They're a persuasive lot and ten minutes later we're dodging the puddles and the potholes as we launch out into Bow. I'm being told enthusiastically that there's no better way to get under the skin of a place than to jog around its streets and footpaths. Harrumph... try that when there's so much sleet in your eyes that you can hardly see the next lamp post.
But passing a row of building sites for new offices and apartments, all keenly feeding off the proximity of the Olympic Park, the first revelation is the Bromley-by-Bow Centre – a large social enterprise which, I read, has been operating for over twenty five years, providing health, education, employment and cultural opportunities for the many different communities in Bow and the surrounding area.
The place is buzzing, and although there's no time to hang around I discover that the centre is the brainchild of Lord Andrew Mawson – a former priest and now leading social entrepreneur. Note to self: organise a visit to the Centre soonest...
Down Roman Road next where, despite the weather, the famous market is a touchstone for the social diversity of London's East End. Visitors to the Games next year (yes 'next year') need go no further for proof that every visiting team will have a group of local fans to cheer them on and make them feel at home.
Just as the legs are creaking and the rain is dripping down the back of my neck, we reach the impressive Crown Gate of Victoria Park. It may not have the international reputation of Hyde Park or St James' Park, but this is the oldest public park in Britain (1842 says the sign) and a wonderfully elegant East End lung – complete with bandstand, running track, lake, tennis courts and pavilion.
During the 2012 Games, Victoria Park has the potential to be the most exciting celebration site for visitors and locals looking to enjoy the atmosphere of the Games just down the road.
And minutes later, the Olympic Park emerges through the gloom, and we're running down a Victorian sewer in order to see it. Well, actually, we're directly above Bazalgette's famous Northern Outfall Sewer along a renovated cycle path called The Greenway. When completed in 1865, Bazalgette's sewers were an engineering wonder of the world and below us still runs all of north London’s sewage.
Trying to put that thought out of mind, we concentrate on another engineering miracle – the emerging stadia, landscaping and transport hubs of the London 2012 Olympic Park. The Greenway is a public footpath, free to access and an amazing vantage point to see the vast scale of the construction site. The Olympic Delivery Authority has worked wonders to keep it open and accessible right in the middle of this vast building site.
We run alongside the Olympic Stadium, where main construction is nearing completion and there's even tantalising views inside to the field of play. In the distance, the Athletes' Village is rising fast next to the huge new Stratford City development. Zaha Hadid's curvaceous Aquatic Centre is having its extra wings of seating added for Games time, and the foundations for the 'Orbit' tower are being laid just in front of us.
Tempted though I am to stop for a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich in The View Tube at the end of The Greenway, we need to head south back towards Three Mills. We drop directly onto the tow path of the Lea Navigation. The tight knit network of rivers and canals have helped to define the area and will give a unique character to the Olympic Park.
Exhaustion and foot rot are setting in so thankfully it's only half a mile to go. But from the tow path it's easy to see that this region was at the white heat of the industrial revolution and is now leading the way towards a new post-industrial urban existence. Stumbling back into Three Mills Studios, I realise this complex is a great example.
The first tidal mill was listed in the 11th century Doomsday book. In the 17th century, milling of flour was replaced by distillation of gin. Almost one thousand years of traditional industry ended in the 1980s when London's largest TV, theatre and film studios were created on the site.
Many of our best known TV programmes, West End shows and major feature films have been produced here. Indeed, Danny Boyle, Artistic Director for our Opening Ceremony, has made a number of his movies on the site. We're delighted that the Olympic Park Legacy Company has recently taken ownership of the complex. After our work is complete, we hope to have helped them build a future for the centre to continue at the cutting edge of one of London's latest post-industrial success stories.
It may have taken us a while to thaw out after this minor adventure but, as injections of inspiration go on the gloomiest of January days, it took some beating. Choose a better day and try the same route yourself.
