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INTERVIEW WITH THE FOUNDERS OF SECRET LONDON RUNS

7/11/2015

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Every runner knows that the best way to see a city is to run it. Better yet ... run that city with someone who knows the place inside and out and can point out all the little sights and historical tidbits that you'd otherwise miss. Which is why the recently launched Secret Runs London is such an exciting concept. 

Hayden Shearman caught up with cofounders Amy Coats and Vanessa Cain about how they've combined their self-confessed "running and history nerdy-ness" to form Secret Runs London.  
 
The London walking tour is something of an institution, but what sparked your interest in starting a running/jogging tour?
We love running, exploring, and telling stories. And there’s so much about iconic London that people just don’t know.
 
We’ve both travelled a lot—for work and play—and always take our running shoes. There is nothing like getting a sweat on and truly waking up before an important meeting, or working up an appetite for a local food feast. But all too often, they end up unused or pounding the hotel gym treadmill—very boring! 
 
If you don’t know much about the city, it’s hard to know where to go to make the most of your time. You could be dodging hordes of tourists or feeling unsafe in a dodgy part of town, or getting lost and ending up late for the meeting. If you’ve just got a few days to spend, and want to learn about the city you’re visiting, whilst getting in a bit of exercise, running tours are ideal.
 
So we found sight jogging—a combination of running and urban exploration—perfect! And it’s getting pretty big. Most capitals worldwide have a serious and thriving sight jogging scene. But there’s not much up and running in London. Which is strange because people in London—both visitors and dwellers—love exploring and doing fun stuff; murder mystery challenges, experiential theatre and cinema, and general pop-up fun.
 
We both studied history and philosophy at university and we love learning about the lives and tales of times gone by. So Vanessa and I decided to put our running and history nerdy-ness to good use! We show people a different side to London.
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And what about the "Secret" in the title? Without giving away the punchline, what mysteries can runners expect to uncover on the tours? 
London is an amazing and iconic city. But behind every famous sight lies a dazzlingly rich history, and some incredible stories. Tales that are tucked behind walls and beneath pavements, through gateways and down stairs, under rickety cobbles and surrounded by grand facades. 
 
It’s a shame that you can be standing in a spot where some amazing tales have been lived and never know it! We know a lot about these secret sights and hidden histories, and we want to share them. 
 
For example, one of our tours explores the area south of the City, which has historically been the preferred place for all the activities that the city didn’t want within its wealthier boundaries. For example, with the leather industry came an influx of people, poverty and unrivalled stench from the craft. We visit a number of signs to show what life was like in this era, including the remains of the Marshalsea—the debtors gaol inhabited by Charles Dickens’ family when he was 12 years old.
 
Speaking of mysteries, can you help with the mystery of why my marathon PB refuses to budge?!?
Urm… *cough * age? *cough* sorry, can’t help you there - some mysteries will never be solved!
 
Let's go back a little, what got you into running?
Both of us have very different running backgrounds! I used to hate and dread P.E. at school, especially team sports. My two buddies and I would hide in the girls' toilets to avoid it! But near the end of school, and when I got to uni, I started running to get out moving and rid of some stress between studying. I think then I realised that running is about freedom—no one’s telling you when, where and for how long. It’s pure freedom, and free endorphins, and I started to love it! 
 
Vanessa is basically the opposite, she’s been hugely into team sports since she was little, so running has always been great training for hockey, netball, basketball etc. I gawk in disbelief when she tells me stories of how their knees used to bleed with the cold at matches on winter mornings.
 
Since we met on our first day at university, Vanessa and I have done lots of running together—obstacle course race like Spartan challenge, beer belly running events, marathons, and just generally pootling round the big smoke.
 
What do you love about being a runner in London? 
London is one of the most diverse, buzzing, and cultural cities in the world. On top of that, it also ranks in the top five for greatest proportion of green public space, so as well as being an urban jungle with tons of nooks to explore, you’re never too far from a bit of grass to run on. 
 
Although running can be great for having some away from it all, it’s also nice because there are generally lots of runners about, whatever time of day.
 
Aside from one (or three) of your running tours, what is the must-run spot (a park, canal, cemetery?!) in London for visiting runners? 
I’d say Battersea Park. It’s just lovely, all year round. Beautiful old tress, fountains, lakes, tropical gardens, and lots of quiet spots to stop for a stretch, as well as water fountains and clean loos! Run the peace mile along the river and past a giant golden Buddha statue, and you can often smell incense burning. If you go near dusk, you can see the old candy yellow and baby blue Albert Bridge, stunningly lit up. [Read more on running in Battersea Park.]

