If you have a question about the event that is not answered below then please get in touch with the team by emailing [email protected]
Running Out of Time is an annual climate relay that raises awareness, inspires action and celebrates great climate campaigns, projects and events across Britain.
The 2024 Relay launches 6th June at Ben Nevis before undertaking an extraordinary 2,436km journey through 50 cities and towns to Big Ben in Parliament Square, London on July 4th. Comprising 210 stages - and 80+ visits to climate & nature projects, sporting bodies & venues, schools, events and iconic locations - its set to be the most spectacular Climate Relay yet.
It features famous sporting venues; stunning natural sites, schools, universities, community projects, music, fashion and climate events. And a host of different and imaginative ways to move the baton which will be run, walked, cycled, swum, surfed, paddled, skied, para-glided and wake boarded along the way!
It should be fun, inspirational, and epic and we’d love you to join us! Please sign up now and help unite people, climate and nature!
We want the Relay to champion climate action and nature, to celebrate the fantastic work that’s already being done, to raise awareness, change minds and inspire action, and to gently but firmly keep the pressure on our governments, our employers, our places of learning and ourselves to take collective action.
We want it to be an event that links and unites, that demonstrates the support that exists for change, and that provides our partners with a platform to help achieve their goals and objectives.
We do this because we believe in a future that not only avoids the most disastrous impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss - indescribably important though that is - but that also takes us to a better place. One with sustainable, affordable energy, with clean air and clean water, with food for all, and a natural world that can be enjoyed by future generations.
We know we are only a tiny part of a global community that shares this vision but relays are what we do and we are determined to play our part.
The relay starts at Lochaber High School, Fort William, on Thursday 6th June and will finish at Big Ben on Thursday 4th July.
You must be over the age of 18 to sign-up to our relay and be able maintain an average pace of 7 minutes per kilometre for the duration of a stage.
If you are under the age of 18 and would like to run a stage, then please ask your parent/legal guardian to contact us at [email protected] and we will see if this can be accommodated.
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One of our big focuses for this year’s relay is giving young people a voice on climate change. We’re going into schools across the country, as a means of connecting them up with a national movement, recognising their own work in the local community, and inspiring even more action.
We’re excited to be visiting 50 schools on our route from Ben Nevis to Big Ben, including primary, secondary, and Special Educational Needs providers. Our school visits promise to be one of the highlights of the relay, with each event planned around the school to include assemblies, mini relays, and sustainability demonstrations, focusing on recognising fantastic eco initiatives in schools up and down the country, and inspiring more action.
While sign-ups for schools being involved directly in the relay are now over, we’d still love to hear from you if you’re keen to be a part of the relay. We have loads of brilliant partner organisations, who offer a wealth of resources and expertise to help enrich your sustainability curriculum. In particular, see below our information about the Climate Action Countdown, running at the same time as the relay.
Equally, our wider network may be able to organise a visit around the time of the relay, so please reach out to our Schools’ Co-ordinator at [email protected] and they will see what we can do.
The relay is only open to register for those over 18, so they would not be able to run in the relay unless prior arrangements have been made with the school from our team.
Equally, if the relay passes close by to your school, we’d love to have you out cheering us on as we come past, injecting energy and enthusiasm into our positive cause. Please contact our schools’ coordinator at [email protected] and we can let you know the date and time the relay will reach you.
The Climate Action Countdown is Let’s Go Zero’s annual climate action challenge.
Their campaign is supporting schools to reach zero carbon by 2030. Remember, your small actions add up to one big difference.
This year it runs from 7 June to 5 July, during which time schools around the UK are taking on a different activity linked to sustainability every day.
Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or pupil, you can sign up here for 29 days of fun, inclusive, inspiring action!
You can download our logo and a range of supporting assets here. Please credit Running Out of Time when using these images. For more pictures, please contact [email protected]
We’re more than happy to provide you with quotes, clips, images and more - just email [email protected]
We’ve pioneered relay running since 2013. We connected thousands of people in the first non-stop mass participation running relay across America, we’ve crossed continents by trainer-power alone and broken world records. If you want to see what we’re capable of, check out One Run Global, One Run for Boston, The London Relay and Running Out of Time 2022 as examples.
To arrange an interview with one of the team please contact [email protected] and we’ll set everything up.
To get the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Or contact [email protected] and we’ll sign you up to our Weekly Newsletter.
Sure thing! Get in touch with your local paper, radio and TV stations and tell them what you’re doing and why. And, if you’ve got contacts who can help put Running Out of Time on the national news agenda too - terrific! Visit our Press page for a fantastic toolkit you can use.
Absolutely, the more the merrier! Let's make the baton handovers and runs the best experiences ever!
Yes, as a sports event we’re covered and have insurance! But, just like in real life, to take part in Running Out of Time you will have to agree to take responsibility for your actions as per our Waiver. Everyone who takes part in the event must register on our website and agree to the Waiver. No exceptions!
You can find our booking terms in all their glory here! We can’t promise it makes for interesting reading though...
