

Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Monday 5 June –  NEW ROUTE! 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 7 June –  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 9 June – Heath Pergola (6 1/3 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.

29 May – 2 June 2017 Running Info

I love this photo! Here’s Paula Mitchell, the founder of WRW, at the finish line after running 154 miles in six stages over seven days in the Mauna to Mauna Ultra! In a race where finishing is a Herculean accomplishment, Paula not only finished but also placed 42 out of 63 finishers. In addition, she was strong enough on the last day to be placed in the starting group with the fastest/stronger runners. I love the idea of our Paula lining up with a group of professional Ultra runners! The race was even more difficult due to days of torrential rains, many changes to the course route and running up and down mountains of razor-sharp lava. Wow! The fact that Paula can compete and flourish in these super-human races gives me inspiration about all the challenging things that we can tackle in our own lives.

I’ve missed running with you! The good news is that after falling down the stairs, (so stupid!) my foot is not broken, just sprained. The bad news is that I’ll be off from running for a bit. I hope to be back as soon as possible!

Monday is a Bank Holiday so if you’d like to run plan to meet at Barclays at 8:30 and the group will decide on a route together. Wednesday we’re running to Sloane Square, Embankment and Westminster. This is a very beautiful route and one that has many options in terms of distances. Friday we’re back up the Hill again.

I hope you’ve been able to enjoy the beautiful summer London weather!

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 29 May – Bank Holiday

If you are in town and want to run, plan to meet at Barclay’s at 8:30 am and decide your route.

Wednesday 31 May – Sloane Square/Westminster/Green Park (3.75 – 7+ miles)

This route is fun because you can pick whichever distance suits you – in this case one size can fill all!!  We start out by running 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 miles:  Take tube at Sloane Square back to SJW

6.33 miles:  continue past Sloane Square down Lower Sloane St/Chelsea Bridge Road to the Thames.  Turn left on the Thames side of Grosvenor Road and run along the embankment to Westminster.  Take the tube to SJW.

7+ miles:  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 and head home to SJW

Friday 2 June – The Heath (4-8 miles)

It’s Friday [again!], so everyone up the hill! You can pick your distance and whatever you choose, there will certainly be someone else interested in running that distance. These routes are on the website. If you are not up for a hill run, ask around at Barclays; every week there is a group who prefer to do a flat run and you can decide together which flat route to tackle.

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

22 – 27 May 2017 Running Info

I want to thank each of you for helping to make this year at WRW a success! Thanks to everyone who came out for our Sights of London run and also to everyone who was able to join us at coffee afterwards. A huge THANK YOU to Megan Marine for organising the Leavers Coffee. What a great morning – except that we’re going to miss all our leavers so much! Our last official day of running is on Wednesday 14 June, the last day of school at ASL, but we’ll still have a group running over the summer. We don’t send out official routes, but whoever is in town meets at Barclays on M-W-F at 8:30 and we’ll decide on the route on the day.

The weather forecast (at the moment) looks great for next week and we’re planning to run in our beautiful local parks – Monday to Hyde Park, Wednesday to Regents Park and Friday to the Heath. The Wednesday route is a new route that we’re testing out. It’s pretty simple, but let us know how you like it.

Congratulations to our Moon Walkers!
Congratulations to Tamar Brooks, Rekha Kumar, Melissa Kay and Tamar’s daughter and friends for completing the 15-mile, middle-of-the-night walk last weekend to support breast cancer research and survivors. Well done and we love your spirit and dedication!

Save the Date – Upcoming runs
Monday 29 May – Bank Holiday
Wed 31 May – Sloane Square/Embankment/Westminster
Friday 2 June – The Heath
Monday 5 June – Tower Bridge – New Route!
Wed 7 June – Kensal Rise
Friday 9 June – Heath Pergula Route
Monday 12 June – One last run to Big Ben!
Wednesday 14 June – Regents Park

RSVP Richmond 10-mile Race, Sunday 4 June
If you are planning to run this race, and you haven’t done it yet, send an email to [email protected]. I’ve heard from many runners already and I’m going to send an email to the group that is running so you can coordinate. At the moment we have 15+ women running this race. Richmond Park is very beautiful and I imagine this is going to be a great race. It looks like they are still accepting entries if you would like to still sign up. Richmond Link

