The Green Belt Relay: A First-Timer's View from Sutton Striders
- Sutton Striders
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
Every May, teams of runners from across the south of England take on the Green Belt Relay — 220 miles of footpaths, towpaths and country lanes circling outer London, completed over a single weekend. It's one of the most unique team running events on the UK calendar, and in 2026, Sutton Striders entered two teams of 11.
Here, member Rosalind Hook shares what it's actually like to take part for the first time — the nerves, the logistics, the hills, and why she'd recommend it without hesitation.
Wow, what a weekend; what an experience!
As a Green Belt Relay newbie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had only recently joined the Sutton Striders at the time of the 2025 event, so I’d only vaguely picked up some of the tales of hills, camaraderie and struggle experienced by my fellow club members. But during a post-interval training session pub visit back in rainy November, I was persuaded to sign up and give it a go myself.
As the weekend drew nearer, I felt a bit intimidated by other running clubs’ social media highlights of broken course records and stage wins. I was relieved, however, when the Striders’ own account made it clear that while we took our running seriously, we were also there to have a good time and wouldn't be "troubling the super-competitive end of the leaderboard."
I also managed to give myself travel sickness watching YouTube videos to prepare for my stages. While that didn't bode well for the event itself, I took the Green Belt organisers’ advice that “THE ROUTE IS VERY COMPLEX AND IF YOU DON’T PREPARE YOU WILL GO WRONG!” very literally.
The Green Belt Relay follows much of the Green Belt Way, comprising 220 miles of footpaths, minor roads and towpaths around the outside of London. It’s split into 22 stages ranging from 6 to 13.5 miles, featuring varying terrains and difficulty levels. Teams of 11 work together, with each team member running one stage per day. Sutton Striders put forward two teams of 11 each - although I’m not sure that many of us actually knew or cared too much which team was which. We just wanted to run our best and support our teammates!
The logistics behind the miles
Of course, the running isn’t everything. There is also a huge logistical puzzle involved in matching runners’ ability levels (and willingness to tackle the more brutal stages!) to the right stages, managing last minute injuries and emergency dropouts, as well as balancing difficulty levels across both days so no single person bears the brunt of the hardest work.
Then there are the non-running logistics. Each team must support the wider race by marshalling and manning water stations, alongside coordinating transport arrangements to ferry runners to their start lines and pick up exhausted teammates. The team captain’s job is clearly a tricky one, and every driver and runner has to play their part by arriving on time, ready to race or support.
Team spirit and village greens
For me, this coordination was the most impressive part of the Green Belt challenge. It felt wonderful to be included in a team accomplishing something physically challenging together, especially for someone who isn’t a natural athlete and often feels like a bit of a reluctant runner.
But equally as enjoyable was supporting both my fellow Striders and the other clubs - from the super-speedy, record-breaking front-runners to those taking it a little slower, but no less impressively. I loved my time on the road getting to know other Striders, popping up at start and finish lines, and marshalling in the rain in a beautiful little English village near St Albans.
Sunday brought a stint on top of Box Hill in the sunshine, where we used our big blue, yellow and white foam fingers to direct the exhausted runners, and members of the public approached us, curious about the event and the Sutton Striders themselves. I also don't think I have ever seen quite so much cricket played in so many quintessentially English villages!
A Tale of Two Stages
Running-wise, my two stages were similar lengths (around 9 to 9.5 miles), but they felt completely different.
Day one was a bit of a struggle, though I’m not sure why since it was pancake-flat along the Thames towpath from Staines to just past Eton. Perhaps it was the worry about the unknown (I was on stage 2 of the opening day), heavy legs from a half marathon the previous weekend, or simply feeling like the slowest runner ever as the pack left me for dust early on. It didn't help that I stopped to take a photo of the home my late grandparents once lived in on the other side of the Thames, though seeing somewhere so significant to my childhood felt incredibly special.
Day two - from Dartford to Lullingstone Country Park - went much more smoothly. I actually enjoyed the slightly hillier terrain and the challenge of having to push myself up and down the gradients. Strangely, not knowing the geography so well also worked to my advantage; I thought less about distance and speed and just enjoyed the pure joy of running and discovering new places. The route took me from a fairly industrial start, past a Roman villa, through a country park via a shaded, babbling brook, and finally the undulating climbs and descents of Sparepenny Lane, one of those brilliantly distinctive English road names that sticks in your mind. The unexpected support from fellow Striders en route and at the finish line gave me an amazing boost to keep pushing.
The come down
I am so impressed by the organisation of this event. I can see just how much work the event organisers, team captains, marshals, drivers, and supporters put into making it run smoothly, and would like to say a huge thank you to them all.
We also saw some truly great running from our club: from age-group victories for Becky and Debbie, to various PBs, to a teammate stepping in to run three stages in total to cover an injured teammate, not to mention everyone who managed to survive full stop!
Real life on Monday felt like a huge come-down, but we have our beautiful race t-shirts showing our journeys, a bank of great memories, and very sore legs to remember it by.
Would recommend 10/10!