Do runners need to be at a certain fitness level to enjoy the Secret London Runs? 
Nope, not at all. It’s all about exploring at your own pace and having fun. We have a quick talk at the start about the pace people prefer. The group tours generally have around 3 to 5 people, so it’s easy to adjust the pace to make sure everyone’s happy, and gets a decent run without being too breathless to enjoy the stories along the way.
 
Some people prefer to run and listen as they go but most people prefer to stop and listen to the guide, so there are plenty of breaks!
 
Is it just for visitors or can locals come along too?
Both! Sightjogging helps you make the most of your time here—whether you’re a tourist or a Londoner. We’ve been featured in TripAdvisor, Timeout, Londonist, and lots of other websites aimed at helping find out what’s on, whether they live here or are just visiting.

Secret London Runs is a company that gives guided running tours, exploring London’s secret sights and hidden history. www.secretlondonruns.com ​
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THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO LOVING RUNNING

5/10/2015

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By Hayden Shearman // One of running’s eternal impediments is that people just don’t like to run. Plain and simple. It's painful, it chaffs, it bounces, it sweats, it smells, it injures.

At face value running doesn't have much going for it for the beginner runner. Hence why only 5.5 per cent of Londoners run regularly. 

So if you're new to running and you've heard all these tales of blissful runner's highs and magical marathon experiences, how do you work your way through the mire to find the elusive pot of running gold at the tip of this seemingly endless rainbow of running pain?
 
As a running coach, I've guided hundreds of new runners to their goals and I'd argue that three things help people develop a lifetime love of running:
1. Running in beautiful paces
2. Running with great company
3. Running with a goal
 
Thankfully, London is a place that can easily meet all three of these goals.

Beautiful Places
Thanks to its flat-to-rolling terrain and its abundance of great parks, it has truly world-class running routes. Bushy Park, Richmond Park, the Thames Path, the Green Chain, Hampstead Heath and I could go on—all of them are fantastic and just waiting for you and your trainers to enjoy their trails.

Great Company
London also has a wonderful running community with over 40 parkruns, 100s of running clubs and running groups to suit all abilities and speeds, and races every other day. There are almost half a million runners in this city, so there are bound to be at least one or two runners out there who happen to share both your running speed and your unique sense of humour! 

Goals
The great thing about running is that you can track your progress very easily. Unlike looking in the mirror or weighing yourself on scales, the stop watch is a trustworthy and objective measure of your fitness. However, before you get to the stage of beating personal best times, it's a good ideas to challenge yourself to complete distances.

After a few weeks of running you might start with completing your first non-stop 5k (or 3mi). Then step up to something longer like 6mi. A great inner city route to do 6mi is to start from London Bridge and run a loop out to Westminster Bridge and back (4.4mi), then complete the figure-of-eight by running over Tower Bridge and back to London Bridge (1.6mi).

Putting Them Together
The fun really kicks in when you combine scenery, company and a distance goal. And with so many beautiful parks around London, why not set about rounding up a few friends to complete a perimeter of the park and gradually tick them off your bucket list?

Greenwich Park (2mi), Regent's Park (with Primrose Hill, 4.0mi), Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens (4.3mi), Bushy Park (6.6mi), Richmond Park (7.25mi)—plus many more (here's a list of park perimeter distances).  

Falling in Love
Now you've got these three weapons in your running arsenal (of scenery, company and goals), aim to achieve one goal on every run you do. So if you're running three times a week, the first might be a social run with a friend chatting the whole way, the next run might be a venture along a canal on a sunny morning or an autumnal explore through a nearby woodland, and the final run of the week will be a parkrun where you either go for distance (first 5k non-stop) or for time. 

Try utilising one of these tools during your three runs each week and keep it up for three weeks. After that I guarantee you'll be starting to get a wee sniff of that elusive runner's high!

Let me know how you get on!


-- Hayden Shearman
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10 PARKS EVERY LONDONER SHOULD RUN

19/3/2015

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By Hayden Shearman (This post was originally published on the Get Active London blog.)

London has more green space than any other city on the planet. I learnt this the hard way when setting out to write a book about its top running spots—the book soon grew and grew because there were just so many incredible places to run. 

The following top-10 list could have included all the well-publicished central running havens (like Hyde, St James's, Regent's and Victoria Parks) and the mega parks out west (Bushy and Richmond) but chances are you already know about them and one of the things I love about running is the ability to explore new environments. So what lesser known parks should all Londoners explore?

Well, here is my top 10. I could have easily have made this list a top-40 rather than top-10, but these 10 will get you started and I'm sure make you hungry to explore more of London's hidden treasures.

