Hello Runners!
How much fun was it to get into costume this week?  You all looked fantastic!!  So many great photos this week, but I had to give the panorama top billing here (and I can’t resist asking ‘where’s Waldo?’).
Running this week.  Monday we are running a favorite destination route to the Tower of London.  We’ll go through Westminster, across the bridge and along the Southbank, past the turn for Borough Market and along another nice stretch of the Thames past the HMS Belfast and London City Hall.  Then we run across the Tower Bridge and finish outside the Tower of London.  Please check the directions and map below!  There is a big Starbucks near the Tower’s main tourist entrance if you have time to continue around the walls instead of turning toward the Tower Hill tube station as the run finishes.  
Wednesday we will do our first tempo session, a series of short, faster-speed intervals spaced with slow-jog recovery intervals in Regent’s Park.  This is a fun workout to do together!  During the up-tempo stretches, your group will naturally spread out, but the people near the front can circle back to rendezvous during the recovery jog part, so that everyone begins the next tempo interval together again.  You will be amazed at how quick this workout seems, and how good you feel for having done the change of pace!
Friday we are suggesting the Highgate route in the Heath.  It’s 7.5 miles and takes you up around the back side of the Heath into areas of the park not on our regular route.   But as always, you can find all our Heath routes here (our brilliant webmaster Amy Grace has recently updated all the maps on our website, so a big shoutout and thank you to her!).  Just a word about the Heath as we move into chillier days– be aware that the pavements there freeze sooner than they do in St Johns Wood, and they stay frozen later into the morning.  Do be careful up there if we have any precipitation, and look out for frost on cold mornings!
Announcements and Shoutouts.  As you already know from previous e-mails this week, we have moved to a waitlist for the Prague half marathon in March.  Here is the link to register yourself on the waitlist.  We will move most of our Prague communications out of this e-mail so that those not attending don’t have to skim over details, but please feel free to e-mail if you have any questions about the race trip.  And speaking of race trips, next weekend a large group of our alumni will be attending the Rocky Run in Philadelphia. I’ll do a proper shoutout next week on the day of the race, but I imagine a few of our London ladies might be headed out to join friends there, so an early good luck to all!
A few upcoming runs to note:Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance RunNov. 25 (Mon) – Crazy Tights Run (Holland Park to St James’ Park Benugo Cafe)Dec. 4 (Wed) – Christmas Lights Run (early morning tour of the city lights before sun-up)
I’ll leave you with this stunning photo from Monday’s run, when three pace groups converged in Regent’s Park.  So beautiful (and the tree is nice, too)!   Wishing you a good weekend, and looking forward to seeing you next week!
xx Micki

Monday 4 November – Tower Hill – 7 milesToday 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, passing through the tunnel. You are now on Tooley Street. Shortly, you will see the “Number 1” bar on the right and a London map sign on the sidewalk (see photo below)- turn left here and go through the passage to meet up with Thames Path, where you turn right. 

Continue east 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 6 November –  Tempo Diamonds – Regent’s Park

We are focusing on tempo running on Wednesdays.  This week we will do ‘diamonds’—they are fast but also fast to be done with so give them a try!

Head over to Regents Park, the normal way.  Enter the Park at the Charlbert Entrance and veer to the left path.  When you reach the first intersection with the other sidewalk, it is time to turn on your running jets.  You will run hard for 1 minute, then recover by running slowly for 3 minutes; then run hard for 2 minutes and recover by running slowly for 3 minutes; then run hard for 3 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes; run hard for 2 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes and finally run hard for 1 minutes, recover run slowly for 3 minutes.

The ‘diamond’ looks like this:

1 minute hard                     3 minutes jogging recovery
2 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
3 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
2 minutes hard                   3 minutes jogging recovery
1 minute hard                     3 minutes jogging recovery

If you need to extend the amount of time for the jogging recovery, that’s fine, you can jog up to twice the amount of the hard run time [so 6 minutes max recovery jog for the 3 min hard run]

This type of running is best done within the park so you don’t have to contend with driveways etc.  If you find you need more mileage in Regents Park, just keep looping however you see fit.

Friday 8 November –  Highgate – 7.5 miles

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 children’s 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.

Hello Runners!
I hope it was a great week for everyone.  I have been out of town, but seeing the pictures from Thursday’s run with the Beginner’s Group absolutely made my day.  Thank you to all who went out to meet them in Hyde Park– that first Big Ben run is such a milestone, and getting the surprise greeting from M-W-F runners makes it so memorable!  I’m sure the beginners were feeling the WRW love and beginning to catch on that they’re on to something special!

Running this week.  Monday we have a group favorite– the Richmond to Hampton Court adventure run.  This beautiful run out in the countryside along the Thames begins and ends with a train ride, so plan to give it the entire morning.  Please read the complete directions and maps found below, but it’s also important to note here that WE DONOT MEET AT BARCLAYS for this one! Instead MEET AT FINCHLEY ROAD AND FROGNAL OVERGROUND STATION at 8:30 for the 8:41 train (you can use your contactless card or Oyster).  The station is an easy bus ride up Finchley Road, or two stops on the Jubilee line to Finchley Road and a short walk further up the road to the overground station (not the Finchley Road tube station!).  We will arrive in Richmond around 9:15 and gather at the station entrance to start running, so if you are meeting us there, please plan to arrive by 9:15.  It’s a good idea to communicate amongst ourselves, via Whatsapp, about who is going on the adventure, so we can look out for each other– but please do be on time!  It’s a big time commitment for everyone already, so waiting around at the station is not in the plans!  If you are unable to clear the whole morning for the adventure run, no worries!  Either connect with others via Whatsapp to make your alternate plans, or show up at Barclays at the usual time and there will likely be others meeting up for alternate runs.  Wednesday we are back to our local routes, with the 6+ mile Notting Hill loop.  And Friday we head back to the Heath for the hill route of your choice.

