Half Marathon Club Championship – Reading Half Marathon

This year’s club half marathon championship race is the Reading Half Marathon on Sunday 3rd April. Unfortunately you can no longer enter the race if you haven’t done so, but we wish everyone who has entered a great run! Our post-race pub is the Oakford Social Club (53 Blagrave Street, Reading, RG1 1PZ) which is just opposite Reading Station. The booking is from 13:30 under my name. Please join us for a few drinks and some lunch!

Club Runs – every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday

Our Club Runs continue every Wednesday evening and weekend mornings. All members are welcome – there is no need to sign up beforehand. Non-members can let us know by filling in this form to try out the club before. (Members do not need to fill in this form.)

Wednesday evenings

You have the following choices of run routes:

• Two-parks (4.3 miles / 7km) – Around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens;
• Two-and-half park (5.5 miles / 9km) – A bit of Hyde Park plus Green Park and St James’s Park;
• Three-parks (7 miles / 11km) – The above plus Green Park and St James’s Park;
• Hyde Park to Battersea Park (9-11 miles / 14-17km) – Ideal for those training for spring marathons.

Our pace groups on offer are – 4:45 min/km (7:30 min/m), 5 min/km (8 min/m), 5:15 min/km (8:25 min/m), 5:30-5:45 min/km (8:50-9:15 min/m), 5:45-6:00 min/km (9:15-9:40 min/m), 6:15+ min/km (10-12 min/m), and Run & Talk/Beginners. Haven’t run before, or don’t know your pace? Not to worry, please get in touch with our club run rep Catharine and she will help you.

You can meet fellow members at one of these two places, note different starting times (which depend on your pace):

• Seymour Leisure Centre – Please remember to bring your membership card. You can use our Club Room to store your belongings, and you can also use the Leisure Centre’s changing rooms. A volunteer will lead everyone down to Speaker’s Corner for run start. For those running 5:45 min/km or faster, please be ready at Seymour Centre by 18:35. Everyone else will leave Seymour by 18:45.
  • Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner – for those who arrive run-ready. The 2 or 3 park routes running 5:45 min/km (9:15 min/mile) or faster start at 18:45; Everyone else starts at 18:55.

Join us for a drink and some food in the Larrik pub after the runs!

Volunteers are required to make the club runs work – e.g. check membership cards at the Seymour Centre gate, guard the bag room, and lead runners to Speakers’ Corner to start the runs. This is ideal for those who are not running but still want to be involved, although some roles can be carried out before you set off running as well. Please email Catharine if you’re interested in helping out, once every few weeks, or as often as you’d like.

Saturday mornings

Our Saturday morning runs work similarly, with a few differences to Wednesday:

• Runs start from the Hyde Park Bandstand. Start time is 09:45 – please come a few minutes before so we can form run groups. Note that unfortunately we do not operate the bag drop on Saturdays, although you may use the Seymour Centre changing room – please bring your membership card and a padlock.
• No club runs on the first Saturday (2nd April) – please run the handicap instead! (See below)
• Route choices will be two-parks and three-parks only.
• Post-run refreshments at the Serpentine café.

Sunday mornings – Richmond Park

On Sundays we set off from Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park at 09:00 sharp – please come on time, ready to run. Most people do 1-lap (7.2 miles / 11.5km), some will be doing multiple laps. For more details please see this link. If you’re coming for the first time, or if you have any questions, please email our organiser Kevin.

The Monthly Handicap

The April Handicap race will be held on Saturday 2nd April. The race will be held near the Hyde Park Boat House as usual. As usual, the race covers two laps of the Serpentine lake (almost 7km) in Hyde Park, with slower runners starting earlier than faster runners, so everyone has a chance to win. Just like the club runs, we will have some post-race refreshments in the Serpentine café.

No advance registration is required – registrations are taken on the day, starting from 08:30 until 08:55, with the first runner starting soon after 09:00. See this link for more details if you want to come and run.

Volunteers are required to be marshals, time keepers, finish areas, bag-watchers etc, so that our race can happen as it does every month. Taking a morning off running but still want to come to be part of the magic? Please let the handicappers know.

Trail Run – Tring in the Chilterns

Trail Run is back this month! We will take the popular route in Tring which we ran in November 2021. Please join us on Sunday 24th April to run the lovely paths and bridleways, through woods and forests. The distance is roughly 22km, and we will aim to end in a lovely country pub.

To make it easier for those coming from London, we are planning to meet at London Euston Station to travel together (time to be confirmed – but it will be in the morning). The journey time is about 30 minutes. This run will be at a social pace. The idea is to run together and have fun. If you can run a 10k in about 60 minutes, enjoy hills and have covered this sort of distance before, you should be fine to run at a social pace. 

We will share a link for you to register your interest shortly. Any questions? Please contact Lindsey Chiswick who is our trail run organiser.

