If you are staying local over the October half term, how about going on an scavenger hunt run (or walk) around Wimbledon Common/Village with family and friends? The hunt is all about Wells, ponds, memorials and camps! You can download a copy here.

Start and finish the scavenger hunt run/walk outside the Windmill Cafe on the Common and see how many places of interest you can find in one hour. If you do the hunt with family members, you can split into teams and have a reward for the winning team who has photo proofs of their finds. Enjoy!

Over the past week it’s been tricky for some navigating the puddles and mud while running on the Common.  So I asked Sporting Feet for their recommendations and they confirmed that the Brooks Cascadia and Asics Sonoma continue to be the most popular shoes. At the moment some of these shoes are discounted so it might be worth looking now!

As a reminder, a trail running shoe is an off road shoe with better grip and waterproofing. The most waterproof of all have a Gore-tex upper but they aren’t water-resistant. Sporting Feet have a good range of trail shoes in store, from Asics, Brooks, Adidas and Salomon. As mentioned, their two best selling trail shoes are the Brooks Cascadia 16 and the Asics Sonoma 6 GTX (or previous models) and these are ideal for winter running on local terrain like the Common.

The Brooks Cascadia is non Gore-tex (as some runners prefer a shoe that lets water out as some water is going to get in anyway) and is a really comfortable, well cushioned ‘road to trail’ shoe. It has great grip and can be worn in tough trail conditions but it is also a good ‘hybrid’ shoe that can be worn for some road running too – an ideal winter shoe.

The Asics Sonoma 6 GTX is an affordable, pretty lightweight Gore-tex shoe so it is more waterproof. Again, it’s tread is not so aggressive and makes a really good winter, hybrid shoe.

if you need advice on the best trail shoes to go for including sizing as some trail shoes come up small, please call Sporting Feet on 020 8780 0558. Please remember your 10% discount by using the code ‘CR10’. 

On Friday 5 November we are going on a 10k run through the Royal Parks in London. This run will be slightly different from our previous Royal Parks run in 2017!

The run will start at Kensington Palace and finish at the Embankment with tea/cake at a cafe overlooking the Thames. We’ll head to the Diana Memorial Playground, run along the Serpentine, into Hyde Park, pass Marble Arch, into Green Park and St James Park before running along the towpath/roads to the Embankment. As always, there will be plenty of stops along the way.

The cost of the run is £10 and there’s a maximum of 12 places. Please let me know if you’re interested in joining us.

To maintain your fitness over the summer, ideally you need to continue running and/or take part in some activity such as walking, swimming, cycling. Below are a few ways to keep you motivated:

* join our MIXED ABILITY, PAY-AS-YOU-GO classes (£12) on Tuesday evenings at 7pm throughout August: 10/8, 17/8, 24/8, 31/8. I will send a reminder email the day before each class – just let me know if you are coming then. Payment can be made to the usual account or in cash on the night.

* have a 1-2-1 or shared slot with a friend – please just email me for availability

* join our online Strength & Conditioning classes on Thursday mornings at 8.30am in August – on the 19/8 and 26/8. Classes are £10 and payment can be made to the usual account.

* sign up for the PARKRUN, a free 5k run every Saturday at 9am on Wimbledon Common

* discover new routes in Wimbledon and beyond and share with everyone!

New running courses: Monday 6 September – Friday 17 December 2021

The new term starts on Monday 6 September and finishes on Friday 17 December. It’s a 14 week term excluding half term and costs £182 (daytime & evening class only) OR £196 (including a weekly social run).

Here’s a reminder of the classes on offer:
* Monday @9.30am (improvers 3)
* Monday @10.30am (beginners)
* Tuesday @8.30am (improvers 1)
* Tuesday @7pm (improvers mixed ability)
* Thursday @10.30am (improvers 2)
* Fridays @9.30am (mixed ability social run)

If you would like to renew/join, please complete a health form. You can pay by Bacs to the usual account – please reference your name. For more information please email info@commonrunners.co.uk

* Towpath 10k run: On Friday 17 September @9.30/10am, starting at Putney Bridge and finishing in Vauxhall where we will head for coffee and cakes. £10 for the run. Please register your interest.

*London trail run: On Friday 8 October @10am. More information to follow

* London 10k run: In November (tbc).

* Xmas scavenger hunt run: On Thursday 2 December @7pm

We are taking part in the Captain Tom 100 challenge and raising funds for the Foundation.

At our social run on FRIDAY 30 APRIL 2021 @9.30am we will be running 10k (100m x100)! Everyone is invited to take part – running 10k or sharing the distance with a friend. We will use the Parkrun route for our challenge where one lap equals 2.5k.

We will split into groups in order to comply with current restrictions. Donations to The Foundation can be made direct – please click here.

Although restrictions are easing on 29 March (fingers crossed), we are still expected to ‘stay local’ so how about going on an Easter themed scavenger hunt run (or walk) around Wimbledon with family and friends? The hunt is all about Easter symbols and places of worship in Wimbledon. You can download a copy here.

Start and finish the scavenger hunt run/walk in the centre of Wimbledon Village and see how many Easter symbols and places of worship you can find in one hour. If you do the hunt with family members, you can split into teams and have a reward for the winning team who has photo proofs of their finds. Enjoy!

March run challenge to celebrate women and to get fit!

Running can be a challenge and I know that many of you have found it especially hard over the past year. To mark International Women’s Day on the 8 March and to get fit for our Easter classes starting on 29 March, I would like you to enter our MARCH RUN CHALLENGE via Running Woman.

Why not challenge yourself to run 25k, 50k and beyond during March? If you think that you can run 25k then go for 50k and if you can run 50k then go for 75k! International Women’s Day is all about challenging yourself for change so let’s go for the unthinkable!

I HAVE JUST ENTERED THE 150K RUN CHALLENGE!!

How to enter: go to the Running Woman website, choose your distance, record your runs on your watch/through Strava/running app, submit your final total at the end of the month and receive a medal! The cost of entering is £10.

While completing your challenge, it would be great if you could share your efforts along the way via Common Runners’ private group page on Facebook. Alternatively, just send me an update and I will share to all. To encourage each other, you may want to share distances, routes, who you ran with etc.

New running courses: Monday 19 April – Friday 30 July 2021

The new term starts on Monday 19 April and finishes on Friday 30 July. It’s a 14 week term excluding half term and costs £182 for day runners and £168 for evening runners as there is no social run on offer.

Here’s a reminder of the classes on offer:
* Monday @9.30am (improvers 2)
* Monday @10.30am (beginners)
* Tuesday @8.30am (improvers 1)
* Tuesday @9.30am (improvers 3)
* Tuesday @7pm (improvers mixed ability)
* Thursday @10.30am (improvers 1)
* Fridays @9.30am (mixed ability social run)

If you would like to renew/join, please complete a health form. You can pay by Bacs to the usual account – please reference your name. For more information please email info@commonrunners.co.uk