Looking Ahead – Monday 19 June, The State Opening of Parliament
The past few years we’ve run to Buckingham Palace to see the extravagant procession when the Queen travels to Westminster to officially open Parliament for the year. This event is usually in mid-May, but this year it is 19 June due to the election on 8 June. The last few years, this has been a great London event and we even got to see the Queen. I have heard reports that the Queen is scaling back the procession this year and she is going to ride in a limousine instead of her carriage. So you probably will want to confirm the details before you decide to attend. (I’m going to be out of town, so unfortunately I’ll miss it this year.)

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 22 May – Hyde Park – always versatile! (5 – 8 miles)

Click here for all of the Hyde Park interactive route maps

Everyone knows the way to Hyde Park so pick your favorite route.  An easy 5 miles or a push for 8 miles.  It is up to you!

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

6 Milers:  upon entering the park, turn right at the silver sphere and run until you meet N Carriage Road where you turn left.  Run down to the Serpentine, crossing over the bridge then left to run along the Serpentine. At the end of the Serpentine, turn left again and make your way to the eastern edge of the park.  Exit the park at the Animals in War memorial and follow Upper Brook Street.  Turn left on Park Street, which becomes Gloucester Place and then Park Road back to SJW.

8 Milers: follow the 6-mile run but do not turn left at No. Carriage Rd, instead cross over [this is tricky, be careful of the traffic] and follow until you reach the large broad walk where you turn left.  Run past Kensington Palace (on your right) and take a left to run along the southern edge of the park towards Hyde Park Corner, then turn left on the eastern edge of the park.  Exit the park at the Animals in War memorial and follow Upper Brook Street.  Turn left on Park Street, which becomes Gloucester Place and then Park Road back to SJW.

Wednesday 24 May – 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 26 May – The Heath (4-8 miles)

It’s Friday [again!], so everyone up the hill! You can pick your distance and whatever you choose, there will certainly be someone else interested in running that distance. These routes are on the website. If you are not up for a hill run, ask around at Barclays; every week there is a group who prefer to do a flat run and you can decide together which flat route to tackle.

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

15 – 19 May 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for a great run to Hampton Court Palace last week. It’s nice to be on a bit of an adventure and get out of our neighbourhood. We’ll do that route again in the fall. This Friday is our Sights of London run and Leavers Coffee – more details below. (Last year Nancy said that she hated that name, so maybe we should call it the WRW Graduating Class of 2017 coffee?!) Since we won’t be running the hill on Friday we’re going to do the hill on Monday and head to Happening Bagel in Finsbury Park through Highgate and the Greenway. If you haven’t done this run before, it’s a favourite of many people. I recommend it! Wednesday we’re running the Notting Hill route.
Well done Denise!
Congratulations to Denise Glaser who ran the Stratford Shakespeare Half Marathon last weekend. You rock!
Good Luck Paula!
Paula Mitchell, the fabulous founder of WRW, is running the Mauna to Mauna Ultra race in Hawaii starting this Sunday. The race is 154 miles in 6 stages over 7 days. To put that in perspective, Stage 6 is “only” 6 miles so that means the other 5 stages are over 20 miles each and stage 4 is actually 49 miles. She writes, “This will be a great race!  We will be running across the big island from east to west coast climbing two volcanic mountains and experiencing all types of terrain through 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones.” In addition to the mileage and the terrain, this is a “self-supported foot race” which means runners carry all their own food and supplies. WOW! If you want to send a good luck message to Paula, send me an email at the [email protected] address and I’ll forward you the information.
Friday 19 May – Sights of London run and Leavers Coffee
This is a great run!  Even if you haven’t run in a little while – come along!  We run as a (BIG!) group and we wait for everyone at the lights so we can stick together.  (If we get separated we’ll wait for everyone at the photo points.)  The total distance is about 4 miles and we stop often.
We’ll stop for group pictures at:
– Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner
– Buckingham Palace
– Big Ben
In some years we continued on to Trafalgar Square, but recently the the group has been so large that we usually take the tube home to SJW from Westminster. We’ll walk to the Richoux cafe at 3 Circus Road, NW8 6NX. (We’ll be in the upstairs room at Richoux. We’ll have coffee, tea and some food for the group but in order to keep the costs reasonable we’re asking people not to order individual fancy coffee drinks. Thanks!) If you can’t run for any reason, please still come for coffee. I expect we’ll be there around 10 am. Unfortunately we have many runners leaving London this year!  So take a minute to come and say good-bye. We’re going to miss them so much!
Celebrating the Year at WRW
Thanks to Marissa for the suggestion that a good way to celebrate the year at WRW and honour our leavers is to watch the amazing race video put together by Sonia, Joanna, Liane and Carol. If you didn’t go to Warsaw, take a minute to watch it. It is so entertaining and funny and a perfect snap-shot of WRW! Here’s the link to YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xorCr45ydZk
June 4 – 10-mile Richmond run RSVP
If you signed up for the 10-mile Richmond race on June 4, please send an email to [email protected] so that we can connect the group and make a plan for travelling to the race together.
Collecting names for next year’s beginner group
If you have any friends that are interested in being part of the beginner group for next year, please tell them to email [email protected]. As a reminder, the beginner group is for women who have never run before. We start at the very beginning with running for one minute and walking for two minutes.
Keep running,
Jane
ROUTES

