The Crew Cut

Now that the clocks have changed, and the sun has started streaming through the windows in the morning, the team at Crewroom can't wait to get into their running kit and hit the trails. Living in London - some people think it's not possible to find a good trail running route, and so either always pound the pavement or wind up on the treadmill in the gym. We're here to disprove that theory and give you some Spring time inspiration! Here are our favourite trails in London, and a short distance from London to get you off the beaten track in the middle of the urban jungle: The Capital Ring: a 78 mile route spanning the boroughs of Greater London. All sections are within a distance of tube stations making it easy to jump on and off easily. If you want a challenge, try the uphill 10km from Wimbledon to Richmond, great for the historic landscapes and odd deer sightings! North Downs: The train from Clapham Junction can have you in Guildford in under half an hour. From there, make your way through the town and up a hill Pewley Down and it's view of the North Downs. A 153 mile trail between Farnham and Dover and is one of the major National Trails in England and Wales. Bushey Park: Head out past Richmond and you're in Teddington, where you'll find Bushey Park - which we've heard more than one person say is a trail runners dream. Also accessible on mainlines, a short walk from Hampton Court Station. Hampstead Heath: If you are really tied for time, and that 30 minutes to get to one of the two above trails is time best spent running, we've just the place for you that is simply central. Hampstead Heath in Zone 2, is a 2 minute walk from it's overground station. By hitting the perimeter of the Heath you can stick on trails, grass and woodland for at least 5km. The variety of trails is so vast, it's possible to run twice that distance back and forth over the Heath without retracing any steps. Pick your time for this trail if you want to avoid weekend picnickers. Lee Valley Park: Finally, if it's a river run you're after - without the concrete of the South Bank or Bustle of the Embankment, you can head East to Waltham Cross and pick up the tow path at Lee Valley Whitewater Centre and run north around the edge of Bowyers Water. Lee Valley Park offers 26 miles of riverside trails. Trails vary in length, and how long you yourself plan to be out on them - but it's important to come prepared! Don' forget: Water Energy bars Rain jacket: With English weather, we all know it can be unpredictable. Prepare for any inevitability with either our Microlight Drizzle Jacket or our wind and water resistant Evertek Grid Trail Jacket. Warm layer: Keep your core warm - especially on the return journey home with our thermal Seadog base and mid layers Money: because you never know when you might need it. Your phone A sense of humour!

After a few classes last year, we've brought Yoga back to Crewroom by popular demand. Starting Saturdays a 9:30am, and followed by our increasingly infamous (in Putney anyway!) brunch! If you're thinking about joining our Yoga class and you're new to Yoga, here are to top tips to bring along to your first yoga session... Breathe: There is a lot to learn about how breathe healthily in yoga. Breathe into your whole body in the poses and relax. Be aware of the space around you: Leave enough space, so that if you do lose your balance – you won't knock your neighbour! Laugh it out! Yoga is a focused meditative activity, but here at Crewroom we don't take ourselves too seriously. If a pose makes you feel awkward or stiff at first, we don't begrudge a giggle! Don't overstretch yourself: Don't push yourself to do anything which feels harmful to your body. Talk to our yoga teacher about any poses to avoid in certain circumstances such as if you're pregnant or have an injury. Wear comfortable clothing: As you'll be stretching in every direction, it's important to wear something that won't restrict your movement. If in doubt, check out Crewroom's (products here) We look forward to seeing you at our Saturday Class, and we'd love to hear your feedback afterwards during brunch! Check back to the Crewroom blog soon – we'll be sharing photos from all of our Crewroom activities! Namaste folks!

Many of you will remember seeing our faithful Mazda Bongo out and about during the event season. It was pretty hard to miss with all the colourful Crewroom bubbles covering the van. Well, it served us proud but it was time to trade it in for something a bit more sturdy and reliable. In keeping with tradition, we made sure our new truck was equally as noticeable so we gave it a chrome wrap. Now that's something you definitely won't miss!

You might have noticed by now, since the opening of our hub on the embankment in Putney, slowly but surely we've had more and more to offer by way of daytime and evening classes, groups and events. All the friends of Crewroom will know that we're all about building the community of people around us, and encouraging everyone to come and get involved, from our run club (and that all important breakfast after run club!) to our twice weekly core classes with Paul, and our new Pilates class on Wednesdays with Laoeny. In 2014, we only want to get bigger and better, and are calling on all personal trainers and fitness instructors to bring their skills and classes on down to the hub and host your class right here!

Excitement was building around the hub for sometime, our first year on the embankment for the UK’s biggest autumn rowing event; Fours Head of the River Race, and we were not disappointed. The weather, threatening at times, but managed to hold out; we put up the marquee, stocked to the brim with the JL thermo tops and leggings, put the tea on and waited with baited breath for the crew. Checkout some images from the day: http://www.jetphotographic.com/browsecat.php?id=10133 This year the Tideway Scullers, with a quad full of Olympians took the 59th title with a 24-second victory across the 4.25 mile reverse Boat Race course – quite something to cheers our tea to we thought! We hope you enjoyed it too, we’d love to see your photos from the day, you can tweet them to us on @Crewroom

Here at the Crewroom hub you will have noticed we’ve started to take advantage of our new space in more ways than one! Our classes have expanded from just Run Club on Saturday’s to Core Classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7-8pm. Run by our lovely friend Paul Gascoyne, the new class aims to help anyone up for the challenge improve on various levels, whether it’s building strength, improving fitness or just to improve your overall heath and well being. As always, the Crewroom team wanted to get in what looked like it could be fun – let’s face it, we’ve never been ones to watch from the sidelines, and the outcome….