Announcements and Shoutouts.  Congratulations and well done to the five ladies who ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon last weekend:  Laura Beal, Marigold Dooley, Roni Fransis, Katherine Greig and Meredith Snizek!  I hope I’m not missing anything, but I’m not aware of any WRW runners having race plans for this weekend.  Keep us posted on any upcoming races, so we can send out well wishes and kudos!  
A big shoutout to Tamar Brooks for organising and rallying runners to support the Beginner’s Big Ben run last week, as well as for the great photos!
You should have received the Prague Half Marathon “next steps” e-mail this week, with Carolyn’s detailed instructions for race registration and hotel reservations.  Please let us know if you did not receive this, or if you encounter any difficulties in the process.  And meanwhile, keep running to build a strong training base! 

Save the Date.  We have some fun mornings ahead, thanks to our wonderful Routes team.  Here are a few you might want to put on your calendar:
Oct. 30 (Wed) – Halloween Run to Whole Foods Kensington via Brompton Cemetery (start working on your costume!)
Nov. 11 (Mon) – Remembrance Run
Nov. 25 (Mon) – Crazy Tights Run (Holland Park to St James’ Park Benugo Cafe)
Dec. 4 (Wed) – Christmas Lights Run (early morning tour of the city lights before sun-up)

I’m so excited to get back to running with you all this week– especially looking forward to breakfast at Hampton Court Palace, rain or shine!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and see you soon!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 21 October – Hampton Court Adventure Run (8 miles, or 6-mile option)
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 around 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 straight through the narrow Old Station Passage. At the end, turn left on Little Green and follow straight past the Richmond Green until taking the left fork onto Friars Lane. Follow Friars Lane as it winds down to the river path.  

Now we stick to the river path along the Thames for the rest of our run. We will pass the grand red brick Ham House on the left, and eventually join Lower Ham Road. Keep right at the fork at Canbury Gardens, staying with the river just to your right. As you approach the center of Kingston you’ll run under a metal railway bridge; continue along as close to the Thames as possible until the next bridge, called Horse Fair Bridge. 

At the bridge you have two options — turn left into Kingston to stop at 6 miles, or cross the bridge to continue to Hampton Court Palace for 8 miles.

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: Go up the stairs on the near side of the Horse Fair Bridge and cross the bridge. Turn left at the end of the bridge onto a very pretty path called Barge Walk, which follows the river all the way to Hampton Court Palace. Once we arrive at the Palace, take a few snaps, and if you can stay for a coffee, we’ll meet at the Tiltyard Cafe, a restaurant on the Palace grounds with lovely outdoor space (and indoor too in case of inclement weather!). Cross the courtyard in front of the palace and then walk past the rose gardens to the cafe; no need to pay the Palace entrance fee.

Head back to London via Hampton Court train station. To get there, cross over the Thames on Hampton Court Bridge and the train station will be on your left. Be sure to check your travel sites to confirm the options for the trip home. There are usually local and express trains that go into London Waterloo.

Wednesday 23 October – Notting Hill (6.5 miles)
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 Blomfield Rd.  Run down Blomfield Rd to Westbourne Terrace Rd, being careful at the crossing at Warwick Avenue.  Turn left to cross the canal at Westbourne Terrace Rd.  Turn right after the bridge, follow the sidewalk along Delamere Terrace, and join the canal path heading west at this point.  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 25 October – The Hill (4 – 8 miles)

It’s Friday so up the hill we go!  There are multiple mileage options below, and this link will take you to all the Heath route descriptions.  Below is one of the standard 6-mile Heath routes.

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

Hello Runners!

Such an exciting week to be a part of WRW, with the 2020 Half Marathon in Prague revealed, and the annual kit orders going live all within a few days of each other!  It was also so much fun to get back to Brick Lane for the first time this year, and Wednesday’s run around Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park is looking like it will be a new favorite for many runners.

Running this week.  Monday we will head to Hyde Park and then loop around the outside of Green Park to St James Park, where there is a nice Benugo cafe with plenty of room for all of us to stop and have coffee/breakfast together!  This is a 6.25 mile destination run, so bring your contactless card to get back to St Johns Wood via Green Park or Westminster tube stops.  Wednesday we’ll run to Camden via the canal, and then exit to run along the streets and through Regents Park back to SJW.  And Friday we will have a redo of the Finsbury Park run we had planned for last week.  Thank you all for rolling with the weather-related changes on Friday!  Even though it didn’t end up being rainy that morning, the amount of rain over the last week would have made the path we take to Finsbury Park extremely boggy.  Fingers crossed we’ll have more sun and less monsoon this week!  As always, check the maps and directions below so you will know where you are going!

