Press release -
Invitation to Help Break World Record
Runners from all over mainland Britain are being asked to help break the world record for the longest run relay this June.
The first ever Great British Relay will travel around the entire UK mainland coastline in June 2013 in an attempt to set the new world record for the longest continuous running relay.
People living along the 7000km route are invited to put on their running shoes and take part in this huge undertaking by running one of the 594 stages with distances varying from 10km right up to 30km while carrying a specially designed GPS baton which continually tracks their progress 24 hours a day.
The relay, which is being run in honour of the victims of the Boston Marathon blasts, will add up to 1500km to the current world record which is 5640km.
Organiser Paul Shack says, “In light of the tragic events at the Boston Marathon this is now more than a world record attempt, it's also about showing how regular people won't be cowed by terror. It's a show of solidarity and defiance which will hopefully unite runners all over the UK"
Michelle Smith, relay coordinator, said, "We're already about a third full and certain areas are sold out. It goes to show the power that running has to bring people of different backgrounds and cultures together to work as a team to achieve common goals.""
Participants are encouraged to run in teams to make it more fun and the only condition is that runners must be able to maintain six miles per hour running pace (about 10 kilometres in an hour) and be available at the time of their stage.
Stages are limited and full details of the Great British Relay can be found on www.greatbritishrelay.com .
Topics
- Art, Culture, Entertainment
Categories
- relay
- world record bid
- great british relay
- boston marathon
- great britain
- community
- running
- solidarity
Regions
- England
G B Relay Ltd is run by Paul Shack. Paul began running at school favouring longer cross country distances and has returned to running after a lengthy break. Last year he took part in the fantastic Real Relay organised by EnduranceLife -in fact he did two stages! "What I particularly loved about it was the fact that it wasn’t solely down to speed, it was about pace and the fact that you knew that hundreds of runners before and after you were relying on you to do your bit. It was a phenomenal achievement.”He loved it so much that he decided to set up his own relay and try and bag a world record as well and so the Great British Relay was born.“This event isn’t about how fast you run, its about keeping up a steady pace which hopefully will encourage runners of all abilities to get involved. It can also be a social event as we are encouraging teams of four which can give you a great sense of camaraderie.”The Great British Relay hopes that everyone taking part will also take the opportunity to do a bit of fundraising. It’s such a unique event that you might just surprise yourself at how much you raise. In fact if each person raises £100 by June and every stage has a team of four then that’s £400 per team which is £237600 before gift aid is added!Paul is helped every step of the way by his partner, Michelle Smith, with whom he also organises a free weekly timed run on the Otley Chevin called “Run Sunday”, for which he was recently nominated for a Sport Leeds award. www.runsunday.co
