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22nd edition: 19-20 May 2018 (provisional date)
The
Green Belt Relay is a not-for-profit annual running relay organised by The Stragglers
running club, and all surplus funds from the race are donated to charity. In
the past four years these have benefitted the Princess Alice Hospice. Next year
the race will be in aid of the Marie Curie charity.
The
race takes place in May each year, starting at Hampton Court, Saturday 8.30am and ending in the Hawker Centre, Ham, Sunday at
about 6pm.
The 21st Green Belt Relay took place on 20/21 May
2017
We
had a record entry of 45 teams completing the course, and some nail-biting
racing for the prizes. See the results page for an updated set of
results, course records etc.
Many thanks to all team captains, all organisers,
and all of the villages, pubs, parishes, parks etc. If you are looking at this site wondering
why you have orange arrows posted on your lampposts, we are in the process of
cleaning up but please do get in touch. This is a not-for-profit charity
race and we have a small team of volunteers, so it can take a while.
We'd especially like to thank Human Race for
allowing us to share their facilities at Dorney Lake
- please have a look at http://humanrace.co.uk/ to find out more about them.
Introducing
the Green Belt Relay
The Green
Belt Relay is a 22-stage running relay race around 220 miles of the Green Belt
around the outside of London over a single weekend. The course mainly follow footpaths, towpaths or minor roads.
It is
organised by The Stragglers running club, has been going since 1995, and
involves around 40-45 teams. Runners form teams of 11 people, and each
runner runs one stage each day.
Although
the race is a relay, each stage starts at a fixed time. This allows each
stage to be a competitive race in its own right, and also allows teams of all
different standards to stay roughly together as they advance along the route.
When is it?
The race is each year around the third weekend of May. It starts
at 8:30 on Saturday morning, going on to stop at around 7:30pm
at the end of stage 11 in Blackmore, Essex. It resumes at 8am Sunday, and finishes at around 6:30pm
Sunday. Exact start times for each stage are listed on the course details page.
Where does it go?
The course weaves its way around the villages, rivers and paths of
London's green belt, starting at Hampton Court Palace and ending with a
barbecue and prizegiving nearby at our club
headquarters in Kingston. The course details page
gives you everything you need to know about the course and stages - timings,
maps, changeover details. Each stage averages about 10 miles, but
difficulty levels and distances vary.
The route largely follows the Green Belt Way, a related long distance walking
route. You'll find a wealth of background detail here - the race founder
Sean Davis has walked every inch of the 220 miles and visited every church,
castle, windmill, lockkeeper's cottage and perhaps even pub along the way, and
you can enjoy his unique take on each stage as you go.
Why?
Various prizes are on offer, and there is quite intense competition for
the honour of winning stages, setting stage records, and competing for the team events, ranging from the "Green
Belt" (fastest team) to the much-coveted "Toilet Seat" awarded
to the slowest team to compete the full course.
The race
also raises money for various charities, both from individual teams and from
surplus funds. The chosen charity for the 2017 race is the Princess Alice
Hospice.
Who Competes?
The race
is open to anyone who can get 11 runners together to form a team, and is open
to all standards of runner. We have a loyal following of running clubs,
corporate teams, and charity teams, but one-off pub teams are just as welcome
(one of whom, "The Sunday Night Shandies",
won the event in 2003).
The race is organised by The Stragglers Running Club - mail us at greenbeltrelay@outlook.com
with questions or comments. We rely on the kind help of hundreds of others, some of whom are listed here