2020 Half Marathon.  I hope you are as thrilled as we are about the opportunity to visit and run a half marathon together in beautiful Prague in March 2020!  A very big thank you to Carolyn Perelmuter for working so hard to make this happen!  If you didn’t receive Tuesday’s email announcing our 2020 Half Marathon in Prague, let us know.  All the information will soon be available on our website, but at this point, the only action item is to book your flight (please remember the race is on Saturday this year, so the official trip is Thursday-Sunday). We’ll send out more details about the hotel and race registration soon, and we’ll also post our training plan, so you can see how we get from here to a half marathon in March. 

2019-2020 WRW kit order.  In other exciting news, the order form link went live for 2019-2020 WRW Kit yesterday.  The deadline for placing orders is this Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 5pm– so don’t miss it!  The thanks for this huge effort goes to Marissa O’Malia!  One clarification from my accompanying note:  I mentioned the race hat coordinating with the annual shirt, but didn’t say that the race hat is not something we order right now.  Instead, each person who goes on the trip will receive a race hat– no one has to wear it during the race, but they are a fantastic way to help us spot each other in the sea of runners!  

And while we’re on the subject of kit, we are still taking ideas for the shirt slogan for this year!  Drop us an e-mail ([email protected]) with your best ideas– remember, it has to be short enough to fit on the shirt and be readable!– and our panel of judges will pick a great one to be revealed when the shirts come in.  Examples from previous years?  “Run Like A Girl”, “We Run London”, “Sorry, Gotta Run!”, “In It For The Long Run”, “This Is My Happy Pace”, “Keep Calm and Run On”, and “Anytime, Anywhere, Any Pace.”

Save the Date:  October 21, Hampton Court Adventure Run.  Mark your calendars for our first adventure run of the year.  This 8-mile run begins with a train ride to Richmond, and then becomes a truly lovely run along the Thames from Richmond to beautiful Hampton Court Palace.  We finish with coffee and a treat in the garden cafe, and then take a train back to Waterloo Station and on to home.  With the extra travel time, you’ll need at least the whole morning to get this one in– but it is well worth it if you can afford the time!

Shoutouts!   One final shoutout to our Ragnar teams now that results are finally in and we can confirm that the ‘Crazy 8’s’ team (with Stephanie, Marissa, Karen, Miki, Asdis, Sarah, Katherine, Bjorg, McKenzie, and Abigail) once again came in first in the women’s category, and shaved over an hour off their overall time from last year!  We are so proud of them, as well as of all the WRW representation in this fairly hardcore event!   

Big congratulations also go out to Stephanie Gladis and Kelly Willis, who both had amazing, strong finishes at the Berlin Marathon last weekend.  Kelly finished 10th in her age group (out of over 1600 women!) and Stephanie ran a strong personal best time!  Well done, ladies.

Finally, I want to end with a huge shoutout to Miki Neant, who ran her first ultramarathon today, the Ultra London 55k, from Woolwich to Richmond… and WON it!  Congratulations to Miki!  A WRW friend who was at the finish line (in a tutu, of course!) sent the photo below.  I absolutely love it, because it captures so well what running teaches us all about how strong we are– whether we are winning our first ultramarathon, conquering a hill, or finishing a two-mile run for the first time.  Running reminds us we can do hard things; and running together reminds us we can find joy in tackling those hard things– together!  Whatever our speed, whatever our distance, I’m grateful to be part of this journey with all of you!

xx Micki   (no, the other one… the one who didn’t run, much less win, an ultramarathon earlier today!!)

ROUTES

Monday 7 October – Hyde Park to St James Park Benugo (6.25 miles)
Run to Hyde Park the usual way, down Circus Road and left on Grove End/Lisson Grove. Cross diagonally at the light to run along the west side of the street. Cross over Marylebone Road, onto Seymour Place, and run until the road ends. Turn right on Seymour Street, cross Edgware Road, and turn left at Stanhope Place where we will enter into Hyde Park.
Turn right at the silver sphere after entering Hyde Park. Cross over N Carriage Rd and continue on straight past the Italian Gardens and along the north side of the park all the way to the Broad Walk.  Turn left and run past Kensington Palace all the way to the end of The Broad Walk.  Turn left and take the one of the outer paths to West Carriage Drive, cross over, and continue along one of the outer paths all the way to Hyde Park Corner.  At Hyde Park Corner, cross the road to run through Wellington Arch and then cross into Green Park and take a left to run along the northwest side of the park, past the RAF memorial and continuing all the way to the Green Park tube station entrance.  Run past the entrance and turn right on the straight gravel path that runs alongside the park’s boundary wall.  Follow it to the end and then cross the Mall at the traffic light to enter St James’ Park.  Run down to the water and turn left, keeping the water on your right until you run into Benugo Cafe.

Wednesday 9 October – Camden Lock/Mornington Crescent/Regent’s Park (5 miles) 

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

Friday 11 October  – Finsbury Park via Highgate/Parkland Walk — (7 miles)
For this run we start up Fitzjohn’s as if we’re going to the Heath, but pass the Heath entrance and continue up Spaniards/Hampstead Lane into Highgate. Turn left down Southwood Lane (the road next to Gail’s) and go down the hill, then veer to the right (not a hard right turn!) onto Jackson’s Lane. Continue down Jackson’s to Archway Road and make a right, then a relatively quick left onto Holmesdale Road. Run a short distance on Holmesdale and the entrance to Parkland Walk will be on your left. Follow the path to Finsbury Park, cross over the train tracks, turn right and run along the western edge of the park and exit onto Seven Sister’s Road. Happening Bagel is across the street, Costa is to the right, and Finsbury Park Station is further down on the right (on the Piccadilly and Victoria tube lines).

