Serpentine - What’s Happening in June 2021

The summer has finally arrived, and with social distancing set to be easing further this month, our club is relentless in maintaining a packed programme in June! Club runs continue every Wednesday and Saturday, the Paddington track workouts continue on Mondays and Tuesdays, Serpiesphere Virtual 5k resumes in its summer series, our Capital Ring odyssey resumes in South London, and our Zwift and Zoom sessions continue. Our swimming sessions are making a comeback. There is so much going for every club member – are you ready to find out what’s happening in June?

Club Runs – every Wednesday and Saturday

Our Club Runs have made a successful return to Hyde Park since 31st March, and more and more members signed up to run, so please keep coming! For more details please follow this link. We continue to run our two-parks and three-parks routes every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning (look at us in the ‘Magic Box’ before our run – thanks Sid for the photo below), but we are looking into changes in order to adapt to the easing of social distancing rules.

 

 

We currently require runners to sign up in advance, so you can be placed in groups running the same route and similar pace. Please follow these links to: 

These links are also available on the front page of our website. Our club run team will then email everyone before the runs to inform you of your groups and start times.  Haven’t run before and don’t know your pace?  Not to worry – choose the 10-12 min/mile pace or “Run & Talk (Beginners)”, or get in touch with Sid and he will help you.

 

Capital Ring Runs – our next stage of the odyssey!

On 30th May we started the Serpie Capital Ring runs and finished on the banks of the Thames at Woolwich. After a mandatory pub visit where we enjoyed a few drinks and rested our legs, our trail runs around the 78-mile Capital Ring continues in Stage 2 on Sunday 20th June. Continued from where we left off at Woolwich, we will take on the suburban greenery in Southeast London all the way to Beckenham. Obviously you could enjoy the full experience with us if you run the entire route, however you are welcome to join if you need or want to start midway through the stage, or leave early – you are never too far away from a bus stop or a train station.

Please put your details down via this link if you want to join us. As our runs are scheduled to take place every few weeks until mid-September, please contact me for any questions or if you want to get involved in helping out with navigation and other tasks.

 

Serpiesphere Virtual 5k – the Summer Series begins!

Our Serpiesphere Virtual 5k came to a short pause in May but comes back in June due to popular demand! Please be aware of a change in the rules. We are aware that with lockdown easing, more and more people are taking the opportunity to participate in real-life races and events. However, we would like the Serpiesphere to continue to reward participants’ efforts when training individually. We also want to ensure a fair competition for members living away from larger cities, where there may be fewer opportunities to take part in organised races. Therefore, please do not enter a time that you’ve achieved during a real-life race. It is fine to use a 5K time that you’ve run with a small group of friends, or a segment of a longer run, but it must be an independent run and not part of a real-life organised race. 

Race 1 of the Summer 2021 series started on 1st June and will finish at 10pm on 15th June.  Race entry link is here.  Please email our Serpiesphere Virtual 5k organiser Sophie Taylor.

 

Group training sessions

Just like club runs, we have resumed more and more training sessions since April 2021. Sessions are all across London, so you can take advantage of the ones near you, but of course everyone is welcome to attend any session. Also please remember all sessions must be pre-booked prior to attending.

  • Monday Paddington Track: In May we restarted this foundation track sessions for those whose 10k time is about 48 minutes or more – a great workout to raise your pace to the next level. Details and booking via this link on the Serpie website.
  • Tuesday Intervals: Evening interval sessions at Bermondsey Spa Gardens.  For details and sign-up please follow this link on the website. Any questions: bermondsey@serpentine.org.uk.
  • Tuesday Parliament Hill Track: Evening track sessions at Parliament Hill – see this link. This session is primarily for our faster runners (time guidance: sub 36:30 (men) or sub 38:30 (women) for a 10k). Any questions please ask the coach: David Chalfen.
  • Tuesday Paddington Track: Our track coach Gavin Edmonds is coaching this popular session at Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale. It is suitable for everyone whose 10k time is from 33 to about 50 minutes. Due to current restrictions, attendance will be capped at 24 members and prior booking is mandatory. Details and booking via this link on the Serpie website.
  • Thursday Sprints: Also in Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale, our sprint session restarted in May. All abilities including those new to sprints are welcome. Details and booking via this link on the Serpie website. Enquiries: Either Athletics or Juniors leads.
  • Saturday Hills: Hill session at Greenwich Park. Details and booking via this link on the Serpie website.

