Mike Seaman, the creator of the National Running Show, alongside a host of high profile runners, has launched a 24-7 indoor running relay with the aim to raise £10,000 to help fund the shortfall that charities are facing due to the cancellation of mass participation running events.
Indoor Relay launches on Saturday 2 May at 12pm with five-time Olympian Jo Pavey taking on the first run in her own home. Every hour on the hour a new runner will take on a leg of the relay, running within the boundary of their home before passing the virtual baton to the next runner. All streamed online, the relay will continue to run until the UK schools return.
The initiative has already seen 250 runners of all abilities signing up to take part and help raise money including legends of the running world including Susie Chan, Nikki Love, Allie Bailey, Raoul Monks, Elise Downing, David Hellard, Liz Ayres, Victoria Owens, Danny Bent, Anna Harding and Aleks Kashefi who have signed up as Team Captains.
The one hour leg can be around the sofa, up and down the garden, on a treadmill or up and down the drive and all monies raise will be split equally between NHS Charities Together, NSPCC, Mind, Children with Cancer UK and Women’s Aid.
Mike Seaman, founder of Indoor Relay and CEO of Raccoon Events, commented: “When you live and breathe running you can’t help but be affected by the conversations you are having with charities who rely so heavily on the income raised by running events. With the mass postponement and cancellation of running events this year the impact has been massive. Given the fact that I work alongside so many runners I wanted to see if we could make a small difference for some very worthwhile causes. We are not looking for avid runners or anyone with any speed or endurance, this event is open to anyone who can sustain an hour’s running, jogging, walking within their own home and can record themselves taking part. It really is that easy, all the techy stuff has been taken care of. I would encourage runners of all abilities to get in touch, sign up for a slot and be part of this event.”
Donations can be made online at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/indoorrelay and you can follow the team’s progress on Instagram at twitter @indoor_relay. For more information visit www.IndoorRelay.com or check out this video explaining how it works https://biteable.com/watch/indoor-relay-2520864.