Running Out of Time Relay Begins at Sunnyside!

Celebrating climate action - 7,767km - 732 stages - one mission!

Sunnyside Primary School in Glasgow was the starting point of Running Out of Time, the world’s longest non-stop relay ever attempted. Thousands of runners, cyclists and sailors will work together to pass a relay baton hand-to-hand from Glasgow 7,767km to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to deliver a powerful climate message from young people to decision makers at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27.

The baton will pass through Scotland, Wales, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, before arriving in Egypt in time for COP27.

Along the extraordinary route, the baton will cross seas, mountain ranges, glaciers, and deserts. It will visit schools, at-risk locations and climate change projects meeting scientists, engineers and community leaders at the forefront of the green revolution to better understand what is happening to our planet and to inspire local climate action.

Sealed within the baton is a climate message written in English and Arabic to decision makers at COP27. The message was crafted by the Foundation for Environmental Education together with pupils from Sunnyside Primary School. It says:

We are Running Out of Time.

Quality climate education is critical if we are to equip people of all ages and in all places with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a future in which all can thrive.

Young people need to be recognised as leaders, placed at the forefront of the conversation about climate change and empowered through education.

We are calling on the world’s leaders to provide us with the skills and training to build a sustainable world.

Our world is warming and to keep the increase to 1.5 degrees we need forward thinking, consistent policies and funding to help us reach Net Zero Emissions.

We are committed to help build a future that is inclusive and sustainable for all.

Show by your actions, not just words, that you are too.

Help us get there!

The official relay baton was created by award-winning Glasgow-based designers 4c Design whose many accolades include the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton. The iconic spiral design of the Running Out of Time baton represents the four essential layers of climate action -  international, national, local and individual.

Baton Handovers at Eco-Schools in Scotland along the route included: 

Friends of Ashton & Ashton Secondary School: a school that caters for pupils with a wide range of barriers to learning. Recipients of funding from Scotland's Climate Festival Seed Fund. 

St Andrew's & St Bride's High School: contributed a song for Dear World Leaders - a book we produced ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.

Wallace Hall Academy: A recent Eco-Schools Green Flag renewal working on Litter & Waste and School Grounds including reducing litter in the school grounds, constructing a polytunnel, setting up a wormery and water butts, and drastically reducing plastic packaging in the school canteen. 

Applegarth Primary School: A recent Eco-Schools Green Flag renewal working on School Grounds and Water projects including designing reusable water bottles for pupils, creating rain gauges and carrying out a One Planet Picnic.

 
What's Next?

• Follow the baton here: https://running-out-of-time.com/route/ 
• Join in the Global Schools Action Day on 3rd November with classroom resources and activities
• Support the climate message to COP27 by signing our Climate Action Schools Pledge