Runners launch alternative Olympic torch relay round Britain At midnight on Monday, ten days after the official torch relay began, and without as much fanfare, the alternative relay set off from Land's End in Cornwall. At the time of writing it had almost reached Chippenham in Wiltshire. Organisers have dubbed it "the real relay," and are hoping for runners around the country to sign up to event and help the torch complete the 8,000-mile route to London. They even hope that they may be able to reach London before the official torch does. "Knowing the running community as I do, I thought the idea would quickly gain momentum," said Mr Baker, who runs a company that organises off-road running races. We don't want to take anything away from the official torch relay, which I think has galvanised the public in a fantastic way. And I understand their reasons for doing it the way they have, for the security - but we just thought it would great to prove it could be done the real way, non stop and on foot. The route has been divided into hundreds of different stages, with most around 10 miles long. It calls at all the main conurbations visited by the official torch - although runners are free to take less busy routes if they wish. A baton is also being used in this alternative event, with a tracking device allowing its progress to be followed online. Organisers are calling for runners who can maintain an average pace of around six miles per hour. Each runner needs to donate £10 to run a stage - with the more popular stages such as the ascent of Snowdon being auctioned off - and the proceeds of which will be passed on to CHICKS, a charity supporting disadvantaged children. For more information on the relay attempt, or to sign up, see here.