Training – Running and Swimming

We have the following run training sessions across several London locations, please click the hyperlinks for details and sign-up process (if applicable):

• Monday at Maida Vale (Paddington Track): Foundation track session at the Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale – for those whose 10k time is about 48 minutes or more.
• Tuesday Intervals: Evening interval sessions at Bermondsey Spa Gardens.
• Tuesday at Maida Vale: Our Endurance coach Gavin Edmonds coaching at Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale, for anyone who is able to run 30 miles / 50km or more (over 3 runs or more) per week. IMPORTANT: Please sign up in advance of joining the session, as we would like to limit the amount of runners so that it is manageable to the coach. Also, on Tuesday 26th April a Mile Time Trial will take place at the session – please see below.
• NEW SESSION Thursday at Regent’s Park: Our run coach Kevin McQuaid will lead a new endurance session from Thursday 14th April onwards, aiming for experienced runners and triathletes who take part in running events throughout the year. The session will start at 19:00 at the Regent’s Park Running Track (Northern side of Outer Circle, near Macclesfield Bridge and west of the London Zoo). More details will come out within the next week. Please contact Kevin for any questions.
• Thursday at Primrose Hill: Evening hill sessions at Primrose Hill, suitable for all levels to improve strength, fitness and endurance.
• Saturday Greenwich Hills: Hill session on Saturday mornings in South-East London.
• Saturday Hampstead Heath Hills: Another hill session on Saturday mornings.

We have two swimming sessions, both coaches with dedicated lanes. Please email our triathlon rep Anne Bennett indicating which session you would prefer.

• Orchard Lisle Pool, Guy’s Hospital, London Bridge – Monday evenings, 8-9pm. Cost: £90 for a block of 10 sessions
• Pancras Square Leisure Centre, St Pancras – Wednesday evenings, 8-9pm. Cost: £90 for a block of 12 sessions

Mile Time Trail – Tuesday 26th April

As part of the Tuesday sessions in Maida Vale, we will hold a Mile Time Trail on the Paddington Recreational Ground Track on Tuesday 26th April, starting at 19:00. There will be no size limit for this session and we will run separate waves in order to support each other. In particular we would also like to invite those who normally come to Monday Track to take part to see what progress everyone has made over recent months.

Perivale Track Mile

Our friends at Ealing Eagles Running Club are arranging an inaugural track mile at Perivale Track (UB6 8TJ) on Saturday 23rd April from 15:00. They are inviting all like-minded London running clubs, including us in Serpentine, to take part.

This is an all abilities event and no one is too slow or too fast. Starting with a family mile for our youngest runners running with their parents, then junior runners, before up to 9 further races, finishing with the fastest senior runners aiming to run sub 4:30 for a mile. There will be medals for all kids in the family race and top 3 juniors in each category, as well as top 3 male and female.

Ealing Eagles have arranged a track side bar, cheering from lane 3, and a DJ playing your favourite songs during the race, so please join this exciting new event. To enter, please follow this link.

The Last Friday of the Month 5k

The next Last Friday of the Month 5k race will be on Friday 29th April. The race starts at 12:30 near the Hyde Park Boat House. For race details, including how to register, please click here. Please note that registration normally closes before race day, and you will not be able to run without signing up in advance.

Volunteers are required to be marshals, timekeepers etc. Please contact the race organiser if you can help.

Green Belt Relay (14-15 May) – Registration continues in April

Want a great weekend running and socialising with fellow Serpies? The Green Belt Relay (14-15 May) is now ready for Serpies to register! We need 44 runners and we currently have about 10 spots left, so please register soon! You’ll take part in some beautiful runs at the surrounding areas of London, as long as you think you can run about 20 miles over 2 days (roughly 10 miles / 16km each day). Want to find out more?  Check out this webpage, or email us. To sign up – please follow this link.

Welsh Castles Relay (11-12 June)

After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the Welsh Castles Relay is back on the weekend of 10-11 June 2022. Since our launch in early March, we have decided to enter one team of 20 runners, currently we have 7 guaranteed places remaining.

Each runner will run once (each stage approx. 8-12 miles / 13-20km) over the weekend. The weekend is very social with the chance to have a great race along some scenic countryside. Along the way there are loads of sheep, castles, a fair few car parks and plenty of great Serpie company. On Friday and Saturday nights are stay as a group in B&Bs and we also organise a group meal on Saturday evening.

For more details and registration, please visit our Welsh Castles webpage, and also contact the organising team.

And finally…

The Summer League is almost upon us! Time to put these great 5-mile (8k) or 10k races in your diary. For those who have not come to the Summer League before, these are races organised among a few London running clubs, and are normally held in some great London parks over five summer Sunday mornings. This year’s provisional fixtures are here, we will communicate again once confirmed:

• Sunday 19th June – Headstone Manor 10k (organised by Metros)
• Sunday 3rd July – Perivale 5 miles (Ealing Eagles / Ealing, Southall & Middlesex Athletics Club)
• Sunday 17th July – Dulwich Park 5 miles (Dulwich Park Runners)
• Sunday 31st July – Regents Park 10k (Mornington Chasers)
• Sunday 21st August – Battersea Park 10k (organised by us Serpentine RC)

Happy Running in April,

Hans Ho

Participation Representative