Beginners and Improvers

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We organise courses aimed at beginners, novice runners and improvers. 

We aim to run these courses 2 to 3 times a year, usually in Spring, Summer and Autumn.

Beginners Course

Our beginners running course is suitable for adults of all ages looking to gain confidence in their running in a fun and social way.

Objectives:

  • Discover the fun and social side of running and make new friends along the way
  • At the end of the 8 weeks runners should be able to run continuously for 30 minutes and possibly to a distance of 7k
  • After the course is over, runners will be able to join in the regular Wednesday and Saturday club runs with knowledge of the club “two parks” route and an alternative, shorter, route around Hyde Park

Please note that this course is not suitable for those who are injured, if you are unsure please email us

Sign up for the current course has now closed.

Duration:  8 weeks 

When and Where:     Twice a week for 8 weeks

  • Saturday mornings 9.45am at the Hyde Park Bandstand.
  • Wednesday evenings 6.45pm at St Mary’s School, Enford Street

To get the best from the course, runners should be able to commit to running twice a week (three times would be even better!).

There will be two sessions offered a week – Wednesday evening and Saturday morning. Anyone who can’t attend a session should aim to make it up themselves.

Cost: Free for club members. Only £45 a year, £20 for concessions.

 Sign up closed midday Friday 6th September.

Contact us at beginners@serpentine.org.uk

Improvers Programme

Our improvers programme is aimed at adults looking to extend their distance to run continuously for at least 10k or to improve their 10k time.

The programme is suitable for people moving on from our beginners course, anyone looking to run their first 10k or looking for a framework to improve their 10k time. It is also suitable for new club members at this level looking for a introduction to club sessions to help them improve.

10k course graduates with run leaders and other Serpies in Kew Gardens 10k, April 2023

To join:

  • you should be a club member (please join here)
  • be able to run pretty continuously for 7km (it doesn’t matter how fast) 

Objectives:

  • to improve running endurance to run continuously for 10k or further
  • to improve running pace
  • provide a next step for graduates from the beginners course 
  • introduce a framework of existing club sessions to enable participants to improve 

The programme is aimed at foundation level runnners. If your target 10k time is faster than 48 minutes, this is probably not the group for you.

Structure:

  • Saturday:  Whole Group Session. 

A structured session in Hyde Park, at the Club Handicap, or at a variery of diferent (Central London) locations for introductions to trail running, hills and varied pace sessions.

  • Monday:  track session at Paddington Rec, to develop strength and pace
  • Mid-week: endurance run which we recommend is done as part of the club runs on Wednesday evenings.

Next course:  Starts Saturday 21st September 2024

Duration:   8 weeks 

When and Where:

  • Saturday mornings, varied times and locations, mostly in and around Hyde Park.
  • Monday evening 7:00pm at Paddington Recreation Ground.
  • Midweek endurance session at club runs on Wednesday’s evenings. 6.45pm from St Mary’s School, Enford Street.

To get the best from the programme, runners should aim to commit to running consistently at least two or three times per week.

Cost: Free for club members. Only £45 a year, £20 for concessions.

You must be a current member of the club to sign up for the Improvers’ Course. To join the club, please click here, and then come back to this page to sign up for the course.

If you are a member of the club and you are reading this message, please make sure you have logged in to the website.