What a fantastic evening! Running, chatting and connecting with other local residents and groups, who also believe in doing good and getting fit.

This evening I had the honour of carrying the baton for leg 148 of an extraordinary non-stop relay supporting action against climate change. TheRunning out of Time relay is travelling from Glasgow (hosts of COP26) to Sharm El-Sheikh (hosts of COP27), and the baton contains a message from young people to the decision makers at the next COP summit. The baton will travel a whopping 7,767km over 732 stages, 38 days (and nights!) and 18 countries.

One of the key messages the relay hopes to get across is the importance of local community action in the fight for climate stability, and also the need for local groups to work together. With that in mind, I was not alone in carrying the baton.

I was joined by fellow GoodGymers Sophie Lack, Juli Wood, Nick Baggott and Amanda Quincey. As well as representing GoodGym, Juli and Nick were also flying the parkrun flag, and Amanda was also representing the Datchet Dashers running club.

The five of us were joined by Ric Casale from Carbon Copy, a major partner in the relay and a charity whose mission is all about 'accelerat(ing) a community-powered response to the biodiversity and climate crises'. We also teamed up with Barnaby Briggs from RBWM's Climate Partnership, Maidenhead Athletic Club member Beryl Nyere, Colin Shearer from Windsor Cycle Hub, Michael Young from the Maidenhead Great Park campaign, Layla Smith, Director of Aspire PR & Marketing and Martin Richardson from WAMACT (Windsor Ascot Maidenhead Active Travel).

Our leg of the relay started at the Prince Albert Pub in Windsor, and there was much excitement as we all met up. The relay started on the 7th of October and as the baton was handed over to me it was impressive to think it had already been traveling non-stop for a week.

As we set off running, the relay's magic began to work. We all started chatting and sharing stories and it wasn't long before I was getting excited about the new connections being made and the potential for future collaboration on environmental projects.

The (fairly weighty!) baton was also handed from runner to runner and as we came down the Long Walk we were cheered by a lovely local resident.

When we reached the castle, we stopped for some photos and I invited Ric to say a few words about the event. It was Ric who first got me involved and I knew his passion for Running Out of Time was infectious.

We were all enthralled as he shared with us that the baton was designed by the same people who made the Commonwealth Games baton. It has 18 lengths of wood representing the countries the relay will travel through, and 4 metal rings holding the wood together. Each ring symbolises a level at which action against climate change is needed: individual, local community, national and global. If any of these rings is missing, the whole thing falls apart - both literally and figuratively.

There is a scroll in the middle of the baton with a message, which was read out in English by children at the start, and will be read out again in Arabic when it reaches the finish. The message can be read in the photos for this report - it focuses on the need for young people to receive 'quality climate education' in order to lead and build a 'future that is inclusive and sustainable for all' - a brilliant message!

The second half of the run was less scenic, and we were pleased to have our lights as we squashed onto some narrow pavements by busy roads, but the conversation continued to flow and spirits were high when we reached our destination, the Simply Food in Old Windsor. Beryl and I together handed the baton on to the next runners, and we had a quick hello with them before they disappeared off into the night.

Lots of us then exchanged numbers before we said our goodbyes and the GoodGymers and Beryl headed back to the pub for a celebratory drink. What a great event!

So what's next? If this event has inspired you then here are just a few ideas for ways you can get involved.

1. Head over to the Running Out of Time website to check out where the baton is up to now and to find out more about the event.
2. Celebrate the baton arriving in Sharm El Sheik on the 5th of November with a run at 10am. The hope is that this time-zone virtual relay will happen at 10am in each of the countries along the route, passing from one time zone to the next throughout the day.
3. Sign up for a GoodGym session that has a positive impact on the environment. Click here to browse the listings.
4. Get involved with COPtober, the RBWM Climate Community's calendar of events to drive action against climate change. Click here to view the calendar.
5. Join the UK-wide GoodGym Green Team Facebook Group, where GoodGymers from different areas will be sharing best practice and ideas for how we can have a positive impact on climate and biodiversity.
6. Share with us your ideas for how we can work together and keep the spirit of the relay alive. Contact amylovell@goodgym.org