Note: We've included the list below, but to read a full description of each park read the Get Active London blog. 
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1. RUISLIP WOODS
Location: Ruislip (16.7mi NW of central London) 
Perimeter Distance: 9.0mi (when combined with Park, Copse, Mad Bess and Bayhurst Woods)

2. HOME PARK
Location: Kingston Upon Thames (11.8mi SW of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 5mi

3. HORNCHURCH COUNTRY PARK
Location: Hornchurch (15.8mi E of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 2.5mi

4. WIMBLEDON COMMON
Location: Wimbledon (8.1mi southwest of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 7.8mi

5. HAMPSTEAD HEATH
Location: Highgate (4.6mi N of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 8.0mi

6. GREENWICH PARK
Location: Greenwich (6.7mi SE of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 2mi (around Greenwich Park only)

7. CRYSTAL PALACE PARK
Location: Crystal Palace (7mi S of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 2.05mi

8. FRYENT COUNTRY PARK
Location: Kingsbury (9.1mi NW of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 2.3mi

9. DANSON PARK
Location: Bexleyheath (11.7mi southeast of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 2.4mi

10. QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK 
Location: Stratford (5.8mi NE of central London)
Perimeter Distance: 3.6mi (following the art trail starting and finishing at Westfield) 

Hayden Shearman is the author of the new book Runner's Guide to London, which is the ultimate companion for exploring the runner's playground that is London (features over 120 London running routes and parks). www.runnersguidetolondon.co.uk
Wimbledon Common
Hayden enjoying the soft running surfaces of Wimbledon Common.
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CEMETERY RUNNING IN LONDON

15/3/2015

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By Paul Browning // Cemeteries may seem odd places to run—and the relatively bleak regimented lines of modern cemeteries are probably places to avoid—but many of London’s Victorian cemeteries make ideal locations: peaceful, off-road running, with an incredible range of flora and fauna.

Southeast London has two fantastic examples: Nunhead and Brockley & Ladywell. 

Nunhead is one of London’s Magnificent Seven, nothing to do with the classic 1960s Western with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, but the series of large Victorian Cemeteries created in the 1840s around the, then, periphery of London, as the city’s churchyards became full.  

Nunhead was sadly neglected and closed for decades by its private owners before being restored by Southwark Council with Heritage Lottery funding and re-opened in 2001.  It is a lovely mixture of heavily over-grown, quite formal and some fantastic vistas, such as this one of St Paul’s Cathedral.
View from Nunhead
The view north to St Paul's Cathedral and a Nunhead Cemetery angel battling the elements to stay in one piece.
The excellent Go Feet Blog has already suggested a running route around Nunhead so I will cover its younger sibling.

Brockely and Ladywell was originally two cemeteries that opened in 1858 within a month or two of each other. Serving two neighbouring local authorities, they were originally separated by a wall and became a single unit after WWII. There are around 17,000 graves there.

When I run at Brockley and Ladywell I rarely have a route in my mind, I just ‘drift’ and see where my feet take me, pausing to either try to find a particular grave or to look at an inscription.
Create Maps or Search for a route from millions at MapMyRun
If you want a structured run around the cemetery, I would start with a 1.2 mile loop that largely follows the perimeter. There are clear paths for most of this except needing to cross a grassed area close to Ivy Road where the original boundary wall between the two cemeteries lay. Towards the end of the loop, at the top of a path coming in from your right, is the Hillier family tomb—one of those buried there was George Lacy Hillier who was for a time the fastest British amateur cyclist. 

Follow the main ‘road’ back into the cemetery, keeping slightly to the right of the ‘cross of sacrifice’ WWI memorial to another low walled WWI memorial around some carefully manicured grass—somewhere I always pause.  It includes the names of Alfred Figes (who served as William Word) and may well have been the oldest WWI soldier, and Charles Cox, an Army Cyclist, whom I wrote about in Running Past.
WWI Cyclist & Figes
WWI cyclist who died in the war and then check out the age of Alfred Figes.
You could then pass the grave of decadent poet Ernest Dowson, who once observed that "absinthe makes the tart grow fonder." Close by, and often masked by long grass in summer is the grave of the Cuban anarchist and writer, Fernando Tarrida del Mármol.  After running through a wooded area you will see a clearing which has a tall column and an almost cherubic figure on top, you’ll need to be careful going across the graves to get there.  It is a memorial to Jane Clouson who was brutally murdered in Eltham in 1871.  It was a story I wrote about a few months ago in Running Past.
Dowson Marmol Clouson
Poet Ernest Dowson; Cuban anarchist and writer, Fernando Tarrida del Mármol; and murdered 17-year-old, Jane Clouson (right).
After a visit to the Brockely WWI memorial, which is just beyond the Clouson Memorial, slightly retrace your steps and head back towards the start.  You will have covered around a couple of miles in total. If you want to extend your run there are plenty of more paths in the cemetery or a couple of excellent local parks (Hilly Fields and Ladywell Fields).  If you want a longer run, Nunhead Cemetery is just over a mile away to the west.

