The Green Belt Relay
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.
The race takes place in May each yeat, 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?
Have a look at some of the testimonials, photos and reports from previous races to get a sense of what it's like.
Various prizes are also 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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions or comments. We rely on the kind help of hundreds of others, some of whom are listed here
