The Running Out of Time relay will be the world’s longest, non-stop relay ever attempted – and it’s being done to highlight the need to tackle climate change.
Starting in Glasgow, home of COP26, on 30th September and finishing at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6th November, members of the public are being invited to join in by running a 10km stage along the 7,767km route as it passes through 18 countries including the UK. They will be carrying a baton containing young people’s messages about the climate crisis which will be played to the world leaders at the start of COP27.
There will be 177 stages in the UK and it reaches Dover on Sunday 9th October to sail (non-fossil fuel powered) over to France. Along the UK section of the route, Carbon Copy will be throwing the spotlight onto 27 innovative projects showing how local and community action is already tackling the climate crisis and developing ways to protect people from its worst effects. Some of these projects are being led by companies as well as charities and communities. Our aim is to inspire more local initiatives to learn from and copy them so we can reach a sustainable future more quickly.
The relay itself is the brainchild of The World Relay which has organised mass participation relays in America, Europe and the UK. It’s an award-winning, multidisciplinary team based in the UK with a passion for creating innovative events. To date, over 200,000 runners have participated in its relays, reached over 100 million people on social media and raised over £1,000,000 for charity.
Could you help us get lots of people involved in this extraordinary event?
This relay will be bringing together communities, companies, councils, charities, clubs, individuals young and old – in short, anyone who wants to see a greener, fairer world.
How you can get involved:
- Sign up– to run a stage. Most stages are approx 10km/6 miles in length and participants can run all of a stage or part of it. Up to 25 people can run each stage. Taking part costs £15/person (£5 goes to charity). Anyone can book their place to run a stage or be lead runner (it’s first come, first served basis) and this is done via the Running Out of Time website. Or take part in the Virtual Running Out of Time relay on Saturday 5th November which involves being active at home (details to follow shortly).
- Show up– at a baton exchange at the end of one/beginning of the next stage to cheer on the runners. The route and all the stages where handovers will take place can be found on the website.
- Support – If you are part of a sustainability project within your community, you can add it to Carbon Copy’s national collection of over 1,000 inspiring climate action initiatives. The aim of these is to spread good practice and inspire other communities to get involved.
The relay passes through Herefordshire & Worcestershire. One of the exemplar climate action projects we’re highlighting is in Herefordshire.
