One of the pleasing things to observe in Stanmore Jafferys over the last 2 years has been the rise of SJ Cycling in our community. As an avid Strava user, you’re left to marvel at all the different rides people are undertaking. But there has always been one that has stood out for me. The famous ride to Windsor! And when I sit and admire what people are doing on two wheels, I reflect on what we can do with our feet.
So one Sunday morning, having seen this ride dominate my Strava feed, I had the (crazy?) idea of plotting a running route from my house, in Ruislip, to Windsor Castle. And lo and behold, and to my surprise, it turned out to be just over 21km, exactly half-marathon distance. I thought to myself, “I’ve done this before, surely I can do it again and wouldn’t it be even better to do it with a group of runners”.
A few phone calls later, we had a WA group, a route, a date and most importantly 8 committed runners. We set off at 7.45am on 2 August and all of us finished safely by 10am. The route was scenic, the company was terrific and the feeling of finishing on Castle Hill outside Windsor felt like a truly royal accomplishment. Some of us even used it as a picnic opportunity with our families who came to drive us back home.
As SJ Running starts out on its journey, the opportunities, challenges, and events we can offer to all our runners are endless. But the ones we organise ourselves, that do not exist in traditional race calendars, will need refining and testing. This was a fantastic way to trial a future route and who knows, to even put it on as a joint event with SJ Cycling in the future. I mean, why reinvent the wheel when it already exists?
When I asked each of the runners how they felt at the end, one word continuously appeared “Buzzing!”. I hope in good time SJ Running can share the ‘runners high’.
Ali Momin
SJ Running
To find out more about SJ Running, Strava Club (https://www.strava.com/clubs/StanmoreJafferysRunning)