Hello Runners!

I hope you are having a restful weekend, and that you’re feeling great about the running we’re doing.  It’s always so uplifting to round the corner by Barclays and see so many runners gathering each morning, rain or shine!  So here’s another test of dedication for you: this is a long e-mail with a lot of information about training and pace groups– can you make it all the way to the end??  If you’re new to WRW, I’ll fill you in a bit about our training plan and structure (you can also read more here).  If you’ve been with us for a while, you might end up skimming over that bit– but do tune back in toward the end to pick up the safety reminders and the announcements and shoutouts!

Running this week.  Monday we’ll run an old favourite route for the first time this year.  Heading east on the canal, we exit in Shoreditch and run through the artsy streets to Brick Lane, where you can have donuts and coffee from Crosstown Donuts before heading home on the tube with your bagels from Beigel Bake (which supposedly will be open Monday, though it is Rosh Hashanah).  Please read the route, have a look at the map (especially at the end of the run, as well as at the point where we briefly exit the canal to run through Angel) and don’t forget your Oyster or contactless card!  Wednesday we will repeat the recently-debuted Primrose Hill/Regents Park 5-miler.  And though it’s local and you can’t get too badly lost, it’s still a good idea to look at the map so we can all learn this new standard route.  Then on Friday we’ll head for Finsbury Park via the Parkland Walk.  This 7-mile route takes us up around the Heath to Highgate, where we connect with an old rail-trail path and run through the woods to Finsbury Park.  Maybe we’re overdoing it on carbs this week, but Happenin’ Bagels is another great stop at the end of this run, and there is a Costa on the way to the tube station.

Pace Groups and Training basics.  There is a strategy in our training and a pattern in our schedule each week, all designed over the years by our group founder, Paula Mitchell.  

Mondays are a long, slow training run for building endurance.  These will gradually become longer as we prepare for the half marathon in the Spring, and they are often destination runs.  We consider our training pace for Monday runs to be the speed at which we can hold a conversation while running.  It’s important to keep the pace comfortable for these longer runs both to help build mileage without injury, and to help our bodies build the capacity to fuel longer runs.  Paula explains the science behind the long, slow training run here.  

Wednesdays are usually a shorter route at a faster pace– our tempo runs– and are often loops in nearby parks and neighborhoods.  We’ll start adding some options for speed training in 4-6 weeks, as we begin to prepare for the race.  When those workouts start, the plan will offer guidance on target pace.  Some runners may prefer not to do the speed training, and that is absolutely fine!  We offer the training options for those who want to push their pace or reach for a time goal in the half-marathon, and we have found that many runners enjoy the challenge and the bonding of going through speed workouts together.  But there’s always the option of doing a shorter, up-tempo run on Wednesdays instead of the speed workout.

Fridays we usually do a hill run, with some variations like the occasional Borough Market run.  It’s natural to have to work a little harder to get up the hills (if you find someone who can make good conversation while running up Fitzjohn, my advice is to stick with them and let them talk you right up the hill!).

Pace groups are a way of helping us find and hold to our running comfort zones with people who are wanting to train at a similar pace.  They are not meant to box runners into any particular group or speed, and runners are welcome to move among the different groups depending on how they feel or what their training objectives are on a given day.  Our pace group names correspond to the training pace for the long runs, and within each pace group there are a few leaders who have agreed to keep an eye on the routes and help keep our groups together and somewhat on pace.  Please remember, though, that every runner is responsible for her own pace, as well as for generally knowing the route we’re running.  We really try not to leave any runner behind, but we do each have to be responsible for ourselves, just in case!  A very big thank you to these pace leaders:

The Ramp-Up Group (various paces, for runners coming back from injury or a long break from running)Leaders:  Tamar Brooks and Jen Iannazzo

The 11’s Group (11:00+ min/mile pace)Leaders:  Melissa Kay, Magali Kivatinetz, Ann Sharma, Fernanda Spinelli

The 10’s Group (10:00-11:00 min/mile pace)Leaders:  Jane Novak, Carolyn Perelmutter, Megan Marine, Anne Scolari, Stephanie Mager, and Jess Browne

The 9’s Group (9:00-10:00 min/mile pace)Leaders:  Amy Grace, Micki Heskett, Mariya Treisman, Meredith Snizek

The 8’s Group (8:15-8:45 min/mile pace)Leaders:  Marissa O’Malia, Miki Neant

Pace groups will continue to evolve throughout the year, and sometimes we may add leaders as needed.  Do please speak up if you’re having a hard time finding the right group– whatever your speed, we definitely can find someone for you to run with!  And just one further word here– about safety.  Please do take care of yourselves and each other out there.  Mind your footing, and mind other pedestrians, bikes and vehicles.  We’ve just said you should be able to make conversation… but don’t let it get so interesting that you forget to pay attention to the environment around you!  Especially do not go dashing into a crossing just because the person in front of you did!  It’s perfectly okay to split at a traffic light if the whole group can’t make it through.  In fact, larger groups may find it easier to split into sub-groups this way– don’t worry, you will still reach the destination within a few minutes of each other!  The main thing is to stay safe getting there!