Monday 15 May – Happening Bagel via Highgate and Finsbury Greenbelt – 7 miles

For this run we start up Fitzjohn’s like we’re going to the Heath but pass the entrance and continue up Spaniards/Hampstead Lane to Highgate. At the very top of the hill bear right and run slightly downhill towards Highgate High Street. At the second circular intersection, cross the high street at the zebra crossing and go down Southwood Lane. At the bottom of the hill veer to the right onto Jackson’s Lane (which is a very narrow road). Continue down Jackson’s to Archway Road, cross the road and make a right, then a relatively quick left onto Holmesdale Road. Run a short distance on Holmesdale and the entrance to the Finsbury Greenbelt will be on your left. Follow the path until it ends, turn left, cross the bridge over the train tracks and enter Finsbury Park. Turn right and run along the western edge of the park until the entrance on Seven Sister’s Road. After we stretch we will head over the street to the Happening Bagel. Once we’ve bought our bagels we will cross back over the street to Costa for coffee and then take the tube home from the Finsbury Park Station.

Wednesday 17 May– Notting Hill (4 – 6 miles)
Keep your eyes open as this is often a celebrity spotting route!

Start out by heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, working your way to the canal entrance on Blomfield. Enter the canal and run to the Ladbroke Grove exit then run down Ladbroke Grove, past the tube stop, to Elgin Crescent and make a left. Cross Portobello Road and continue on what is now Colville Terrace until it meets Ledbury Road where we turn right and then left at Westbourne Grove. Run down Westbourne Grove to the top of Bishop’s Bridge, then left down the steps into Sheldon Square (across from the Paddington Station entrance). Stay along the canal to where you entered, then run back on Blomfield to SJW and 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 19 May– Sights of London run and Leavers Coffee

This is a great run!  Even if you haven’t run in a little while – come along!  We run as a (BIG!) group and we wait for everyone at the lights so we can stick together.  (If we get separated we’ll wait for everyone at the photo points.)  The total distance is 4 miles and we stop often.

We’ll stop for group pictures at:
– Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner
– Buckingham Palace
– Big Ben

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.

