Press Release - Nationwide Running Out of Time Relay Launches

Press Release: Monday 12th June, 2023

Nationwide ‘Running out of Time’ Relay Launches

2,661km climate relay from Ben Nevis to Big Ben begins!

THE FIRST ever British ‘Running out of Time’ Climate Relay, which will see thousands take up the baton to inspire the nation to take collective action to reach net zero and protect our natural world has set off from Ben Nevis.

The first runner began the 32-day, 2661 km relay from Scotland to London from the heights of Ben Nevis on a journey which will see runners, walkers, wheelers, cyclists, rowers, swimmers, surfers and even skiers take part across 35 UK counties.

Aimed at showcasing the many people, places and organisations, such as Whitelee Visitor Centre, already dedicated to sustainability and preserving the environment, the relay is set to be the biggest sporting celebration of climate action and nature ever attempted across Britain.

Along the way, the baton will be carried by an Olympic Gold medal winning canoeist and a Paralympian skier.

The relay will travel through 50 cities and towns including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea , Reading and London.

It will pass through National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and feature visits to historic landmarks, stunning natural sites, schools, universities, community projects and sporting venues.

The relay will end in London on July 11 with a closing ceremony in Parliament Square after visiting the Olympic Park and the Royal Docks.

As part of the relay, thousands of school pupils across the UK have also signed up for the Let’s Go Zero National Schools Action Day on Wednesday 21 June, to celebrate the incredible work that is taking place to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

Running Out of Time organisers, together with environmental partners The Great Big Green Week Green Week (The Climate Coalition), Carbon Copy, Let’s Go Zero, launched the relay at the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre where the message was read out by award winning climate activist, scientist, and ethical influencer, Laura Young. The opening stage coincides with the launch of the Great Big Green Week.

Running Out of Time is organised by social enterprise The World Relay which is celebrating its tenth year of running successful relays around the globe, with 200,000 global participants and nearly £2 million raised for charity.

Running out of Time co-founder Dan Thompson said: “There’s a lot of negativity and fear around climate change but what we wanted to do was to change the narrative to celebrate and highlight the sterling work already being carried on around the UK to inspire others that it is worthwhile trying to change the status quo and take action. The relay will use the power of sport to literally connect the many incredible projects taking place with an unbroken chain of participants.”

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EDITOR NOTES

CONTACT:

Press Contact: Liz Ivens: 07584 121388 ([email protected]) or [email protected]
Press Images: Available via LINK
Images: Credit: Mike Brogden Photography, unless stated otherwise.

KEY DATES

Start date: Saturday 10th June 2023, Ben Nevis, Scotland.
End date: Tuesday 11th July 2023, Parliament Square, London

KEY FACTS

Duration: 32 days // Distance: 2,661km // Number of stages: 374 // Distance per stage (Avg.): 7km // Sports involved: Running, cycling, walking, mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, rowing, paragliding,

WEBSITE: www.running-out-of-time.com

SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram @climaterelay | Facebook @climaterelay | Twitter @climate_relay

#RunningOutOfTime

The public can still register to take part and track the baton at https://running-out-of-time.com/
The official relay baton has been created by award-winning Surrey-based designers Bang Creations. The iconic design of the Running Out of Time baton houses a screen which features a live Climate Clock, which counts down the critical time window to reach zero emissions. The screen, when tapped, displays the Warming Stripes designed by relay supporter Professor Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading. When tapped again, it displays a video of the relay message.
The relay will be accompanied by an experienced support crew of Lauren Wigham, Mike Brogden, and Sophie Done. DriveElectric is the Official Electric Vehicle Sponsor for Running Out of Time 2023 and is providing the all-electric Nissan Ariya support team vehicle. Paua is supporting the relay through provision of its market leading EV re-charging solution.
Social enterprise The World Relay are multi award-winning global leaders in mass participation relays best known for their One Run series, starting in 2013 with One Run for Boston: a non-stop relay across the US on behalf of the victims of the Boston marathon bombings. Since then, they’ve organised relays all over the world. Over 200k runners have participated in One Run relays raising over £1.9 million for good causes. 10,000 participants took part in the inaugural 2022 Running Out of Time relay, carrying the baton 7,767km non-stop from Glasgow (COP 26 host) to Sharm el-Sheikh (COP 27 host)

Please find Partner Quotes and Relay Locations and Dates available here.