Last night, twelve energetic runners took to the streets of central London, heading east, to check out some of our most beautiful sites and covering 8km.

We were back to top temperatures last night, so lots of water and sunscreen needed (but only one mention of air conditioning). It was lovely to welcome some new faces and to reacquaint ourselves with our now 'regulars'. Some of our runners were absent this week, due to the upcoming exams on Friday (though I always think a run is the perfect way to refresh your mind and body during intense study periods!).

Our run this week took us out east, first of all passing the Royal Courts of Justice and heading out along a very busy Fleet Street. A sunny evening keeps people in town after work and the pavements were heaving with post-work socialising and over-spilling pubs (oh, for an icy-cold drink!). Ahead, we could see the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, the perfect stop for our first group photo of the evening.

Our next point of interest took us by surprise (I still gasp with delight when I look around the corner and see its golden top), at The Monument. This beautiful tower marks the spot where the Great Fire of London started, on Pudding Lane in 1666 and was designed by the same architect as St.Paul's, Sir Christopher Wren. The views from up here are quite lovely, but you will have to work for them, walking up the 311 steps to the viewing platform.

We continued our run out towards the Tower of London, which a few people have already visited. It's a fascinating day out and you get to chat to Beefeaters, who have some amazing stories to tell (and live here, with their families, in the grounds of the Tower!). A visit to the Tower wouldn't be complete without a run across Tower Bridge, so off we went.

Pausing outside City Hall, we took another photo, before running along the Thames to London Bridge, where the views along the river were just gorgeous on this sunny evening. Turning along Cannon Street, we headed back to Fleet Street and to our start point. It was great to hear about all the exploration and travel that has been going on during spare time, one of our group was in Edinburgh at the weekend and will travel to Paris this weekend, definitely making the most of our location here!

Good luck with your studies and the rest of your stay everyone, I have really enjoyed leading you through our town :)

On a perfect evening for a run, twenty tip top runners took to London's streets for a sociable jaunt, taking in some of our city's finest buildings and passing through two of our many green spaces.

It was great to see some of last week's runners returning and to see so many new faces, welcome!

For our second run at the LSE, we were pleased to have weather much more suited to hot-footing it through the city, having run through treacle last week in THAT HEAT! There was still talk of air-conditioning (sorry, we haven't got on the case and probably never will, being a country of cool greyness most of the year) and mention of the gym here being a bit too hot for comfort. Gym?! Who needs a gym when you have all these wonderful spaces to explore?! With everyone arriving promptly, we had time to do a brief warm-up before heading out towards Waterloo Bridge and the Embankment.

Our route was slightly different from last week, but still gave us the opportunity to grab a group photo near Big Ben (or Elizabeth Tower, if we're being pedantic; the bell that we hear on the six o'clock news is Big Ben) and outside Buckingham Palace. We took a more leafy diversion this time, through St.James's Park (still no pelican sighting) and over into Green Park. You will see in our photos that one of our runners forgot his PE kit but, undeterred and keen to join in, he still ran - kudos to you for running up front in jeans and not being put off!

With our runners being from all over the world, we had the chance to talk about running in different kinds of weather. Some were surprised to hear that we rarely have the challenge (or joy) of running in snow here in London and besides, everything pretty much grinds to a halt in this situation and sledging is the order of the day :) Having sampled the delights of running through our parks, people were asking about other green spaces. We touched on the edge of Hyde Park and, if you continue out of Green Park, you will find a vast park with lots of activities, such as boating, swimming in a lido (with swans!), a gallery and plenty of room to stretch your legs. Go a little further north and you will find Regent's Park, again with lots to do. If you feel adventurous, head out a bit further to:

• Hampstead Heath, which is like being in the countryside, with the opportunity to swim in one of the ponds

• Greenwich Park, with its observatory and rich maritime history (take the boat here, it's pretty special)

Leaving the leafy calm, we took on Piccadilly Circus (with a pause at Eros, to see if his arrow would reach us), then through the mayhem that is Leicester Square. Stepping up Long Acre, we took a sideways glance at Covent Garden and soon found ourselves back at our start point, for a good stretch.

Well done everyone, I look forward to seeing you again next week.

During the biggest heat wave since 1976, twelve cool runners took to the streets of central London, dodging though commuters and negotiating a path towards our city's finest landmarks.

Our group this week were from far flung places, such as Columbia, New York, Germany and Singapore, so our little bit of sunshine didn't faze them (though I was asked why we don't have air conditioning. Not sure how my advice to stand in the supermarket went down, but really, it's so refreshing!). We took the scenic route, weaving our way through flagging office workers, set on a path towards the train, past post-work drinkers, sipping cool spritzers and brushing by theatre-goers, gearing themselves up for an evening of slightly stifling West End entertainment. Along the Embankment and towards Trafalgar Square we ran, down The Mall, where we discussed whether British people walk on one side of the pavement (nope, it's every (wo)man for (her)himself here, though it would be marvellous if people did adopt a one-side policy wouldn't it?). Here we paused, taking some touristy photos and wondering if the Queen was having her dinner after a busy day in parliament.

Turning down Birdcage Walk, in the opposite direction to all those London Marathon runners back in April, we headed to Parliament Square ourselves, where we were suddenly at the front of a protest march, banners being waved towards us and the line of police, the many sides of London being encountered on this run! A quick Big Ben pic and we ran away over Westminster Bridge, to enjoy the Southbank. I felt very proud pointing out all the amazing buildings along the way, 'And we even have our own beach when the tide is low, look!' A quick gesture towards Tate Modern and a tip to go up to the viewing area in the new extension, incredible views can be seen in all directions, do it!

With everyone doing really well in this heat, we took on the Millennium Bridge towards St Paul's Cathedral and headed home and into some welcome shade, having covered 8 very sticky kilometres. Time to stretch and talk about next week. Most hands went up, so I look forward to seeing you again for some more speedy London exploration - I loved the suggestion of including a boat ride, but maybe we'll stick to pavements!