Green Belt Relay – 16th & 17th May 2020 – Sign Up Now!
Hello Serpies, it is time to register for one of the best Serpie weekends - the Green Belt Relay will soon be upon us again. Be one of the 44 Serpies running for four teams (men, women, vets and mixed) on 16th and 17th May 2020!
What is the Green Belt Relay?
The Green Belt Relay ('GBR') is a two-day, multi-stage, multi-terrain relay around London's Green Belt countryside and surrounding towns. The route starts at Hampton Court, going north through Berkshire and Hertfordshire before reaching Essex, where the halfway point is and where we will stay overnight. It continues on Sunday through Kent and Surrey, before finishing in Kingston. The course is divided into 22 stages (between 6.0 and 13.3 miles), and each team consists of 11 runners. This means that runners run twice, once on Saturday and once on Sunday. This might sound tough, but you don't need to be fast. Generally, if you can run a half marathon relatively comfortably, you should be able to do it. First-timers are absolutely welcome – if you’ve never run it before, you would probably regret not signing up in previous years! You may be surprised at how much wonderful, scenic running there is so close to London. We all travel around the course in a few minibuses, supporting other runners as we go.
It is such a great Serpie event that we even have an article about it in the Serpentimes. Click here to read what James Edgar, one of our Green Belt runners, had to say about the event back in 2016.
To join we only ask for three things:
- You must be available for the whole weekend (16th to 17th May 2020).
- You must be able to run about 20 miles in total over two days (pace guide: 10 min/mile or faster).
- You must be ready to have fun with the whole Serpie team!
Drivers
As explained above we will travel in four minibuses, that means we need drivers.
We require at least eight drivers – two drivers on each minibus. If we don’t get enough drivers, we may not be able to take part, so we would absolutely love it if you can volunteer to drive. You need to be over 25 years old to be a driver for us.
Entry Fee
Each participant will pay £52 at the time of signing up. This covers the cost of transport over a distance of almost the entire M25 (minibus hire, insurance, fuel and parking costs), the Saturday evening buffet meal and other items such as water, cups and printing of essential information.
The Club will subsidise some of the above costs, as well as pay for the overall Serpentine team entry and other administrative fees. If you are a driver, the Club will also refund half of the entry fee (£26) in order to thank you for your effort.
In addition, the cost of accommodation on Saturday night (£36 per person sharing a twin room) needs to be paid for directly by each participant to Holiday Inn Basildon on the day. The breakfast on Sunday morning is included in this price.
Worth noting the fee includes a good quality dry-fit GBR T-shirt provided by the event organisers. If you win a stage, you’ll get an additional stage-winner T-shirt.
Waiting List
Every year we operate a waiting list once we have filled 44 runners. As usual, provided we have enough drivers, the first 44 runners to sign up will have their places guaranteed. Worth noting that in recent years we came close to using up the waiting list due to injuries, so please still sign-up even when we have reached 44 – you may not be guaranteed a place, but you are still likely to end up running.
We will endeavour to take from the waiting list on the order of registrations, but team logistics may affect the order in which people are picked and we will give priority to drivers.
Further information
For more information about the race, please see www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk or email me at participation@serpentine.org.uk. The Serpie organisers this year currently are Luke Parker, Sarah Maisey, David Martin and Nick Fairclough – please feel free to speak to them when you see them.
We look forward to having your name on the list – sign up now to avoid disappointment!
Happy running,
Hans Ho
Participation Representative / Green Belt Relay Runner 2017, 2018 (and very likely 2020)
participation@serpentine.org.uk
Submitted: 4 March 2020