Announcements and shoutouts.  This weekend is another busy one for WRW runners!  A big shoutout to Stephanie Gladis and Kelli Willis, running the Berlin marathon Sunday morning!  And a little further east is another contingent of our runners doing the Budapest marathon in relay teams (brilliant idea!) also on Sunday.  WRW alum and Budapest resident Maureen Fossum is running, along with alum Mee Lee (from New York), and London runners Darcy Fautz, Beth Keaveny, Alysia Hoyt, Carmine Najjar, Laura Beal, Ann-Marie Cascarino, Marigold Dooley, Sue Wheeler, and the indefatigable Mariya Treisman and Amy Grace (who both ran the Ragnar Relay last weekend).  Good luck, ladies, and enjoy the run through a beautiful city!  And peeking ahead, Miki Neant is running a 55k ULTRAmarathon next weekend, on October 5, in London– so be sure to wish her luck if you see her smiling face at Barclays or after a run in the coming week!

Last weekend– as you have probably heard all week– 30 WRW women took on the Ragnar White Cliffs Relay.  As far as I can tell, it was an amazing weekend for all, and it will undoubtedly be the source of many stories in the year(s) to come!  Congratulations to all on this huge accomplishment!  Official results from the race people are not out yet, so there may be more Ragnar shoutouts to come!

In the announcement category… Janelle Meyer has kindly agreed to be the point of contact for an “Alternate Timing” group of runners who are generally not able to run at our regular 8:20, M/W/F times.  If you are interested in connecting with other runners on a different schedule, just send us an email at [email protected]— and include your phone number so Janelle can get a WhatsApp group going.   

The Cancer Research UK London 10K has been a very popular race with our group in the past few years.  Though it’s not until February 9, 2020, the time to register is now, as it does sell out, and early entries close this Wednesday!  It’s great timing for our half-marathon training, and there are usually dozens of us running it, so it becomes a fun group event.  The event website is www.londonwinterrun.co.uk

Save the Date:  October 21, Hampton Court Adventure Run.  Mark your calendars for our first “adventure run” of the year.  This 8-mile run begins with a train ride to Richmond, and then becomes a truly lovely run along the Thames from Richmond to beautiful Hampton Court Palace.  We finish with coffee and a treat in the garden cafe, and then take a train back to Waterloo Station and on to home.  With the extra travel time, you’ll need at least the whole morning to get this one in– but it is well worth it if you can afford the time!An endurance medal to all who’ve made it through this whole message– after you get through the route descriptions and maps below, of course.  Sending wishes for a sweet New Year to all those celebrating Monday and Tuesday.  And as always, I’m so excited and grateful to be running with you this week!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend…

xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 30 September  – Brick Lane via Canal East–  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, and Kingsland Road will become Shoreditch High Street. Turn left at Bethnal Green Road. There will be a white metal 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 Doughnuts 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 25 September  – Primrose Hill/Regents Park (5 miles)Start out as if we’re headed for the Heath, running down St Johns Wood Terrace until it reaches the T.  Turn left, then right, then left again at Avenue Rd.  At the crossing just a short distance up Avenue Rd, cross over and run down Elsworthy Rd a short distance until you see a small road on the right that ends in the entrance to Primrose Hill park.  Once in the park take the path that angles to the left, then bear right at the first fork and left at the second.  This will take you up for a fantastic view from the top of Primrose Hill.  After you’ve caught your breath, take the path that goes down on the right (if you are looking out toward London), then curve around to the left at the first split.  Follow this path all the way down the hill to the crossing at Prince Albert Rd.  Cross at the zebra and head straight into the park via the bridge and across the Outer Circle (NOT a zebra, please note!).  In Regents Park, take the path that angles to the left, running behind the zoo.  Cross the Broad Walk by the fountain and continue across on the path that heads toward, but not all the way to, the perimeter of the park.  Follow this to the far corner, and then turn right to run along the southern edge of the park, inside the fence.  Continue to follow this around  the boating pond to run across the little bridge at the far end of the pond, then bear right to follow the contour of the pond to its end.  Continue on the same path until it meets the diagonal path that runs behind the zoo (the same one we ran in on).  Turn left to follow that to its end and then turn left onto the Outer Circle and follow it for a short distance to the crossing at Charlbert.  Exit the park and take Charlbert to St Johns Wood Terrace to finish at our Starbucks/Pret corner of the High Street.

Friday 27 September  – Finsbury Park via Highgate/Parkland Walk — (7 miles)
For this run we start up Fitzjohn’s as if we’re going to the Heath, but pass the Heath entrance and continue up Spaniards/Hampstead Lane into Highgate. Turn left down Southwood Lane (the road next to Gail’s) and go down the hill, then veer to the right (not a hard right turn!) onto Jackson’s Lane. Continue down Jackson’s to Archway Road and make a right, then a relatively quick left onto Holmesdale Road. Run a short distance on Holmesdale and the entrance to Parkland Walk will be on your left. Follow the path to Finsbury Park, cross over the train tracks, turn right and run along the western edge of the park and exit onto Seven Sister’s Road. Happening Bagel is across the street, Costa is to the right, and Finsbury Park Station is further down on the right (on the Piccadilly and Victoria tube lines).

