Running With Foxes

I went into the office yesterday to meet with my HR Rep, and print out all of my payslips on company letterhead paper for my visa application. Fun stuff!

At the end of the day, I got a call from my boss letting me know that he'd done some digging around about the interview I've got tomorrow, and unfortunately it seems that while they are incredibly impressed with my CV, they're so impressed that they're worried I'm over-qualified. Particularly as my most recent performance reviews have been so outstanding, saying I'm ready for promotion, they're worried this position is beneath me. So weirdly, looks like I might not get it for that bizarre reason.

So at the very end of the day, as I was changed and ready to go to running, when I got an e-mail from a recruiter saying that another position I am really interested in was closing in a day, there was no choice but to stay, sit down, and apply right then.

Hence, by the time I made it to the pub for the evening's run, everyone had already set off. I was still slightly stiff from spin class the day before however, and eager to stretch my muscles, so Luke (friend who was sitting out the run due to injury) suggested that I go off anyway and try to catch up, as they'd all left only five minutes before.

So I set off running, and followed the trail pretty well for a good half-hour. It was a little bit scary at some points to follow the trail through housing estates, but I did get one of the best surprises when I did so.

As I was running along, I heard what sounded like a dog running along on the opposite side of the street, keeping pace with me. So I slowed and turned, greeting the dog with a cheerful, "Hey, pup!"

Except imagine my surprise when the "dog" stopped running and stopped to stare at me, those big ears, gleaming eyes, and bushy tail letting me know that this wasn't a dog, it was a fox!

So the fox and I took each other's measure, and I was a bit startled actually at how he didn't seem at all scared of me, standing just five feet away from me. So I started to move on, and he moved on with me. I stopped, he stopped. We continued down the street like this for some time, with me being absolutely amazed at this brush with London wildlife.

I suppose if I'd run into a raccoon like this, I wouldn't have been so amazed, as foxes are really the London equivalent of raccoons. Tipping over bins, going through the garbage, and just being general vermins and nuisances. But since foxes aren't seen to frequently in the US, seeing one up close and personal like this was amazing.

At last, I rounded a corner and the fox went the other way, so we ended our night-time jog together. Yet at this point, I realised I was in Brixton (somewhat dodgy part of town) and I still hadn't found the rest of the runners. I was the only white girl for miles around, I was wearing a skimpy running outfit, and it was dark out. Time to head home, don't you think?

So I hopped on a bus, figuring I would just get off at the next Tube station the bus passed, and then take the Tube back to the pub. But the bus kept going, with no Tube stations in sight, until suddenly I saw something quite unexpected. "Is that the Thames?" We were crossing the river, and I was now somewhere near Parliament!

So I jumped off the bus, wandered for ages trying to find another bus stop, and finally got on another bus going back south across the river. Keep in mind, I'm all sweaty and in running gear while doing this, getting a few strange looks on all of the buses!

This new bus finally made it to Oval station, where I was able to jump on the Tube and get back to Stockwell. Yet at this point it was 8:45 PM, so I assumed that I would be incredibly late back to the pub, and everyone else would have been back for ages. Imagine my surprise then to arrive back at the pub and find nobody there!! Apparently the run had turned out to be the length of nearly a half-marathon, and everyone was still running. The first survivors managed to get back at around 9:15, an hour after most runs usually go.

My dear friend Matt had been injured, but stopped by the pub to say hello to people, so I basically spent most of my time talking to Matt. Funny how we bond that way, basically saying, "My favourite person to talk to is here! Screw talking to everybody else!!" So we had a good time, bought each other rounds, and just had a good time catching up.

Finally made it home at around 11:30 PM, glad I'd missed that hellish half-marathon run, and gone running with a fox instead!