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24th edition: 15th -16th
May 2021 (to be confirmed)
The
Green Belt Relay scheduled for the weekend of 16th and 17th
May 2020 has sadly been cancelled. We aim to hold our 24th race in
2021, probably on the weekend of 15-16 May.
Introducing
the Green Belt Relay
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. This year the race was in aid of the Marie Curie charity. The race
is a 22-stage running relay 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.
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.
It is
organised by The Stragglers running club, has been going since 1995, and
involves around 50 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.
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 runners, although it’s a demanding race so please read the
course details carefully.
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
Last Year’s Race
The
23rd Green Belt Relay took place on the weekend of 18-19th May 2019.
The race had a record number of 52 teams. Thanks to all captains, runners,
organisers, and the various parishes, pubs and cricket clubs who put up with us
along the way.
Draft
results for the 2019 race are here: https://gbrlive.azurewebsites.net/StageResults
Here
is the provisional leaderboard, the list of 2019 individual stage winners and
here is the updated list of
team prizes.
Here
is an updated list of the stage records.
This
is a blog of some of the organisational
challenges of the weekend
Some
stunning pictures of the weekend (stages 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 18 and 19) here
2019
Team prizes are as follows:
The
Green Belt (overall winner): Thames Hare
& Hounds
The
Pewter Plate (first ladies team): Serpentine
The
Davis Cup (first mens teams): Serpentine
The
Lynda Shield (first mixed team): Thames
Hare & Hounds
The
Walking Stick (first veterans team): The Stragglers
The
Toilet Seat: St Neots
Riverside Runners
2nd
place teams were:
2nd
Ladies: Clapham Pioneers
2nd
Men: Ranelagh Harriers
2nd
vets: London Front Runners
2nd
Mixed: London Front Runners
