Green Belt Relay 2025

“It’s not for everyone”, one or two people said when I told them I was thinking about signing up for my first Green Belt Relay. Maybe not, but I was intrigued. A 22-stage team event covering 220 miles in one weekend? Circling London on footpaths, towpaths and quiet lanes, sharing van journeys between one stage and the next? Committed repeat runners, who keep their Queens Park Harriers membership after moving away from the area, purely to take part in this one event? Count me in. Happily the 2025 edition fulfilled the high expectations of old hands and newcomers alike, and confirmed that the people who love this event are really passionate about it. Quotes from the group chat the day after the race included: “Post GBR blues should be a bona fide medical condition” and a simple, plaintive “I want to get back in the van”. 

Leaving Willesden Sports Centre by van on a fresh Saturday morning in May, we were soon swept up in the momentum of the event. It was exciting to meet the rest of the team and see their enthusiasm, even Roma De Netto, Nadia Morris and Brian Smyth who had all run marathons less than three weeks earlier and couldn’t wait to race again.The experienced team members knew exactly where to park for a quick getaway, and soon we were watching runners from 59 teams set off from the start point by Hampton Court Palace. We shared a moment of recognition and anticipation with old friends Ealing Eagles and Serpentine as we set off to follow the course of the race: via Marlow and St Albans to Essex on day 1, and through Kent and Surrey to complete the loop near Hampton Court on day 2. The route passes hidden treasures such as the 12th century churches at Boveney and Blackmore, charming riverside pubs and ridiculously picturesque landscapes in the Chilterns and the Darent Valley. 

As a stage race, the event borrows from the culture of road cycling: stage winners are awarded yellow T-shirts, and there are King and Queen of the Mountains prizes for those who run fastest in the alpine peaks of Surrey and Buckinghamshire. The difference is that each team has only one runner per stage. With 11 stages per day and 11 runners per team, all runners race on both days. Stages range from 6 to 13.5 miles and are graded by difficulty. Our excellent captains Roma De Netto and Luc Dinh asked team members for their preferences and luckily most people in our team were able to have their first choice. As a first timer I opted for shorter stages - 7.5 and 6 miles. I’m grateful to those who took on the longer, more challenging stages. Tom Seddon, John Brosnan and Tim Lewin represented QPH on the “alpine peaks”. 

When driving the van, your job is to get your runner to their start point in good time. The stage start times are fixed, but they’re not round numbers, they are times like 10:37 and 12:53. Why, I wondered? I soon learned that only moments after each start, at a finish line on the same spot or a short distance away, the leading runners from the previous stage would appear. Stage starts and finishes dovetailed beautifully, thanks no doubt to years of detailed study and refinement by the race organisers. This creates fantastic entertainment for teammates, who get to enjoy the excitement of the start, cheering their clubmate on their way, followed almost immediately by the drama of a race finish. As well as providing vocal support, Tim Lewin and Luke Kretschmer took the opportunity for a little light-hearted pranking by adding decorations to the vans of our rival teams.

As the incoming runners arrive and recover from their efforts, their teammates bundle them into vehicles and the whole circus moves on. Like many races it’s a low-impact, pop-up event, but the pace of setup and teardown is faster. Finish lines and marshal stations melt away, leaving no trace. Naturally the race is fully legit with all the necessary permissions, but the way it emerges in out-of the way places at odd hours gives it the vibe of a stealth mission. 

As well as being a bit like a cycle race, it’s also a bit like “Race Across the World”. Exploring new places is part of the point, and you can’t ignore the risk of getting lost. It’s rare but possible to miss the scattered sawdust that marks the turns through wooded paths and fields of crops. My stage 11 must have been fairly challenging navigation-wise: twice I found faster runners retracing their steps towards me, having gone wrong up ahead. I was able to set them straight and was glad I’d studied the video instructions carefully. Thanks to thorough preparation I had a carefree run into the last finish of the day, swishing through the long grass, the setting sun at my back, serenaded by cowbells rung by Hardik Rathod and the rest of the team. It felt glorious. 

Respecting the organisers’ position that: “it’s a race, not a parade”, I should report that QPH came 47th of 59 teams overall and 33rd of 41 in the Open Mixed category. Harriet Preedy was our top performer, coming 6th overall and first in the Senior Women category on stage 9. While the QPH team wasn’t challenging for the top prizes, we all gave our best efforts on and off the race route. If there had been a trophy for enthusiastic self-adornment in club colours, Matt Peffers would surely have won. Instead our prizes were two days of glorious running in perfect weather and fantastic atmospheres, especially at the finish line celebration where we welcomed our final stage runner, Charles Tatham, with a guard of honour. We all finished the weekend on a massive high. What a uniquely wonderful event. 

Although we were never more than about 30 miles from central London and only spent one night away from home, it felt as though we’d travelled together across continents and time zones. The race seemed to exist in a bubble completely separate from ordinary time. It’s a liminal space, with its own rhythm, personality and spirit. Disorientating but magical. 

Who are the people who love the GBR? It’s a niche interest, appealing to those with a taste for the quirky. It suits people who can carry out a plan and also embrace change when the unexpected happens. If you crave control of your pre-race environment and routines, you’d probably have to let that go. The race organisation is precise but lean. There is no spoon feeding, so it suits resourceful people who like to be self-sufficient. You have to be prepared to spend about 4 hours each day travelling in a van, but no single van journey is longer than about 45 minutes, and you have your new best friends with you. Did I mention that people you hardly know will become your best friends over the weekend? The sense of achievement at the end of your stage is huge, but there’s only a small number of people to celebrate with you. This race doesn’t put you in the limelight; it rewards you in more subtle ways. But people who like a slightly different running experience find it incredibly rewarding.

If this appeals, your reward is the absolute privilege of taking part in this special small-scale event, curated by devoted crafters of the grassroots sport. The event feels like a love letter to both amateur club running and some of the loveliest secluded beauty spots in the London green belt. It left me with a deeper appreciation for both the natural beauty of the London region and for the creativity and resourcefulness of the race organisers. And there was the wonderful bonus of connecting with a fabulous group of teammates. I felt honoured to take part in the race, and proud to get in the van. 

Massive thanks to our team captains, Roma and Luc, and to the club committee for subsidising a team to take part in this unique event. 

They say the Green Belt Relay isn’t for everyone. But for some people it’s the unquestioned highlight of their running calendar. Could it be for you?