Mayday, mayday!

On the last of the bank holidays our chairman Ira once again graciously decided to host a run; so I levered myself out of bed far too late and raced down to St Johns Wood. I was certain that I'd cut it too fine and would be left to run on my own but, no, luck was on my side and everyone was still warming up. For a change Ira decided to take us down to Little Venice and south towards Paddington Basin - which suited me fine as I've never run in this particular area before. Okay it's not overly scenic but the festival, with what seemed like hundreds of barges, brightened things up; as did the return of Errol fresh from constructing a business empire:

However as good as Errol looked for a man who has barely run this year things turned bad, even for him, when we got to Marble Arch and entered Hyde Park. The wind picked up and the air swirled with pollen and dust, forcing itself into our eyes and lungs while we waded ankle-deep through the discarded timber blossom. To be perfectly honest it was positively hateful and I, for one, would have welcomed a decent downpour just at that moment! Yet we persevered and headed over to the opulence of ; it's fairly astonishing that some of these monumental buildings are private residences (or as private as you can be with bountiful staff).

After this high point we swung back through Paddington again; a touch anti-climatic perhaps but if you look up, as we did, you get to see the dramatic art-deco design of the office next to the modern station. What a super piece of timeless architecture! Even so it was a relief to reach the end of the run and the end of the airborne irritation; London isn't normally this bad, thankfully, but one glance at my lawn demonstrates just how dry it has been this past month. Maybe a few drops wouldn't do us any harm (although not when I'm outside thanks).

Distance: 7.5 milesGreat Western Railway