8 – 12 May 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,
This week we have three fun runs planned. Monday we’re doing an “adventure run” to Hampton Court Palace. Love this green, sunny picture from our run to Hampton Court last spring. Make sure you read the plan below. Wednesday’s route is Camden/Morningside Crescent/Regents Park. Friday we’re running to the always favourite Borough Market.
RSVP – Adventure Run Monday 8 May to Hampton Court Palace
An adventure run means that we ride the train to a location at the start of the run and then we take the train home at the end of the run. This means that if you are doing the run we are NOT meeting at Barclays – see the details below. (If you can’t do this run, there will be a group that meets at Barclays and decides on a route of their choice.) We’ve done this run twice and it has become a favourite of many people. We run along the Thames path for pretty much the entire way and it’s a beautiful route. Plus you can’t beat coffee at the Palace cafe when you’re done. Block out the entire morning or more if you want to stay for a long coffee afterwards.
If you’re planning to attend, please email [email protected] so we know to look out for you at the station. But please be aware that we are not waiting for anyone. You must be on time to catch this train or we’re leaving without you.
Make sure you take a look at the map! We had a few groups make wrong turns in the fall. Two key things to note:
1. Around the 6-mile mark we need to CROSS the bridge. There is a picture below. (A few runners missed this in the fall!)
2. We cross the first bridge with car traffic (there are a few pedestrian bridges earlier which was another confusing point of the fall run.)
Here’s the plan: We’ll meet at the Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station at 8:30 for the 8:41 train to Richmond. We will arrive in Richmond by 9:15 to start our run. (You can take a bus up Finchley Road to the station or take the tube to Finchley Road, turn left and walk up to the Overground Station.) When we arrive in Richmond we’ll run along the Thames all the way to Hampton Court Palace. (The entire run is approximately 8 miles or you can exit at the Horse Fair bridge for a 6-mile route and take a train from Kingston station.) All the details about the route are written below. We’ll take the train back to London Waterloo from the Hampton Court train station. The train runs every 30 minutes, at 24 and 54 past the hour from Hampton Court and it is an approximately 40 minute train ride back to London Waterloo.
Save The Date – Sights of London Run and Leaver’s Coffee Friday 19 May
Please mark your calendar for Friday 19 May for our annual Sights of London run and afterwards our coffee gathering to say “good-bye and best wishes on the next adventure” to some of our dear friends. (Sigh, I hate saying good-bye.) For anyone who is new to this, we run to Big Ben and stop along the way for some group photos at key London landmarks. Then we take the tube home to St. John’s Wood for coffee upstairs at Richoux. If you are leaving, can you let us know?
Reminder of upcoming runs- please join us!
Monday 8 May – ADVENTURE RUN – Richmond to Hampton Court Palace
Friday 12 May – Borough Market
Monday 15 May – Happening Bagel in Finsbury Park
Friday 19 May – Sights of London and Leaver’s Coffee
Wednesday 31 May – Sloane Square, Embankment, Westminster
Monday 5 June – Tower Bridge – New Route!
Monday 12 June – One last run to Big Ben!
Wednesday 14 June – Last official day of WRW for 2016-2017
That’s all for now – keeping running!
Jane

 

ROUTES

Monday 8 May – Richmond to Hampton Court (8 miles)We will meet at the Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station at 8:30 for the 8:41 train to Richmond. We will arrive in Richmond by 9:15 to start our run.You can take a bus up Finchley Road to the station or take the tube to Finchley Road, turn left and walk up to the Overground Station.

Leave the Richmond Overground Station, cross the road at the traffic lights and go down Old Station Passage. Turn left at the end and run a few yards until you get to Richmond Green. Cross the common, using the paths on a diagonally right direction, aiming for Old Palace Lane. Follow Old Palace Lane until you reach the river and turn left.

Now we stick to the river path along the Thames for the rest of our run. We will pass Petersham, Ham House and run briefly along Lower Ham Road. We keep right at Canbury Gardens and run into Kingston. In Kingston, we run as close to the Thames as possible, first on Thames Side past the pier, then right onto a small path which leads to the bridge pictured below.

Bridge in Kingston – Richmond to Hampton Court run

At the bridge you have two options:

6-mile route:  Go up the stairs on the near side of the Horse Fair bridge and turn left into town. Follow the road to the Kingston train station.

8-mile route to the Palace: Go up the stairs on the near side of the Horse Fair bridge and cross the bridge.  Come down the stairs and turn right under the bridge to continue along the Thames on a very pretty path called Barge Walk. This path continues all the way to Hampton Court Palace where we will pass some of the gardens and see the palace from the outside. If you can stay for a coffee, we’ll meet at the Tiltyard Cafe which is one of the restaurants on Palace grounds. If you cross the courtyard in front of the palace and then walk past the rose gardens you’ll see the Cafe. (No need to pay Palace  fee.) Enjoy a coffee and a treat before we get on the train back to London.