The same route is never the same run; a path that can seem bleak in the winter, may have naturalised flowers climbing and tumbling over graves in the summer, a golden carpet of fallen leaves in the autumn that requires a little more care when running or have a mass of croci in the spring. 
Brockley and Ladywell
The four seasons of Brockley and Ladywell.
A few words of warning though, don’t let your running intrude on the grief or remembrance of others, always give funerals a wide berth and try to do the same with those visiting graves of loved ones. 
Running Past blog
ABOUT ME
I’m a club runner with Beckenham RC and Veterans AC and have been running for over 20 years racing distances from 5k to marathon, but as I have got older (and slowed down) I use my longer runs to explore the history of southeast London which I blog about at Running Past.
GETTING THERE
Nearest Stations: Crofton Park about 5 minutes walk away from the Brockley Road entrance, Brockley is about 10 minutes from the same entrance, and Ladywell Stations is about 10 minutes walk from the Ladywell Road entrance. 

Buses: The buses convenient for the Brockley Road entrance are: 122, 171, 172; P4 and 122 with a short from Prendergast School down St Cyprians Passage and then left along Ivy Road) are those best for the Ladywell Road gate.
Car: There is limited parking at the Ladywell Road entrance – the postcode for satnavs is SE13 7HY.

OPENING HOURS
March to October: 10am–4.30 pm daily
November to February: 10am–3.30pm daily

FINDING OUT MORE
If you want to find out more about London cemeteries a great place to start is one of my favourite blogs, Flickering Lamps. As for Ladywell and Brockley, their ‘Friends’ have an excellent website, as do Nunhead’s Friends.
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LONDON'S 5 MOST ROMANTIC RUNNING ROUTES

12/2/2015

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By Hayden Shearman // We all know that the most romantic thing you can possibly do on Valentine's Day is meet up with that special someone at some place nice and then get very sweaty together … [cough] … by going running. Here are my top spots for running in London this Valentine's Day: 

Hampstead Heath, perimeter 8.0mi (13k)
Lose yourselves in acre-upon-rolling-acre of woodlands and lakes. The views from Parliament Hill and the Pergola (West Heath) provide ideal picnic material, if only it wasn't February and so flipping freezing! 
Pros: Great views and great for romantic explorations. 
Cons: Some trails will be muddy. He or she may not like that, so be careful how you frame the comment "let's get dirty today". 

Home Park (Hampton Court Park), perimeter 5.0mi (8k)
The quieter of the Royal Parks, this is the ideal spot for some deep-and-meaningfuls while jogging through the gently waving grasses, past the glistening Long Water as herds of grazing wild deer watch you run by. 
Pros: Solitude (relatively speaking) and opportunity for a sweaty snog in front of a palace.
Cons: Your date may not be into sweaty snogs (pre-run snogs are usually your best bet). 

High Elms Country Park, perimeter 2.3mi (3.6k)
A nature reserve amongst sublime Bromley countryside. Start with a lap of the High Elms Trail and then run south to Charles Darwin's House where you can elaborate on the evolution of your love for each other (better not mention anything about survival of the fittest though). 
Pros: Feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. 
Cons: Is a world a way from the city by the time you've caught the train to Chelsfield and then jogged 2.0mi to the park (might want to take the car to this one!). 

Valentines Park, perimeter 2.0mi (3.2k)
This east London park (in Ilford) has 50ha of formal parkland, a boating lake, plenty of ducks to feed, a palace, and two lovely cafes to grab brunch. Plus Wanstead Park is just 0.6mi to the west, meaning you can take your date on a big adventure through the southern reaches of Epping Forest and finish at this cute spot. 
Pros: Everything you'd expect from a park bearing this name. 
Cons: Everyone else in Redbridge will probably bring their Valentine here as well. 

Greenwich Park, perimeter 2.0mi (3.2k)
Nothing says "I love you" like running to the end of the world for the love of your life. Here you can technically do just that by running to our planet's longitudinal zero. Also add-on a trip under the Thames via the foot tunnel near the Cutty Sark. And if you're all starry-eyed, why not top off your run with a visit to the observatory?
Pros: Greenwich has that royal air about it that shows how much you care for your prince or princess. 
Cons: Don't try to beat your Valentine to the top of the hills—this is not the time to impress them with your incredibly advanced VO2max … save that for later… [cough]. 
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Run off into the sunset together at Home Park.
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