 

Calling All Swimmers!

We are excited to announce that we are about to restart Serpie coached swim sessions at not one but two pool venues!

  • Orchard Lisle Pool, Guy’s Hospital, London Bridge - Monday evenings, 8.30-9.30pm, starting Monday 7th June. Cost: £90 for a block of 10 sessions
  • Pancras Square Leisure Centre, St Pancras - Wednesday evenings, 8.00-9.00pm, starting Wednesday 9th June. Cost: £90 for a block of 12 sessions

Places are available on a first come first served basis. To sign up, please email our trialthon rep Anne Bennett indicating which session you would like to sign up for, and whether you would like to sign up for another venue if your first choice is not available.

 

Zoom training sessions

Our regular Zoom training sessions will continue in June:

  • Andy Reeves leads a circuit training session on Wednesday evenings. Everyone is welcome to join. Look out for the Facebook messages by Andy before Wednesdays for the Zoom link and details.
  • Rosh Karunaratne runs the weekly spin classes over Zoom at 7pm every Tuesday. The sessions will have an interval training-based focus and are open to all abilities. Any equipment that allows you to spin is suitable (turbos, exercise bikes, spin bikes etc), plus you’ll need water, a towel, and a computer to run Zoom. Please email Rosh to join.

 

Zwift Weekly Team Time Trial and Other Rides

Just like every week since April 2020, we continue to field teams in the Zwift Team Time Trial every Thursday evening, competing against over 500 teams every week. It is a fantastic workout, and very social at the same time. So if you have access to Zwift and are free on Thursday evenings, please join us using this link to find out more. Once you have joined, the team can help set you up to race.

For those who want to take it a bit more easily – the Serpie Zwift riders have a new channel in discord called #meetup which allows us to organise group rides, mainly on Saturday mornings but sometimes at other times of the week as well. This not only gives us an opportunity to go around Watopia together, but you can also just join the discord and have a fun social time without riding.  

For all things Zwift, please contact our organiser Vinh Lam, or email me if you want to join.

 

Charity of the Month – Duchenne UK

This month’s charity is Duchenne UK, a charity dedicated to help people, particularly children, who suffer from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).  DMD is a disease caused by a faulty gene that stops the production of a muscle-protecting protein called dystrophin, resulting in muscle weakness and damage.  It is typically diagnosed in childhood and there are approximately 2500 patients in the UK.

Claire Levermore wants to raise money for this great charity, which was set up by a school friend of hers whose son unfortunately has the disease.  Those who know her would know she’s a keen cyclist, so she has promised to push herself as hard as possible in the Duchenne Dash on 3rd July, when she will be part of a team aiming to cycle 40,000km in 12 hours around Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester, West Sussex.  Please visit this fundraising link for more details and to donate to her effort.

 

Next Webinar in June – Hydration wearables, personalised nutrition and all you ever wanted to know about sweat...

After the amazing evening with ex-Serpie world Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington in April, we have another club webinar on Monday 21st June at 7pm. The topic is Nutrition, Hydration, and Performance.  The founders of emerging research-based brands NGX, Precision Hydration and Flow Bio will share the science behind their research and what difference personalised nutrition and hydration really makes.  There will be opportunities to ask these experts your questions during the session.  Look out for further communications for sign-up closer to time. Please contact our host of the event Ivan Gowan for more information.

 

Calling for Volunteers – Athletics Meets

We are looking for volunteers to help out in the following inter-club track & field competitions::

  • Middlesex Young Athletes League, Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead on Saturday 26th  June from 12.30pm until about 5.00pm. Please let Malcolm know if you can volunteer.
  • Rosenheim Inter-Club, Battersea Park Track, on Wednesday 30th June from 6.30pm and 9.00pm - this is our Serpentine home match. Please let Liz know if you can volunteer.

 

And finally…get some Serpie running gear for the summer!

Are there any new members who want to redeem their vouchers for Serpie running gear, or existing members who want to renew or purchase additional red and gold apparel?  Our kit room in Seymour Leisure Centre is open on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings by appointment only. Please contact club kit rep Marina to book a time slot based on volunteer availability.

 

Enjoy the June sunshine!

Hans Ho

Participation Representative

Submitted: 3 June 2021

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