We will head back to London from the Hampton Court train station which is across the bridge from the palace. Coming from the path with the palace on your right, turn left across the Hampton Court Bridge and the train station is on your left. The train runs every 30 minutes, at 24 and 54 past the hour.

 Wednesday 10 May – 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. When we get onto Triton Street stay on the right side, cross Osnaburgh and continue to the zebra crossing to cross Albany Street. Run to the corner at Euston Road, take a right and the next right to enter the 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.  

Friday 12 May 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.

1 – 5 May 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,
I enjoyed the run to the Pergola on Friday! We’re going to encourage this run throughout the spring so hopefully it can become one of our standard Heath routes. (Thanks to Kathy McMahon for writing the new route!) Monday is a bank holiday so for anyone who wants to run we’ll meet at 8:30 and decide on the route in the morning. Wednesday we’re doing one of our standard routes – The Wall. Feel free to turn before the wall if you want a shorter route. (Be careful of the bikes – they can be very aggressive at this time of year!) Friday we’re back up the hill to the Heath.
RSVP – Adventure Run Next Monday 8 May
An adventure run means that we ride the train to a location at the start of the run and then we take the train home at the end of the run. This means that if you are doing the run we are NOT meeting at Barclays – see the details below. (If you can’t do this run, there will be a group that meets at Barclays and decides on a route of their choice.) We’ve done this run twice and it has become a favourite of many people. We run along the Thames path for pretty much the entire way and it’s a beautiful route. Plus you can’t beat coffee at the Palace cafe when you’re done. Block out the entire morning or more if you want to stay for a long coffee afterwards.
If you’re planning to attend, please email [email protected] so we know to look out for you at the station. But please be aware that we are not waiting for anyone. You must be on time to catch this train or we’re leaving without you.
Here’s the plan: We’ll meet at the Finchley Road and Frognal Overground Station at 8:30 for the 8:41 train to Richmond. We will arrive in Richmond by 9:15 to start our run. (You can take a bus up Finchley Road to the station or take the tube to Finchley Road, turn left and walk up to the Overground Station.) When we arrive in Richmond we’ll run along the Thames all the way to Hampton Court Palace. (The entire run is approximately 8 miles or you can exit at the Horse Fair bridge for a 6-mile route and take a train from Kingston station.) We’ll have all the details about the route in the email next week. We’ll take the train back to London Waterloo from the Hampton Court train station. The train runs every 30 minutes, at 24 and 54 past the hour from Hampton Court and it is an approximately 40 minute train ride back to London Waterloo.
Save The Date – Sights of London Run and Leaver’s Coffee Friday 19 May
Please mark your calendar for Friday 19 May for our annual Sights of London run and afterwards our coffee gathering to say “good-bye and best wishes on the next adventure” to some of our dear friends. (Sigh, I hate saying good-bye.) For anyone who is new to this, we run to Big Ben and stop along the way for some group photos at key London landmarks. Then we take the tube home to St. John’s Wood for coffee upstairs at Richoux. If you are leaving, can you let us know?
Running as the Thinking Person’s Sport
Thanks to Meg Stone for pointing out this article in the NY Times about an interesting study that found that running exercises your mind as well as your muscles. I love this quote,
In particular, the scientists noted more connectivity in the runners than in the inactive men between parts of the brain that aid in working memory, multitasking, attention, decision-making, and the processing of visual and other sensory information. There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering.
So now I have another reason to encourage you to run – it will make you smarter! Here’s the link to the full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/well/move/running-as-the-thinking-persons-sport.html?emc=eta1
Have a nice Bank Holiday weekend and keep running,
Jane
ROUTES
Monday 1 May – Bank Holiday

Let the family make YOU breakfast while you run with WRW!  Anybody around, meet at Barclays at 8:30 and decide your route.

Wednesday 3 May – 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.

 

TheWall.png

Friday 5 May – The Heath

It’s Friday [again!], so everyone up the 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 are not up for a hill run, ask around at Barclays; every week there is a group who prefer to do a flat run and you can decide together which flat route to tackle.

