It's not easy being green...but it's great for the environment. With the trend of companies and individuals reducing, reusing, recycling and rethinking their impact on the earth it is time for runners, triathletes and the racing community as a whole to do the same. Race organizers are gradually switching from paper advertising and race applications to online registrations and websites, essentially going paperless where possible. Medals, competitor t-shirts, any products that can be dated are no longer. Carrying unused product forward to the next year not only reduces costs but reduces waste as well.
As a minimalist sport you may be unclear on how you as an individual can make an impact but it may be easier then you think. Start by reducing water bottles. Eliminating plastic one time use bottles and moving to washable bottles is a start. If you want something more long lasting then a bike bottle, hard sided aluminum bottles are a perfect solution. Using a water carrier like Fuelbelt is also a good solution not only for training but for racing as well. If all racers carried their own water, race organizers could use fewer paper cups, reducing waste and costs. As a race director we budget three cups for every participant per water station, so in a race of about 400 runners that could be as many as 3600 cups to be disposed of. In 2009 with 26,000 runners the Boston Marathon estimated they would use approximately 1,400,000 cups!! New on the scene is HydraPouch and Cup Free Racing! HydraPouch is a 6oz personal hydration system that is light, easy to use on the fly and clips to your waistband. The Pouch is matched to a Hydrapour system that is a self-serve way to run through an aid station faster and more efficiently allowing a racer to get in a full 6oz of fluid but eliminates the gulping, spilling and slowing down. In 2011 more and more races have become a ?cup free? or ?cup reduced? event including the Bolder Boulder who used the HydraPour System for all 50,000 of its participants who could fill their HydraPouch, FuelBelt or other personal hydration systems on the fly. See
www.cupfreeracing.com for more information.
As endurance athletes we ingest gels by the case load during training and racing...approximately one every 30 minutes. These little gel packs should be kept and recycled when you arrive home. Better yet pick up a bottle of gel and a reusable flask. This process is cheaper; 26 servings for less than you spend on 24 gel packs and reduces waste.
The perfect way to reuse and recycle is to donate your old, gently used running shoes to a donation program. Tri & Run Sports in Trenton has partnered with the Coast for Kids Program who makes sure your old friendlies make their way onto the feet of needy children.
However you choose to make your mark, attempting to make less of it on Planet Earth is good for the environment; so do your part to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