Hello Runners!

It could not have been a more beautiful week for running, and it was so much fun to see everyone socialising– while standing still, even!– at the Welcome Coffee on Wednesday.  Another big thank you to Magali for organising such a great breakfast for us– and thanks to all of you for showing up, not just Wednesday for coffee, but all the times you do, for all the runs we do together!

Running this week.  Monday we have a “new” route, though it takes in a few of our old ones, so it will all be familiar.  We’re maximising our park time with a spin around Hyde Park/Green Park/St James Park and ending at the Whole Foods in Kensington.  Please, please check out the map and instructions below.  Many of us may be absent for the run Monday because of the race this weekend, so it’s really important that everyone knows where they’re going!  Wednesday we’re doing an old standard midweek run– 5.5 miles beginning out on the canal westbound and then looping through Kilburn and Queen’s Park back to St Johns Wood.  And Friday?  Back up the Hill for the route and distance of your choice!

Announcements and shoutouts.  This weekend 30 of our runners– three teams of 10– are converging on the White Cliffs area for a Ragnar Relay (sorry to repeat, but 170 miles straight through the weekend, with each runner taking three legs between 3-11 miles).  Beginning early on Saturday is the team captained by Veena Gopal and including Amy Grace, Stephanie Schueppert, Jill Bernhard, Kundhavi Bala, Emily Pancer, Devy Schoenfeld, Cyd Harris, Fernanda Spinelli, and Jeanne Jermyn.  Then around mid-day another team will take off, led by captain Roni Fransis and including Meredith Snizek, Kate Ballbach, Bridget Perry, Renata Figueiredo, Kalee Tilli, Winston Berry, Mariyah Tresnan, Theo Yardley and myself.  And finally, a short while later the reigning ladies’ winning team (yes, they won it last year!) will set off, with captain Stephanie Gladis, Karen Furst, Katherine Greig, Bjorg Fridbjornsdottir, Asdis Karadottir, Miki Neant, Marissa O’Malia, Abigail Craine, McKenzie Webster, and Sarah Nicoli.  With so much WRW representation, the weekend will be nothing short of remarkable… good luck and happy running to all!

The fall race season is upon us, so do please let us know if you are running something– or if you know someone in the group who needs a nice shoutout.  Be sure to wish Stephanie Gladis and Kelli Willis all best as they head for the Berlin marathon next weekend; and there is also a good-sized group headed to Budapest next week to do the marathon relay-style (I’ll shoutout names next note!).  There are other really amazing runs coming up for some of our ladies next month, too.  Can’t wait to share with you– and to see the pictures and hear the stories when our women running the world get back from their adventures.

Watch this space in the next couple of weeks for an explanation of our training program, our pace groups, and our calendar; as well as for ordering info for the annual shirt (still accepting quote/slogan ideas) and for Carolyn’s big reveal of the 2020 Half Marathon destination!  But meanwhile, happy weekend and happy running– I’ll see you next week at Barclay’s!
xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 23 September  – New Route: Hyde Park to Whole Foods Kensington (7 miles)

This is a new 7 mile route to Whole Foods in Kensington. Quick route summary: Run to Hyde Park, along its edge to Marble Arch, loop fully around Green Park and St James Park, and then back along the southern edge of Hyde Park to end up at Whole Foods.

Run to Hyde Park the usual way. Follow the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, then through Marble Arch to the traffic light across from Green Park. Take a left when you get to Green Park, run along the top edge of the park to Green Park tube station, then down towards Buckingham Palace. Take a left to run along The Mall, right on Horse Guards Road, and another right along Bird Cage Walk (aren’t these street names the best?). Turn right at the end of Bird Cage Walk to pass directly in front of Buckingham Palace, then left along Constitution Hill to head back to Hyde Park Corner. Re-enter Hyde Park and turn left to run along the southern border of the park, all the way through Hyde Park, past the Albert Memorial and along the edge of Kensington Gardens. Exit the park at the southwest corner gate to Kensington High Street. Whole Foods is on the opposite side of the street 1 1/2 blocks along.

Wednesday 25 September  – Kensal Rise (5.5 miles)

This route takes us along the canal to the west. Please be aware of bikes along the canal and form a single file whenever you hear someone call out ‘bike!”.Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road, then right on St John’s Wood Road at the traffic light. Then turn left on Cunningham, right on Aberdeen, and cross Maida Vale to the right side of Blomfield Rd. Stay on the right side of Blomfield Road as you run parallel to the canal. Turn left at the second bridge over the canal (at Westbourne Terrace Road), turn right just after the bridge, follow the sidewalk along Delamere Terrace, and join the canal path heading west at this point. 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 motorway is over our heads.)

Friday 27 September  – The Hill (4 – 8 miles)
It’s Friday so up the hill we go!  There are multiple mileage options below, and the link will take you to all the maps.

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

Hello Runners!
I hope you are enjoying this fabulous, fabulous weekend!  It was such a pleasure to run with you all this week– Friday, especially, was a gorgeous day for a run to the Heath Pergola!  