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

24 – 28 April 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,

It’s been nice to be back running in the London sunshine. I know that this time of year gets very busy, but try to block the time to run with the group. I’m sure that you’ll be glad you did. We’ve planned some fun runs for the spring including a few new routes – see a list upcoming runs below. This week on Monday we’re running to the Whole Foods in Piccadilly. We head out the canal and then through Farringdon to the Embankment. Farringdon can be a bit crowded, but it’s worth it to get to the Embankment and then end for a nice coffee at Whole Foods. There is seating upstairs and also lots of tables outside if it’s nice day. Wednesday is the Notting Hill route and Friday we’re trying a new Heath route. We’re heading to the West Heath to see the amazing Pergola. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the run up the hill! Take a look at the map, most of the route will be familiar from our standard Heath routes. As always, you can choose a different route if you prefer.

Good Luck Marathon Runners!
Good luck to Stephanie Gladis and Mandeep Rai who are running the London Marathon on Sunday. We hope you have a great race!

Well done racers!
Congratulations to Dinae Norris who completed the Philadelphia half marathon and to Shan Mercer who completed the Yorkshire half marathon. You are awesome!

Save The Date – Sights of London Run and Leaver’s Coffee Friday 19 May
Please mark your calendar for Friday 19 May for our annual Sights of London run and afterwards our coffee gathering to say “good-bye and best wishes on the next adventure” to some of our dear friends. (Sigh, I hate saying good-bye.) For anyone who is new to this, we run to Big Ben and stop along the way for some group photos at key London landmarks. Then we take the tube home to St. John’s Wood for coffee upstairs at Richoux. If you are leaving, can you let us know?

London Landmarks half marathon
London has announced it is hosting a new half marathon on 25 March 2018. Just so you know, that is one of our top choices for a date for our WRW race next year. Most European races won’t announce their spring 2018 dates until the summer so we don’t know for certain the date of the 2018 WRW race. Unfortunately, we can’t choose the London race because it will likely fill quickly and we need a race that has plenty of available space in the fall so that all our new runners and new beginners can join.

Save the Date
Mark your calendars for some great runs that we have planned at the end of year. Especially note the Adventure Run to Hampton Court Palace on 8 May – you’ll need to plan extra time that day because we take the train both ways. This is an amazing run, so it is worth the time!

Monday 24 April – Whole Food Piccadilly
Friday 28 April – West Heath and the Pergola – New Route!
Monday 8 May – ADVENTURE RUN – Richmond to Hampton Court Palace
Friday 12 May – Borough Market
Monday 15 May – Happening Bagel in Finsbury Park
Friday 19 May – Sights of London and Leaver’s Coffee
Wednesday 31 May – Sloane Square, Embankment, Westminster
Monday 5 June – Tower Bridge – New Route!
Monday 12 June – One last run to Big Ben!
Wednesday 14 June – Last official day of WRW for 2016-2017

One last Half Zip available
I keep forgetting to make the announcement, but we have one last WRW long-sleeved Half Zip top available in size Extra-Small. The cost is £50. The first person to email me, gets it. Thanks so much!

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 24 April  – 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. 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, 26 April  – Notting Hill (6 miles)
Start out by heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, working your way to the canal entrance on Blomfield. Enter the canal and run to the Ladbroke Grove exit then run down Ladbroke Grove to Elgin Crescent and make a left. Cross Portobello Road and continue on what is now Colville Terrace until it meets Ledbury Road where we turn right and then left at Westbourne Grove. Run down Westbourne Grove to the top of Bishop’s Bridge, then left down the steps into Sheldon Square (across from the Paddington Station entrance). Stay along the canal to where you entered, then run back on Blomfield to SJW and Starbucks.

Friday, 28 April  – Heath Pergola (6 miles)

So, a new addition to our Heath repertoire this week!  We’ll first head to the very cool Pergola in the West Heath, then double back slightly to enter the East Heath and run a variation of our standard run.

