After the disappointment of a cancelled Green Belt Relay I hope demand for places in the Welsh Castles Relay teams will be extra high this year – we’ll need it to be with three teams! Contrary to popular belief it will be a challenge to fill three teams of 20 runners, especially on a weekend we already know clashes with a Serpie wedding, which is bound to have an impact on the number of ‘regulars’ able to take part.

The race starts in Caernarfon on Saturday morning and ends in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon with an awards presentation once the final team has finished. It consists of 20 stages ranging in distance from 8 to 14 miles passing many Welsh Castles in some challenging terrain and each team has 20 runners who each run one stage over the course of the weekend, with ten stages on Saturday and ten on Sunday. It is all run on roads and footpaths – not off road.

I know the stats look daunting, with Serpies winning both the men’s and women’s races regularly over the last few years but don’t be afraid to sign up if you’d like to take part. In a team of twenty the standard required even for a winning team is far wider than you might imagine. It’s our strength in depth that gives us the edge.

Unlike the last couple of years we have a vets team. Vets are those aged over 35 in this race and I will be doing my best to make sure Simon and Teresa, the two senior captains, don’t ‘steal’ all the faster vets for their teams so that we (a) get as good a vets team as we can, and (b) make room for more seniors in the two senior teams. I’d really like to see a lot of new faces heading to Wales this year.

Taking over 60 Serpies to Wales is a major logistical challenge and behind the scenes I’m already indebted to Lisa Pettit and Sarah Pemberton for sorting out accommodation, and to Paul Fromme for (once again) taking on the lead role for planning. We’ll be taking at least five, and probably six vehicles to Wales including at least four minibuses so we need drivers. Please volunteer to drive if you can.