Running this Week.  We’ve got another great week of London runs ahead.  Monday we head to Hyde Park for your choice of route from 5-8 miles.  Have a look at the maps/directions below to decide which option you’ll take– they all are beautiful runs.  And please do be careful of pedestrians as we run down Abbey Rd/Lisson Grove– we’ve received feedback in the past that we overwhelm the sidewalks in that area.  Wednesday we’ll repeat the Regents Park Inner/Outer Loop for 5 miles before returning to St Johns Wood for our Welcome Coffee at The Gate (see below).  And Friday we’ll do our first official Borough Market destination run.  The 6-mile route takes us down to Westminster and across the bridge, then along the South Bank all the way to London Bridge.  Don’t forget your Oyster or contactless card, and do think about what gourmet treats you might need from the famous food market!

If you are new to WRW, please let us know if you’re having difficulty finding a pace group that works for you.  We are so happy to help, and there really are so many great pacing options, as well as the flexibility to move between them.  When you do find the pace that works for you, ask to be added to the WhatsApp group.  These have become an indispensable means of communication (practical and social!) for most of us, and we do want everyone to be in the loop! 

Welcome Coffee this Wednesday!  WRW is pleased to host a Welcome Coffee for all runners Wednesday, September 18 after our run (approx 9:30) at The Gate, 87 Allitsen Rd, St Johns Wood.  Coffee/tea/juice and light breakfast items will be served.  Please join us!  It’s fun, free, and a great opportunity to get to know a few more people, and to meet some of the women who make WRW work.  Even if you can’t run that day, stop by to say hello if you can.  And be sure to say thanks to Magali for organising this!

Announcements and Shoutouts.  Marissa will have a handful of black WRW hats available for purchase at the Welcome Coffee on Wednesday.  She is also working on the annual WRW shirt, so it’s time to put out a call for 2019-2020 shirt slogan suggestions.  They really have to be about 6 words or less.  Here are some examples from years past:

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”
2018 — “Keep Calm and Run On”
2019 — “Anytime, Anywhere, Any Pace”

A shoutout to recent WRW alum Maureen Scheckel, who is running her first triathlon (Long Beach Island Triathlon) tomorrow in the U.S.  Good luck to ‘Mighty Mo!’  Next weekend, WRW will have THREE teams (10 women each) running in the Reebok White Cliffs Ragnar relay!  Each runner will take on 3 legs of between 3-11 miles on a 170-mile course straight through the weekend, including running in the middle of the night!  Last year’s team of 8’s had an amazing experience, so our hope is that it will be a memorable weekend (for all the RIGHT reasons) for all!  

Please let us know if you have race plans in the works, so we can give you a shoutout!  We’re also happy to help connect runners who are training for upcoming events.  And finally, we’ve recently met some runners whose schedules don’t allow them to run at our MWF morning times, and we’d love to help connect them with one another if possible.  If you are one of these ladies, feel free to e-mail us with your mobile number (for WhatsApp) and we may be able to connect you with some running partners.

I’ll sign off with another couple of photos, shamelessly pulled from our Facebook Group page (but don’t forget to scroll on past the photos to see the route maps and descriptions!).  Can’t wait to get back out there with you again this week– keep running happy!

xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 16 September – Hyde Park 5, 6, 6.5 or 8 miles

Click here for all of the Hyde Park interactive route maps

We start from Barclays, run down Circus Road and turn left on Grove End/Lisson Grove. Cross diagonally at the light to go onto 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, 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. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.

Hyde Park 6 miles
Here, 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. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.

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 stay right at the end to run along the southern edge of the park, all the way to Hyde Park Corner. 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. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.

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. After you cross Park Ln, make your first left onto Park St and keep going until you get to Park Rd. Turn left on Park Rd and make your way back to Starbucks.

Wednesday 18 September — Regents Park inner and outer loop, 5 milesFrom 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 20 September — Borough Market via Westminster Bridge, 6 miles
Let’s mix it up with a destination run to Borough Market, official address 8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL.  Grab coffee at Monmouth or Rabot before catching the tube at London Bridge station back to SJW.  Don’t forget your Oyster!

We start by heading to Hyde Park via the usual route. Head west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End Road. At the corner of St. John’s Wood Road and Grove End Road, cross diagonally at the light and continue south on Lisson Grove. Cross over Marylebone Road and continue south on Seymour Place until it tees into Seymour Street. Turn right and cross over Edgware Road and then take the first left on Stanhope Place to enter Hyde Park at the intersection with Stanhope Place. Run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill. Run past the Victoria Memorial, cross The Mall at the light and turn right at the grand wrought iron gates into St. James Park. Run over the pond and out of the park, turning left onto Birdcage Walk and down into Parliament Square to Big Ben. Continue past Big Ben and cross Westminster Bridge. After the bridge turn left down the stairs to run along the Thames until the river path ends after Southwark Bridge. Just past Southwark Bridge, head right and then a quick left to go into a short tunnel that puts you onto Clink Street. Make a right on Stoney Street to get to the market (and Monmouth Coffee!).

Hello Runners!
What a great start we had this week!  It’s always so much fun to see old friends, as well as new faces, turning up at Barclay’s on that first morning– and it just wouldn’t be the same without a little rain shower to start the year off right!!  (Thanks to Miki Neant for remembering to snap a ‘first day’ photo!)  A very warm welcome if you’ve just joined us this week– hopefully you could feel how happy we are to have you with us.  Every single one of us has been new to the group at some point, so we genuinely want to make you feel comfortable and included, and we look forward to getting to know you– friendships flourish quickly when we are putting in the miles (and the coffees) together!

