What are these relays?

• Green Belt Relay (13-14 May 2023 – 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 / 16km each (totalling about 20 miles / 32km 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. In the 2022 race, we fielded 3 teams (a total of 34 runners), with the fastest men and women having their own teams, there was a veteran’s team. If there is high demand we could run an additional mixed team. In a nutshell, being fast is a bonus (our men’s and women’s teams have won many times and came second in 2022), but you don’t need to be fast – you can join us if you can run 10 min/mile. Second claim members are welcome to run for Serpentine.

• Welsh Castles Relay (10-11 June 2023) – 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. In 2022 we fielded one team of 20 runners in the Open category. If there is high demand for the 2023 race we could also field a team in the Ladies category. (Runners need to be first claim club members and be registered with England Athletics)

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.

What do I do if I’m interested?

Please fill in this simple form by following this link. Thanks to those who have filled in this form already – you don’t have to fill it in again.

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 2023 for both races. However, it gives us 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. Don’t worry if you’ve never done it before – there is a lot of experience among club members who can advise what you need to do, also we have step-by-step guides and race manuals to guide you through.

We are particularly short of organisers for Welsh Castles at the moment, therefore 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.

Hans Ho

Communications Representative