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 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 into a wide trail entrance.  This trail will take you to the edge of the Pergola.  It is worth your time to walk up and see the views from the Pergola, which can also be a rest break since 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 are finished with your Pergola time (or if you choose not to climb it), head back out the way you came, running 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 to 6.6 miles 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.

17 – 21 April 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back! I hope you had a nice spring break whether you were here in sunny London or travelling the world. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone! Wednesday we’re running Kensal Rise, one of our standard Wednesday routes. Friday we’re doing something fun and heading to Borough Market. As always, remember to look out for the ex-beginners and welcome them to the pace groups.

LONDON MARATHON THIS SUNDAY
Stephanie Gladis and Mandeep Rai are running the London Marathon on Sunday 23 April. AWESOME! Please let me know if you would like to watch. Can you also let me know if you are willing to be the organiser person of a WRW group on that morning. (Unfortunately, I’m going to miss it, because I’ll be out of town for a friend’s engagement party.)

Keep running,

Jane

ROUTES

Monday 17 April – ASL Holiday

No planned route.  Meet at 8:30 at Barclays and design your own!

Wednesday 19 April –  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 21 April – 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.

10 – 14 April 2017 Running Info

Ahhh, it’s time to take a break. Many people may be travelling over the next week, but if you’re in town you can plan to meet at Barclays for an 8:30am start. Running over the holidays is fun. The groups are co-mingled and some how the pace just works out. You can decide the route on the day and you can try something new if you are up for it. We’re at the time of year when the flowers in Hampstead Heath, especially near Kenwood House, are blooming. WRW is back running officially on Wednesday 19 April.
Congratulations to Alison and Jordanna who had a great race in Prague! We are so happy for you! Well done!
 
Enjoy the break!
Jane

3 – 7 April 2017 Running Info

Hi Everyone,
I hope you’re recovered from our amazing race and ready to get back to some fun runs in London. Monday we have two options. First, we’re running to our favourite Brick Lane for bagels. We take the canal east and the entire route is about 6.5 miles. See the directions below and take note of the bridge where we exit the canal. Second, Darcy and Maureen are going to do a “reconnaisance mission” out the canal east to Stratford to check out a new route for us. This will probably be around an 8-10 mile run, and may include a few wrong turns. If you’re up for an adventure run, they would love your company. Make sure you bring water and maybe even a gel and check in with Darcy and Maureen at Barclays so they know who is joining them. Wednesday we’re heading to Hyde Park for a distance of your choice and Friday we’re up the hill. I’d love your help this week to welcome all the ex-beginners. (I know that’s an easy request because you’re always so welcoming!)
Good Luck Alison and Jordanna!
Alison and Jordanna couldn’t join us in Warsaw, but they’ve been training with us all year and they are running the Prague Half Marathon tomorrow Saturday. Good luck! We hope you have a great race and most importantly, have fun! Please keep us posted and send photos. We’ll be cheering for you!
Keep Running

I know it’s tempting now that our big race has finished to take a break from running. Especially as life gets increasingly busy as the end of the school year approaches. However, the best thing you could do for yourself is to keep running over these last few months and over the summer. You’ll hang on to the fitness level you built for the race and you’ll start the fall ready to run.
Spring, Summer or Fall race?

One of the best ways to keep running is to sign up for a race. Having that race on your calendar will motivate you to train. Even a short local race can make a difference. We have a group of WRW runners who signed up for the Richmond 10-mile race on 4 June. Check out the registration here:  London 10 Mile
Or you may want to consider signing up for a half marathon in the fall. We usually have a group that does the Royal Parks Half Marathon which is on 8 October 2017. The lottery spots for that race are full, but there are still charity openings if you want to commit to raise money for a charity. The Windsor Half Marathon is on 24 September 2017. This is supposed to be a beautiful race, but it is a bit hilly.
Keep running,
Jane
ROUTES
Monday, 3 April – 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. **Please note that there is a temporary detour through Camden. Get off at the market, cross Camden High Street, take the next right at Hawley Road and a right at Kentish Town Road. The canal entrance will be on your right.**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 on the right.  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, 5 April – 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!

Friday, 7 April – Hampstead Heath Routes

Something for everyone!

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.