As much as we would have loved to make our website available in every language under the sun, we're only a small grassroots organisation. If you’re a translation company or tech whizz reading this and want to help out - get in touch!
We operate a Pay What You Want entry. There’s no pressure to pay - you can enter for free - everyone is welcome and the more people who take part, the more impact we’ll all have.
However, we are a group of volunteers and have substantial costs to cover. So, if you are able to pay an entrance fee, then thank you!
The first participant to sign up for a stage becomes the Stage Leader. The Stage Leader is the person who receives the relay baton from the stage before and carries it for the next stage. We encourage Stage Leaders to share the baton around during the run/cycle. The Stage Leader is our main point of contact for the relay stage, and leads the rest of the participants on the stage on the route run. If you are the first person to sign-up to a stage but do not want to be the Stage Leader we can swap you with another participant on your stage. Please email [email protected]
On every Stage Details page of our website we have provided a Strava route from your start and end point, which our Operations Team have plotted, however we recommend that you review this route ahead of your run.
Please make sure you are there at least 10 minutes before the start of your stage.
All Stage Leaders are responsible for checking that the planned route is suitable. For example, there are no roadworks or construction issues which would change the route.
Please email us at [email protected] if you have any queries or concerns about the stage route.
All of your stage details, including the place name and coordinates for your meeting points, are available on our website, within your Dashboard and in the welcome email we send you. We will also email you these details several times before your relay stage date.
Please bring your mobile phone, drinking water (in a reusable/recyclable bottle), wear suitable clothing and footwear to run/cycle your stage, and wear sunscreen if appropriate. If participating near to sunset we recommend wearing high-visibility clothing (reflective) and bringing a torch / head torch.
You must notify the organisers immediately by emailing [email protected] with the subject line ‘URGENT: I CANNOT RUN MY STAGE’. If you are the Lead Runner on your stage and no other runners have signed up to join you, please do your best to help find a replacement runner. We regret that no refunds on registration fees can be given.
This is the term we use to describe the location where one relay stage ends and another begins. It is the place that you will meet the people(s) from the stage before you and the place that you will run/cycle towards to meet the relay stage after yours.
It is the joint responsibility of all participants to keep the relay running to time. Please do everything in your power to prevent delays. We’re all relying on you!
You can track the relay’s progress online via our live map. The GPS device within the relay baton will update its location on the map every 5 minutes. Sometimes, GPS can fail and so please still be at your stage on time!
All runners must carry the mobile phone during their run, please ensure this is the same phone number that you provide during registration.
The Running Out of Time Relay Crew will be driving the route in an electric van from Ben Nevis to Big Ben catching up with the relay at various points. However, they will not be at every stage. We strongly recommend that you arrange for a friend or family member to support you during your stage.
One of the aims of the relay is to highlight the contribution active travel can make in the fight against climate change and we strongly recommend using low/zero carbon methods to get to and from your relay stage. To help with this, wherever possible we’ve plotted the Stage Handovers to be near public transport so that you can get to or from your stage start/end point.
If this is not an option and you are running with others, please consider carpooling. Or even better, if you're lucky enough to have a friend/family member who has an electric car, ask them to give you a lift to and from your stage!
If you cycle to the start of your stage, we may be able to arrange for our Relay Crew to carry your bike so you can cycle home. However, we’d need to arrange this ahead of time by contacting [email protected]
You could also make your relay stage a bigger challenge by running home!
Depending on where you’re running you might like to get in touch with the local police to let them know what you’re going to be up to. They may even be able to provide a vehicle escort if required. Our Operations Team will be contacting police in places where we feel the route is particularly challenging and our Relay Crew will be at these stages to provide safety assistance. If you do decide to do this please let [email protected] know via email.
Certain sections of the relay are reserved because they are particularly challenging and require experienced runners or a slightly faster mode of transport such as a bike! We are recruiting these people behind-the-scenes and you will see their names appear on the stage listings soon.
The message in the baton supports the Climate Coalition’s national United for People, Climate and Nature campaign. It calls for politicians of all parties - and leaders in all walks of life - to cut emissions, restore nature, and help those most affected by climate change.
The message will be placed in the baton at launch and will be read out by people of all backgrounds and ages along the Relay route before being delivered to Westminster at the Relay finale on July 4th.
From the Climate Coalition
“People across the UK are already taking action to tackle climate change and protect nature and 83% of people in the UK think the government should do more to tackle climate change. It’s time for all politicians to follow suit and commit to ambitious action ahead of the UK general election and in this critical decade for our planet.
There is still time. But the window of opportunity to avoid the worst effects of climate change and the loss of the natural world is closing – fast. The Running Out of Time relay is about celebrating what’s already being done, and inspiring more positive action that can and should be taken NOW, whilst we have the chance.
Running Out of Time partner Carbon Copy has gathered a collection of over 1000 climate action stories from around the UK, told by the people locally who are making change happen. Check out the Planet Pledges page and use the interactive map to find some of the projects happening near you, or visit the Carbon Copy website to browse the full inspiring collection!