Green Belt Relay & Welsh Castles Relay 2022 – Please indicate your interest in participating / organising!
Hello Serpies – As 2022 is just around the corner, we have just started to plan for these two great relay races in the summer. You’re invited to indicate your interest in running and/or organising the Serpie teams.
What are these relays?
- Green Belt Relay (14-15 May 2022 – race organiser’s website: here) - The race will be over 2 days, each day with 11 stages. Each runner will run both Saturday and Sunday, on average about 10 miles each (totalling about 20 miles a weekend). The route is about 220 miles around the 'Green Belt' of London, i.e. Starting in Hampton Court, it goes through Surrey, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and back to Kingston. There will be one away night (typically Basildon, Essex). Entry fees are to be confirmed - this will include race entry, transport, official race T-shirts etc, and excludes accommodation. We normally field 4 teams (i.e. 44 runners), with the fastest men and women having their own teams, there will also be a veteran's team and a mixed team - so basically being fast is a bonus (our men's and women's teams are normally competitive and challenging for titles), but you don't need to be fast - you can join us if you can run 10 min/mile.
Our 2019 GBR team
- Welsh Castles Relay (11-12 June 2022 – race organiser’s website: here) - The race will also be over 2 days, each day with 10 stages (20 stages in total). Each runner only runs one stage over the weekend - stages range from 8 to 13 miles. The route starts in Caernarfon in North Wales and finishes in Cardiff Castle. There will be two away nights, one in Caernarfon, and the other in mid-Wales. Entry fees are also to be confirmed, this includes race entry, transport, official race T-shirts etc, and excludes accommodation. We normally field 2 teams, in both the Ladies and the Open categories (i.e. 40 runners altogether).
Start of a WCR stage, 2019
Those who have taken part in these races would know what great fun these races are - most of our best memories in the club come from group or relay races like these two. It was obviously not possible to have these two great relays in the past 2 years, but the race organisers have now confirmed that the races will go ahead next year, and can't wait to welcome us all again.
What do I do if I'm interested?
Please fill in this very simple form by clicking here.
Putting your names down at the moment doesn't guarantee your entry, nor does it mean you must enter. We will advise how you can enter in early 2022 for both races. However, it gives the club an idea how many people would be interested in entering, and in turn it helps us decide how many teams we as a club will enter. Therefore, if you can't decide at the moment, but you may be able to join, please tick the relay(s) you are interested, or at least the 'not sure' option.
Can I help the Club organise the teams?
Yes! We need a few volunteers to make our participation in these races possible - we will need at least 2-3 organisers and 8 drivers for each relay (if we are to have the usual 4 teams for Green Belt and 2 teams for Welsh Castles). Don't worry if you've never done it before - there are plenty of us who can advise what you need to do, also we have step-by-step guides and race manuals to guide you through. If you're interested, we'd love to hear from you and will be in touch soon.
Finally, any questions about these races, please contact me. Hear from you soon!
Participation Representative
Submitted: 22 November 2021