The Monday Social Run is a sociable group run covering around either 8km or 6km, and taking no more than about an hour.  The aim is to chat and be social, and this is a great session if you are new to the club.  Come along at 7pm if it's your first time and join the first-timers briefing.

We meet at the Clubhouse at Trinity Fields (on the corner of Burntwood Lane and Beechcroft Road, see map here) for a 7:10pm start.   There are toilets and changing space, and everything is locked when we set off so you can leave bikes and belongings there while running (although please note there are sometimes other organisations using the Clubhouse and Clapham Chasers can't accept responsibility for anything left there).

We split into a number of different pace groups:

Groups 6 and 7 stop to regroup (and have a breather) along the route.  They also both have a tail runner to make sure no-one ever gets left behind.

There are currently three different route options (with a long and short version of each), and we run them on rotation:

Track is all about improving your speed, and we meet each week inside the Millennium Arena at Battersea Park by the 200m line at 7:10am and 7:20pm.  Each week there are standard and advanced options so you can tailor the session to what you need, examples include:

• Yasso: 10 x 800, off 90 secs static recovery
• Pyramid: 1200/1600/2000/1600/1200, with 70secs recovery
• Sharpeners: 14 x 400m off 70s

The session leader will gather you together and brief you on the session before dividing you into pace groups.  Remember: 

• Run in an anti-clockwise direction
• Use the inside lane for reps, unless you are overtaking
• If you are overtaking, try to do so as safely and quickly as possible, before moving back into the inside lane
• Once you have finished your rep, either move on to the infield, or one of the outer lanes (if safe to do so), as quickly as possible
• Above all, please be aware and respectful of other track users

Tempo is all about improving your endurance, helping you run further and faster before you start to fatigue from a build up of lactate in your legs. We meet outside the Millennium Arena at Battersea Park for 7:10am and 7:10pm, and gather for the session pre-brief at the junction of Carriage Drive East and Central Avenue.

The sessions will benefit runners of all abilities no matter what races they are training for but the sessions will be planned / designed (usually in 3-month blocks) depending on what races / distances people are training for at that specific time of year, i.e., the sessions will be race / distance specific.  The variety this brings helps you to train different aspects of racing like consistent pacing and picking up speed on tired legs, as well as keeping things interesting.

There are several types of sessions that we use in our Tempo runs, examples include:

• Tempo intervals, i.e., 3 x 10 minutes off a 2-minute float recovery or 3x 1 Medium / Large lap off a 90-second float recovery;
• Tempo fartleks, i.e., change of pace during a session so you run sections at Tempo pace or slightly slower or faster than Tempo pace during a session;
• Tempo pyramids, i.e., 4 mins, 8 mins, 12 mins off a 2-minute float recovery between each rep;
• Continuous Tempo runs, i.e., 20 minutes continuous

Groups and Pacing - Runners will be split into one of 5 main pace groups before the sessions (and possibly split into sub-groups as per the table below depending on numbers attending and Tempo pace which the session leader(s) will take care of) to ensure that everybody runs with those of similar abilities. 

Note that Tempo Pace is slightly slower than your 10k pace

Tempo Pace Calculator - To calculate your Tempo Pace, based on what you think you could currently complete a 10k in (based on current fitness levels), use the Tempo Pace Calculator here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-1mtdoEOvnByxUgTsglYWUknmi5OjS4J/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100502460735692744402&rtpof=true&sd=true

Detail coming soon

Throughout marathon season (January to April) we run marathon-focused sessions to build confidence and ability around those specific marathon paces.

Example sessions include:

• 4 x 5km
• 6km / 5km / 4km / 3km / 2km / 1km off 1km floats
• Half marathon at marathon pace

An alternative or addition to Super Saturday, a recommended 90 minute social long run finishing at a cafe.

this is an ideal entry into longer running if you're newer to endurance training or building up slowly before your event (e.g. early stages marathon training). It is also a good addition to the weekend for more experienced runners who want to back up their Saturday session with a second, more conversationally paced run.

As with Monday social, we break into pace groups before regrouping for coffee at the end.