Allie and Kevin Bowen green spirit at the Dragon’s Back Race 2025
Allie Bailey and Kevin Bowen, have taken on the Dragon’s Back Race 2025. This iconic six-day ultra shows how action and community bring strength.
At The Green Runners, we love celebrating the actions our members take to live their values while pursuing the sport they love. This week, we are proud to shine a light on two special members: Allie Bailey, coach and bestselling author, recent winner at the Montane Summer Spine Challenger North 2025, and Kevin Bowen, the driving force behind our very first Local Meet Up group in Nottingham.
They’ve both embarked on an epic challenge: the Dragon’s Back Race, a six-day, 380 km (236-mile) ultra-running event stretching from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle. Often described as one of the world’s toughest mountain races, it crosses the high peaks of Snowdonia National Park and the Brecon Beacons, with huge daily ascents and demanding, unmarked terrain.
Allie: making her pledge through kit
A few months ago, Allie announced her sponsorship with our friends at the Re-Action Collective:
I am thrilled to be able to access their network of incredible organisations who are challenging the status quo with community-based circular solutions for the outdoor industry. Basically, they fix things, they sell it second-hand, they recycle, upcycle, create from waste and they lend out everything from tents to helmets. They are amazing and you should get involved with what they do, too.
Allie’s focus on kit perfectly embodies our pillar of How We Kit Up: making conscious choices about the gear we use and showing that every action counts.
Kevin Bowen: championing Local Meet Ups
Kevin is our Local Meet Up star. He set up the Nottingham group that has shaped the model for other TGR groups across the country. To reach Conwy for the race, he took three trains from Nottingham and borrowed dry bags for the event — a simple but powerful example of avoiding unnecessary purchases for something highly specific.
Ahead of the start, Kevin shared:
I am incredibly nervous but also excited and determined to enjoy it whatever the outcome. Knowing I have got friends invested in the journey and willing my little dot along will be a huge motivation.
His words sum up what The Green Runners is all about: connection, encouragement, and making space for one another to act in line with our values.
Following their dots
The Dragon’s Back has been testing, with unforgiving weather, many withdrawals, and 20% of the field switching to the less demanding Hatchling option. Yet Allie and Kevin have kept going strong.
You can follow their progress live here: Dragon’s Back Race tracker
Celebrate their journey with us
Seeing the TGR badge out on the course is always inspiring. It sparks conversations, builds community, and shows that small actions add up. If you would like your own badge, you can get one here: The Green Runners patch. Wear it with pride, tag us in your photos, and share your story: every action matters, and together we create change.