A reminder for anyone just now joining us, we meet at Barclay’s by 8:15 for an 8:20 departure.  It’s a good idea to always bring an Oyster or credit card, because we often travel home by tube.  And a further reminder for all… we are a large group and we can be unintentionally intimidating to pedestrians when we’re caught up in our run and our conversations!  Please be aware and considerate of the Londoners with whom we share the sidewalks– PLEASE don’t take the full width of the sidewalk when there are others around, and do give enough space that they don’t feel we’re running over them!

Finding our ‘happy pace.’  If you’re new and not finding the right pace group, please speak up!  We really want to help you find the people who are doing the pace and distance you’re looking for, but sometimes it might take more than one try to get it right.  Any of the returning runners can point you to someone who will be able to help.  If you are a returning runner, try not to worry too much about established pace groups these first couple of weeks.  Some women have been running all summer and some haven’t so much– and both of those summer options are fine!  But we do need to be careful to avoid injury by not trying to just pick up where we left off last spring without regard for training differences over the last 10 weeks.  Find the pace that is right for you right now, and there will be others who are running that pace.  Our routes these first couple of weeks offer flexibility on distance, and they are familiar (or at least in familiar territory).  If we take a couple of weeks to get back in the groove, our pace groups will begin to settle in naturally.  Look for more on this, and the introduction of pace group leaders, in next week’s e-mail.

Running this week.  Don’t forget to look at the maps and route descriptions at the end of this e-mail!!  It’s tradition to do our 4-mile trip to Big Ben on the first Monday back.  This route is a standard favourite for us– kind of like a London tour, but free, with exercise, and no following a tour guide with a pink flag (though maybe a pink hat)!  This run also has options for more mileage– see details on the map below.  On Wednesday we’re trying a new run that Darcy Fautz and Erin Roth came up with in response to requests to maximise our time in green spaces, as well as to have some fresh Wednesday options.  It looks great– thanks, ladies!  We’ll head to the Primrose Hill entrance off of Elsworthy Rd, and then take in the view at the top before coasting down to Regents Park for a nice loop around and back to St Johns Wood.  Please, everyone look at the map ahead of time so we are not dependent on just a few people who know the route!  And on Friday we will tackle the Hill again, up Fitzjohn Rd to the Heath.  See all Heath options via the link below, or ask around at Barclay’s for a group running an alternative route.

Beginners’ Group.  Our Class of ’20 Beginners had their first run last Thursday, but it’s not too late! 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.) . We always expect that women will continue to join in the first few weeks, especially those who hear about us at ASL’s SCOOP event, but the sooner they join, the better and easier it is for them!

Announcements and Shoutouts.  If you ordered a black running cap during the Spring kit order a few months back, you should have received an e-mail from kitmaster Marissa O’Malia to let you know they have finally arrived!  Don’t forget to bring your £25 payment on Monday to receive the hat after the run.  Otherwise, Marissa’s e-mail offered alternate times she is available for collection and payment, so you can work that out directly with her.  And for anyone who is wishing they had ordered one, good news… there will be a limited number of extra hats for sale!  Sit tight and we will give you details about where and when.

Save the Date!  We are planning a Welcome Back Coffee for Wednesday, September 18, after our run.  Details to follow… but we hope you will mark your calendars to join us!

Enjoy this beautiful weekend, everyone!  I can’t wait to get out there running with you all again next week… see you at Barclay’s! 

xx Micki

ROUTES

Monday 2 September  – Big Ben (4-8 miles)This is a WRW standard, and 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 who’ve been training for a fall race.
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  a five-mile run by turning back at Big Ben and running to the Green Park Tube Station, then tubing it home.

Wednesday 4 September – new run!— Primrose Hill/Regents Park Loop (5 miles)
Start out as if we’re headed for the Heath, running down St Johns Wood Terrace until it reaches the T.  Turn left, then right, then left again at Avenue Rd.  At the crossing just a short distance up Avenue Rd, cross over and run down Elsworthy Rd a short distance until you see a small road on the right that ends in the entrance to Primrose Hill park.  Once in the park take the path that angles to the left, then bear right at the first fork and left at the second.  This will take you up for a fantastic view from the top of Primrose Hill.  After you’ve caught your breath, take the path that goes down on the right (if you are looking out toward London), then curve around to the left at the first split.  Follow this path all the way down the hill to the crossing at Prince Albert Rd.  Cross at the zebra and head straight into the park via the bridge and across the Outer Circle (NOT a zebra, please note!).  In Regents Park, take the path that angles to the left, running behind the zoo.  Cross the Broad Walk by the fountain and continue across on the path that heads toward, but not all the way to, the perimeter of the park.  Follow this to the far corner, and then turn right to run along the southern edge of the park, inside the fence.  Continue to follow this around  the boating pond to run across the little bridge at the far end of the pond, then bear right to follow the contour of the pond to its end.  Continue on the same path until it meets the diagonal path that runs behind the zoo (the same one we ran in on).  Turn left to follow that to its end and then turn left onto the Outer Circle and follow it for a short distance to the crossing at Charlbert.  Exit the park and take Charlbert to St Johns Wood Terrace to finish at our Starbucks/Pret corner of the High Street.

Friday, 6 September – The Heath
There are multiple mileage options below, and the link will take you to all the maps.  

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

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.