London Borough Challenge

The London Borough Challenge

Most of you reading this will know that the idea of Run the World is to complete a 10 km run in all 206 countries in the world. Many of you will also know that we’ve decided to add an additional 44 runs in the UK to take the global total to 250 runs.

Why? Because 250 runs is equivalent to running 2 500 000 metres. Which is a metre for every one of the two and a half million cancer sufferers in the UK.

All well and good but the question we’ve been asking ourselves at Run the World HQ is : where should those 44 UK runs take place? And part of the answer – three-quarters to be exact – is that 33 of them will take place in London. One in each of the 32 London boroughs plus one in the City of London.

We’re calling this the ‘London Borough Challenge’ and we’re really hoping that everyone will take part in some – or all – of the LBC!

As the LBC is part of Run the World, the objectives remain the same:

• Raising funds for Cancer Research
• Promoting an active, healthy lifestyle

If you’d like to contribute to Cancer Research’s vital work – and, if you live in the UK, you really should because half of us are going to get cancer at some stage in our lives – then please donate here. Alternatively, buy a Run the World t shirt on one of the runs. They cost £20 – or less if that’s more than you can afford – and 100% of the proceeds go to Cancer Research.

We’re approaching the second objective – promoting an active, healthy lifestyle – by focusing on two main areas. Firstly, by doing school talks in as many boroughs as possible. (Please do get in touch if you know a school that might like a Run the World healthy living talk – quotes and references can be seen here .)

Secondly, by running with different running groups all over London and helping increase awareness of all the amazing running opportunities there are in London.

And it wasn’t until we started researching this second idea that we realised quite how extraordinary the running scene is in London. There are social running groups ; there are groups that combine running with doing good ; there are serious athletics clubs ; there are charity runs ; there are groups that reward you for running. There’s everything you can think of – and more. And many, if not most, of them are free and open to everyone.

Over the next few weeks and months I’ll be doing detailed blogs about the runs and organisations in question. But, for the moment, there’s a list of some of the organisations we’re talking to and a time-table for the first few runs at the top of the blog. Please get in touch if you think you might like to join any of the runs so I can let the organisers know. (Don’t worry if you’re going to miss one of the boroughs – I’ll likely be doing more than one run in most of the central boroughs.)

We’re in talks with all sorts of other organisations, and new dates will be coming out regularly, so please like Run the World on Facebook or follow on Twitter for all the news and updates!

Schedule 

New dates will be coming out regularly, so please like Run the World on Facebook or follow on Twitter for all the news and updates!

• Friday Apr 26^th : Project Awesome (‘Kickstarting your day the Awesome way!’) ; meet 6.30 am on top of Primrose Hill ; Borough of Camden
• Saturday April 27th : London Hash House Harriers  (the London kennel of the legendary Hash House Harriers) ; meet at 12.00 at the The Cock, by Cockfosters tube station ; Borough of Enfield
• Tuesday May 7^th : London City Runners (‘the largest free running club in London’) ; meet 6.45-7pm  for 7.15 pm start ; 130, Druid St, SE1 ; Borough of Southwark
• Monday May 13th : London Frontrunners (‘London’s inclusive running club for LGBT+ and gay-friendly people’) ;  6.45pm for 7pm start ; The Castle Centre, 2 St Gabriel Walk, London, SE1 6FG ; Borough of Lambeth
• Tuesday May 21st : Midnight Runners (’10k music boot camp run’) ; meet at St Paul’s tube station at 7pm
• Thursday May 23rd : Backpackers Running (‘setting out to show the world that the warriors at the back of the pack are just as worthy, and worth celebrating, as those at the front’) ; Asics store, 249-251, Regent St.
• Friday May 31^st : Plogolution (‘Join the Plogolution : run / walk and pick up rubbish’) ; all day ; ultra plog ; Staines – Putney along the Thames ; Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames
• Monday June 24th : OneTrack Club (‘turbo charge your speed and endurance’) ; 18.45-20.00 ; Duke of York Square track ; Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
• Tuesday July 2nd : Little Heath School ; Borough of Redbridge
• Sunday 7th July : Cancer Research Race for Life 10km  ; 11.00 am, Lloyd Park, Croydon ; Borough of Croydon
• Monday 15th July : London Hash House Harriers  (the London kennel of the legendary Hash House Harriers) ; meet at 7pm at the Harrow Inn, Cheam ; Borough of Sutton
• Saturday 31st August : Morden Park Pretty Muddy ; 11.30 am Morden Park , Morden  ; Borough of Merton
• Date TBC : Camden Brewery ‘Run Like Hells’
• Date TBC : GoodGym (‘Do good, get fit’)

Hope to see you on one of the runs!