Green Belt Relay – we won!

It was a cold weekend to be out and about all day but at least it didn't rain, although the rain of the last few weeks meant that all the off-road sections of the relay were pretty soft under foot. A mix of GBR regulars and newbies all seemed to have a great time running from Hampton Court to Ham the long way round (via Essex) on some scenic (and decidedly hilly in places) roads, tracks, paths and trails. Route marking was superb this year and hardly anyone got lost, and those that did admitted it was down to not watching where they were going rather missing route marking.
The men's team finished 66mins ahead of 2nd place in 22:21:45. The women finished in 26:05:49, about 2 hours ahead of the only other women's team. More and more (i.e. most) teams are mixed now which is a shame for the women's race. Meanwhile, our 3rd team – "mixed A" – was trying its best to get ahead of the women. They failed. Even with 9 blokes on the team our women were faster! Finally, our 4th team was just please to be complete after a number of last minute drop-outs and changes had left it a runner short until 5pm on Friday! They made it around the course in 30:13:16.
Our overnight stop in Bas-Vegas was as entertaining as ever, with two full-on Essex-style wedding receptions taking place in our hotel. You have to have been there to believe it!
Full results will be available on the GBR website sometime soon but in the meantime you can find them on Google Docs.
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