Recommended by: Rob Smith
Where is it?
From Tower Hill tube station to Gloucester Road tube station.
Come out of Tower Hill and you’ll see the Tower of London in front of you. Turn right and run along the river. You need to move away from the river briefly before you cross Millennium Bridge. The only difficult turn to remember is taking the left back to the river – you will know if you miss it as you will be running through an unpleasant “tunnel”.
How far is it?
9.4K
Added extras?
You get to see and experience most of the sites on the tourist trail. Starting at the Tower of London, glance left at Tower Bridge before running in the shadow of The Shard – when it’s lit at night it’s awe-inspiring how it lights up the Thames.
Then you head across Millennium Bridge (it’s very loud underfoot, so try not to alarm the lovers snogging on the bridge) before heading past the Southbank and London Eye.
Cross back and past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Resist shouting “pleb” as you run past the police at No.10. Continue along Birdcage Walk, before taking a right past Buckingham Palace. You have to wait as you cross at Hyde Park Corner, which is a pain, but then you get going again: Harrods, Natural History Museum and a sprint to Gloucester Road tube.
What’s the terrain?
All paved. There are some steps up to the bridges, where you can decide if you push it or not. Like every city run, there are some uneven surfaces to deal with. And it genuinely is very loud on Millennium Bridge – you become aware of how much pounding your knees take when you run there.
Why do you like it?
I run it at night as it is quieter and you see London lit up beautifully. For a bloke from the Midlands, it’s like a holiday in 45 minutes. Being on business, it can be boring or lonely sometimes, and it gets me out to experience the London vibe. Strangely, the route’s even better in the winter – the city looks better at night, and it’s easier to run without the tourists everywhere.
