22nd September 2022
Revealed! Iconic Running Out of Time Climate Relay Baton
Designing an iconic baton to deliver a climate message from young people to world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27 is an interesting brief on its own. That it will be carried by thousands of runners, cyclists and sailors in an epic 7,767km relay, crossing seas, mountain ranges, glaciers, and deserts, villages, towns and visiting capital cities along the way while visiting hundreds of schools, at-risk locations and climate change projects to inspire and champion local climate action… well, now you’re talking.
Today, organisers of Running Out of Time, the mass participation climate relay from Glasgow, Scotland to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (Friday 30th September to Tuesday 8th November 2022) revealed the official relay baton.
The iconic baton has been created by award-winning Glasgow-based designers 4c Design whose many accolades include the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton.
The brief was to create an impactful universal symbol to connect globally and inspire action individually. Various designs and forms were dreamt up and some shown, but there was really only ever one design for the baton. It felt right the moment ink touched paper.
It utilises 18 seemingly fragile parts representing the nations the baton passes through that are stronger together where the exchange of the baton happens. The iconic spiral rings represent the four essential layers of climate action where impact can be made: international, national, local and individual.
Finally, the powerful climate message written in English and Arabic to decision makers at COP27 will be sealed into the baton on the 30th September 2022 at the opening ceremony in Glasgow. The message was crafted by the Foundation for Environmental Education together with Sunnyside Primary School, Glasgow. It says:
We are Running Out of Time.
Quality climate education is critical if we are to equip people of all ages and in all places with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a future in which all can thrive.
Young people need to be recognised as leaders, placed at the forefront of the conversation about climate change and empowered through education.
We are calling on the world’s leaders to provide us with the skills and training to build a sustainable world.
Our world is warming and to keep the increase to 1.5 degrees we need forward thinking, consistent policies and funding to help us reach Net Zero Emissions.
We are committed to help build a future that is inclusive and sustainable for all.
Show by your actions, not just words, that you are too.
Help us get there!
Will Mitchell, Managing Director @4c says “Over the years, we’ve been asked to design batons and trophies for various projects and initiatives and turned all but a few away to stretch out creative muscles. When the Running Out of Time team approached me to see if myself and the team would be up for it – I couldn’t say no. The ambition behind this relay hits so hard with what we need to do as a society that has a significant impact on our industry and lives – it is an honour to help guide it.”
Carried by runners, cyclists and sailors, the relay baton will journey on a route over 40 days and nights through Scotland, Wales, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt - arriving to Sharm el-Sheikh on November 8th 2022 in time for COP27 which will take place from 6th-18th November 2022.
“The baton is a true team effort with others involved from various backgrounds and utilised a lot of leftover materials in our studio. Handcrafted. Machined. Polished. Love and care has been poured over it and I’m excited to see it wear from the thousands of hands it’ll pass and how well it will age once it reaches its final destination.” says Mark Penver – Design Director @4c
Runners - from kids to Presidents - will carry the baton in 5-10km stages of the route but people around the world who are unable to run a stage on the physical route won’t miss out.
They’re invited to pass the baton during a Global Virtual Relay on November 5th 2022 which is expected to attract tens of thousands of runners in the name of climate action.
"Working with 4c to develop the Running Out of Time relay baton has been a fantastic experience. The team understood that the baton is at the heart of the relay's story and spent several workshops with us to explore what it symbolises and how the design and materials used, embody that story. The result is something that is unique and perfectly captures our mission of togetherness in the fight against the climate crisis." says Jamie Hay, Running Out of Time Co-Founder.
Discover the route, track the baton and join in at www.running-out-of-time.com
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Editor Notes
Press contact Larissa Clark [email protected] +47 46852672 (Oslo)
Press Pack including releases, images & B-roll: available via LINK
Website: www.running-out-of-time.com
When: Friday 30th September to Sunday 6th November 2022
Where: Glasgow, Scotland to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
Social media: Instagram @climaterelay | Facebook @climaterelay | Twitter @climate_relay
#RunningOutOfTime
The Whole Route: https://running-out-of-time.com/route/
Global Schools Action Day: Thursday 3rd November
Global Virtual Relay: Saturday 5 November for those who can’t join the physical route
About The World Relay Ltd are multi-award winning global leaders in mass participation relays best known for their One Run series. Co-Founded by runners, adventurers and Guinness World Record holders James Hay and Danny Bent, their mission started 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 including relays across the USA and two non-stop month-long relays in London. Awarded honours for these events include Runner's World 'Heroes of Running'. Over 200k runners have participated in One Run relays raising over £1.9 million for good causes.In 2021, 165 000 students and runners from 195 countries came together for global unity in the One Run Global Relay – a 24 hour virtual relay around the world. www.theworldrelay.com
About 4c Design: https://www.4cdesign.co.uk/
Principal Partner Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is one of the world’s largest Education for Sustainable Development organisations, with over 100 member organisations in 81 countries and a network of over 60,000 educational institutions. http://www.fee.global/
Principal Partner Carbon Copy is a UK charity that inspires big-thinking local climate action to accelerate our progress towards a fairer, carbon zero future. https://carboncopy.eco/
RELAY PARTNERS - https://running-out-of-time.com/partners including sponsorship from Ecotricity, Britain's greenest energy supplier.