Coasting the Country

29 APR2010

Runners in the north of England will be given the chance to take part in one of the biggest relay races the country has ever seen as Coasters GB take Barry the Baton around the UK's beautiful coastal paths. The fun begins on May 9 as Barry leaves Blackpool to 'coast' in a clockwise direction, around the country.

Visitors to northernrunningguide.com are being asked to join in the relay, by signing up to run a portion of the route, carrying Barry the Baton to his next location. The relay is due to leave Blackpool on May 9, reaching Gretna on May 16. Barry will then coast around Scotland before returning to England in mid July. Runners in the North of England will then have another chance to take Barry back to Blackpool as he returns back in September this year.

Most sections of the route already have an allocated runner, however readers of northernrunningguide are being encouraged to 'double up' and take Barry around some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the country with friends and fellow enthusiasts. The most important factor about the race is that is it people-led, organisers want runners to run as many sections of the route as they want, and for as many people to take part as possible.

One of the event's organisers, Stu Prince, told northernrunningguide.com,

"The Great Britain Coastal Relay is set to start at Blackpool Tower on May 9th 2010, heading clockwise. I had the idea after watching Eddie Izzard on his adventure and used Internet communities and forums to find out if anyone was interested in helping me organise it. We soon had a committed group of "coasters" and a wooden baton named Barry. This was five months ago now and nearly every stretch of Great Britain's coast has a runner attached.

"This relay is about the running community and, being free, is totally inclusive. We want more runners and supporters to get Barry 'round our coast safely. It is not too late to be a coaster and join in the 3 months of fun as Barry bounds the bays of Britain."

Runners can track Barry the Baton's progress around the country from the Coasters GB website, where participants can also sign up for legs of the relay, as well as join online community discussions with fellow teammates.