LCC RUNNERS: Grand Union Canal, Paddington to King's Cross [4km] INTERMEDIATE
Details
Hello runners and welcome back to LCC's Running Club! For our next weekend outing, we're trying something new with a nice, flat run on London's famous Grand Union Canal towpath, right through the heart of the city. This is a flat one, suitable for beginners and intermediate experience levels. We'll be looking at a roughly 45-60 minute run, covering around 4 kilometres with about half a kilometre of cool-down walking at the end.
Our route will take us from Paddington station, north along the towpath on past Regent's Park and down south again to finish as we approach King's Cross Station.
All are welcome - we're running to build community, not break records, so no one will be left behind! I'll be bringing plenty of water along with me, so if you forget yours, fear not. Bathrooms facilities will be available at Paddington and King's Cross stations.
Our standard bit of info about our running group and why it's good is provided below:
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Humans evolved to run and sprint; no wonder then that when we do it regularly (within moderation and with plenty of rest days), our brains as well as bodies thank us. Running has recently been shown to improve neuroplasticity, heal brain damage in affected individuals, and foster better mental health including elevated mood at rest and enhanced task-switching ability. Doing all this in nature, as opposed to busy London roads dodging commuters and street cleaners, also helps deliver the well-known benefits of time spent in nature to mood, anxiety levels, cognition and memory. All these things matter a great deal in an age where burnout and exhaustion are a constant presence either in our own lives or those of the people we care about [who you should totally invite along]. It matters especially for people trying to eke out a percentage of their time and mental capacity for transformative social and political organising: the better we feel, the more we'll be able to do.
In a nutshell, running is great for you and you should do it. Trail running is even better. Best of all is doing all this with a supportive group of comrades, especially one which includes knowledgeable folks who can provide some structure to what can be a puzzling sport to get started with if building up to something, like a 10k or half marathon, is your goal. Part of our running group's programming will be building a series of events aimed at building people up, slowly but surely, towards specific goals, using progressive programmes similar to the NHS's Couch to 5k system.
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Take care and see you on the trails!