Coasting the Country

22 APR2010

Runners in Scotland 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 scottishrunningguide.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 reach Gretna on May 16 before travelling up through the West Coast and back down to Edinburgh and the Borders by mid July.

Many sections of the route through the western and northern parts of Scotland - covered in June this year - do not yet have allocated runners. Although organisers have 'floating' runners who can take Barry through these stretches, readers of scottishrunningguide.com are being urged to take up the challenge and help to carry Barry the Baton around some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in Britain.

Runners are also encouraged to double up and run sections of the relay 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 scottishrunningguide.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, at www.coastersgb.co.uk, where participants can also sign up for legs of the relay, as well as join online community discussions with fellow teammates.