GoodGym 48-hour virtual relay

At the end of April, GoodGym Leeds staged a real-time virtual relay over 12 hours. It was great fun, and it gave me an idea to try something a bit bigger and try and get some other areas involved.

The idea would be to create something a bit more like the 24-hour relays (Endure24, Thunder Run, Equinox etc). As we only want people running once a day, but running multiple laps, I think running for the whole spring bank holiday weekend is our best idea. The simple idea is this (see below for more detailed rules)

• Teams of up to 24

• 10k laps which you can run or walk.

• 48 hours (starting Saturday midday and finishing Monday midday)

• The aim is for each team to run as far as possible in the 48 hours allowed.

• Only one runner 'on course' at any one time

• Each runner must carry a baton and pass it virtually to the next runner

• Each runner is only allowed to run once on any day (but multiple back-to-back laps are allowed)

• There is no obligation to run at night, teams can take a break at any point

• Water stations, refreshments, toilets and showers are all located in the start/finish area (probably, I don't know, it's your house!)

While I've said teams of up to 24, feel free to create your own teams however you see fit. Make a team with a few mates and just commit to running one lap each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Or run solo and see how far you can manage in your own house. It's totally up to you.

Camping in your garden, showering under a hose pipe, sleeping in a bivvy on your balcony or setting up a fort in your living room are all encouraged to recreate the festival atmosphere.

If you want to set up a rival team, send me an email (aron@goodgym.org) with your team name (with an obligatory pun, of course), and a team captain, and I can chat to you about planning.

I would also very much encourage creating a big twitter thread or instagram story, we had a lot of fun with it so I'm hoping you do too.

The Nitty Gritty

• Your baton can be anything - a kitchen utensil, a toilet roll, a kettle. Totally up to you. Baton handovers will generally be via whatsapp/text message (unless you share a house with another team member!)

• As long as your last runner is on course before 12:00 on 25th May, your distance for that lap will be included in your team's total.

• If you have 24 runners averaging less than 1 hour per 10k (including changeovers) then you will either need to take a break, or one or more runners can run multiple laps back to back.

• Laps should be a true lap - from your house or workplace/on a treadmill/around the garden etc - and start and end in roughly the same place (no crazy net downhill runs). If you run multiple laps in the 48 hour period, the same lap should be used. (Exceptions can of course be made - e.g. if you are running a mission etc)

• If you are currently shielding, can not leave the house, and/or do not have a garden, feel free to contact me to suggest an alternative activity.

• For clarity, a day is considered a calendar day (00:01 - 23:59). You can therefore run twice in a 24 hour period (e.g. Saturday night/Sunday morning) but not twice on Saturday.

• As with all GoodGym activities, you take part at your own risk, and you should never feel pressured to do something you don't feel comfortable doing (e.g. running at night). It's all just a bit of fun really!