Category: Relays

Greensand Ridge Relay

By Andy Inchley

Amy always takes the micky out of me by telling everyone that the GSRR is my favourite day of the year! This may be stretching the truth for her own amusement, but it isn’t too far wrong – I would certainly say that it’s probably my favourite running event of the year.

For those that don’t know, it is a 34 mile, six leg, self-navigated trail relay from one side of Bedfordshire to the other starting at Tiddenfoot Lake and finishing in the village of Northill. There are usually 40-45 teams and 10-15 individuals taking part, competing for a range of different trophies. read more

Squeaking the Bone

By Andy Inchley

Some of you may have noticed an event in the calendar called The Squeaky Bone Relay. This is a cross-country relay that has been organised by Olney Runners since 2010 and has grown from 15 teams in the first year to over 100 in 2015.

It’s not one that we have ever done as a club, but when some friends from MKAC started to get teams together I thought I’d sign up with them and check it out on our behalf, just in case we fancied it in 2016.

It takes place in the village / hamlet of Clifton Reynes near Emberton and Olney and utilises the farmland around there by permission of a friendly farmer. We are not talking about point to point relays like Greensand or Round MK but a simple four-person team where everyone does the same 3.5 mile route which is taped and marshalled like any other cross-country, so there is no reconnoitring required, you can just rock up! read more

Weary Soles Relay – Winners!!

by Chris Dimmock

As the mist cleared and dawn broke I checked the clock and realised there was enough time to recce the key points of my leg before picking up Fred to roll up to Tiddenfoot for our start in the inaugural Weary Soles round Leighton relay hosted by Leighton Fun Runners. Having had multiple team changes over the previous weeks, days and hours I had ended up with a leg I was unfamiliar with and drove to the start, middle and end to check the lie of the land. Satisfied that I could get from Wing to Stoke Hammond along the prescribed route I picked Fred up and we set off to meet the rest of the team. read more

Greensand Ridge Relay 2015

The Greensand Ridge Relay 2015 – crusted ports, old Madeiras and shandy drinkers.

I was standing next to one of LBAC’s more cerebral runners at the start of leg 4, waiting for Warren to appear. Chris Williams and I were having a conversation about murder. It’s true that previously Fiona and Chris had had a disagreement about pick up times for the GSRR, but Fi’s life was safe. No, the murder in question occurred in 1962 at the end of my leg 4 in the layby. Chris mentioned the case of James Hanratty who murdered a scientist and his wife and was subsequently hanged by the state for his crimes. Recently, Chris recalled, Hanratty was shown to be justly convicted of his crimes based on the exhumation of his body for DNA tests. Now, this is all too close for comfort. I’m a scientist and I’m running leg 4 and looking up at the start of leg 4, I was going to be murdered early on if I pushed too hard. DNA evidence might not be needed to show that I had run a bad leg, but I know my peers would scrutinise in a courtly fashion via Strava any cock-ups that may occur. read more

Weary Soles Relay

By Chris Dimmock

With bright sunshine and early morning birdsong streaming through the bedroom window I awoke to the day of reckoning for the inaugural Weary Soles Relay. Being only slightly paranoid I checked the route for my leg online before leaving the safety of the home wi-fi zone. To my only very slight horror Google found two versions of leg 5, the one I had recced and one I hadn’t. With one eye on the clock I set about the map with the un-recced route and checked for the changes. Satisfied I could see the differences I got my gear together and overcoming localised transport issues, yomped across town to meet with the other members of the team at Tiddenfoot. read more

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