This was my second year taking part in the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge and for the second year in a row, this was a scorcher!  My colleagues and I arrived in Battersea Park and after following the arrows and friendly marshals, we made our way to the central area where after dropping off my bag, I made my way into the Red Corral.  After the race briefing and welcome from the JP Morgan CEO, the loud horn sounded and we were off!

I set off at a fast pace, but felt comfortable as we made our way around the first few bends.  I had to take a few of them wide due to the large packs in front of me, but once the area cleared and I had some space in front of me, I managed to put my foot down and really get going.  There were the usual twists and turns that were there the year before, but I was really looking forward to the back stretch section of the race that ran along the Thames.  Hitting the long straight felt tougher than the year before due to the lack of a breeze, but I hit the halfway ticket only a few seconds short of ten minutes so I was happy with that.  The signs and marshalls were brilliant indicating that the terrain was changing and that the route was getting narrower and before I knew it, I was on the slalom at the 5km which although had my bends than a road in Milton Keynes with all their roundabouts, was the 'final stretch'.  The marshals were screaming us to keep going and that the end line was in sight and after turning the final corner, the blue and green arch was in sight.  My legs were shot from the heat and the practical sprinting I had done for the 21 minutes before, but I still gave it all I had and ran over the finish line in just under the 21:30 mark.  I was happy with the time as I had beat my effort from the year before and had hit the 5km mark in around 19 minutes so did the 0.6kmin just over two minutes.

I picked up my new luminous orange tshirt and after picking up my bag, made my way to the pub that my company had booked for us.  This was a great race again and although not one of the best I've done, it certainly didn't feel as 'Corporate' this year!