Green Belt Relay 2025 Vets Team Winners – Harold Wyber, Philip Whitehouse, Frank Womelsdorf, Roger Reid, Abu Asad, James Gillanders, Victor Lio, Ron Wood, Jon Moscrop, Natasha Sheel (Not in photo: Glenn Hughes)

Serpentine won the Vets Team category of the 2025 Green Belt Relay held on 17^th and 18^th May, after seeing off strong competition from Ranelagh Harriers and London Front Runners, and captured the coveted Walking Stick in our first Vets win since 1999!

The 2025 race saw the 27^th edition of this race. About 30 running clubs based in London and SE England fielded a total of 59 teams (some clubs including Serpentine fielded more than one team), making this the largest field in the event’s history. Organised by the Stragglers Running Club, the race took place throughout the entire weekend around the 220-mile long Green Belt way over 22 stages.  Serpentine dominated this event from 2014 to 2018, with 5 consecutive overall team wins, however since the resumption of the race after Covid, Thames Hare & Hounds, Ranelagh Harriers, and Clapham Chasers have all claimed the Green Belt. Of the three teams Serpentine fielded, all named after our training locations, the Paddington team (Vets) aimed to go one better than 2024, when we came second to Ranelagh’s Vets. The other two teams, Battersea and Primrose, were in the mixed category, making three runners for each stage.

The weekend started under the Saturday morning clouds in Hampton Court and proceeded to Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.  After Harold Wyber came second in Stage 3 (Boveney to Little Marlow, 17km), the Paddington team had led the Vets category and did not relinquish the top spot all the way to Sunday.  Victor Lio extended our lead to over 10 minutes after the gruelling Stage 5 (Great Kingshill to Chipperfield, 22km). We continued to have many Top 5 finishes, including Ron Wood (Stage 6, Chipperfield to St Albans, 14km) and James Gillanders (Stage 10, High Beach to Toot Hill, 15km).  Natasha Sheel scored a brilliant stage win in Stage 9 (Dobbs Weir to High Beach, 16km), giving an over-night lead of 14 minutes lead over Ranelagh. Outside of the Vets, Ewan Maynard led the way as one of the team organisers, finishing a brilliant 7^th place in Stage 8 (Letty Green to Dobbs Weir, 16km). Karsten Buecker was the first Super Vet in Stage 9.

The team finished the day in Basildon with an overnight stay and a dinner together at Pizza Express. With the weekend coinciding the Eurovision Song Contest, James Gillanders got most of our team involved in a sweepstake, and some of us stayed up for the long-drawn vote count. Our Saturday Long Run lead and one of our drivers, Michael Ngo, somehow picked out Austria and scooped up the prize.

Day 2 started with the best stage for Serpentine in the entire weekend, with all 3 of our runners (Glenn Hughes, Alessandro Dovis and Thomas Thornton) finishing in Top 10 in Stage 12 (Blackmore to Thorndon Park, 16km). For the Paddington team, after Ron Wood crossed the line in Stage 15 (Stone Lodge to Lullingstone Park, 14km), the lead was stretched to an almost unassailable 39 minutes, but best performances were still to come.  Roger Reid ran a V55 record through the hills of Stage 16 (Lullingstone Park to Tatsfield, 21km). Harold Wyber conquered Stage 17 at the North Downs Way (Tatsfield to Merstham, 17km). Natasha Sheel won her second stage of the weekend in as many days in the concluding Stage 22 (Walton Bridge to Bushy Park, 13km), taking her career total stage wins to eight and becoming one of the most decorated female Green Belt runners in Serpentine’s history.  Apart from Stage 12, the Battersea and Primrose teams also posted competitive performances, including Ewan Maynard completing another top 10 finish in Stage 16 and Diego Caballero coming in 8^th in Stage 19 (Burford Bridge to West Hanger, 13km).

Serpentine Paddington finished top in the Vets category with a winning margin of 30 minutes, and were placed 4^th overall, behind three very fast teams all finishing under 22 hours in total. Congratulations to Ranelagh Men’s and Women’s Teams who won both categories, with the former taking home the Green Belt as the overall team winners. Well done also to the mixed team winners Thames Hare and Hounds, who pipped Clapham Chasers to the post right at the end; and to Maidenhead AC for winning the inaugural ‘Old Timer’ trophy in the Super Vets category (V45 plus).

The Green Belt Relay is always the weekend when those who take part remember why they’re in the club, and the 2025 race was not an exception – this one felt like the most satisfying weekend in recent memories. Our runners performed well across the board, every team member enjoyed the occasion and played a part in supporting the team and marshalling. We journeyed across the scenic routes outside London and visited fantastic country pubs and cafes. Those making their debuts in the Green Belt Relay embraced the event just as much as those who have represented Serpentine for several years, and we had a collective sense of achievement of racing both days, sometimes over steep hills and tricky descends. Thanks to all Serpie runners for bringing great smiles and energy, and let’s do this again in 12 months’ time in GBR 2026!

For the overall race results please see this page, where you can also find individual stage results. If you were not in the team this year and wanted to know what you missed, check out the Green Belt Relay official page and also the page on the Serpie website.

Frank Womelsdorf, Ewan Maynard and Hans Ho

Serpentine Green Belt Relay Team Organisers 2025