Going for the Green: Eco-Conscious Races

The buzz about the greening of the running industry often focuses on materials and product innovation. That’s understandable. It’s where the wow factor is. But increasingly, those on the event side of the business, in the form of road race organizers and participants, are embracing a green ethos.

Next year, unofficial environmental certification will be introduced for events in the triathlon and running communities, driven by the work of the Portland, Oregon-based non-profit Council for Responsible Sport (http://www.resporting.org). Comprehensive check lists going over different aspects of greening races and events can be obtained from several other sources, including Runner’s World’s online green racing community at http://www.runners-world.greenteam.com.

The basics of a green race or event generally focus on recycling, composting and the use of renewable energy (as well as energy offsetting). Steps as seemingly small as putting well-placed trash cans on the course for participants to discard of gel wrappers or requiring online rather than paper registration, can both be part of a “green plan.” And while going green on a larger scale can at first seem overwhelming, and in many cases can increase costs, the long-term benefits are undeniable.

Aaron Levinthal is a founder of GreeNow, an event vendor that focuses on serving power needs with state of the art equipment (generators, heavy machinery and lights) all running on 99 percent biodiesel (as well as a comprehensive on-site recycling program). The company has worked on major road race events for the likes of New York Road Runners and is working on the Nike+ Human Race event, as well.

Levinthal acknowledges that going green can seem like an overwhelming task for race directors, but suggests that it can be tackled with baby steps. “Any one step you take is that much further along,” he says. “Recycling is a big, big part of it and just paying attention to little details. The audiences at events love it, they love knowing they are involved with something green and good.”

Levinthal suggests that green events have an edge in securing sponsorship and marketing dollars. “With the economy the way it is, marketing dollars and budgets are being cut,” he asserts. “Having a green event makes sponsors feel a little better about spending what money they have on something positive, it doesn’t seem wasteful.”

Keith Peters, the former Nike PR director, and co-founder of Eco-Logistics, a company that works with race directors to host more eco-conscious events, has seen the running industry evolve first hand. Peters was the long-time race coordinator for Portland’s legendary Cascade Run Off event and was also Nike’s running events manager in the ’80s. Peters spent 17 years at Nike before relocating to Jackson, Wyoming about seven years ago.

Peters offers a couple of basic tips to race directors looking to go green: “First of all, look at your transportation impact. If you are a local, small town race, can participants get public transport? And what type of transport is involved in setting up the bleachers and setting up things on the course? What type of vehicles do you have on the course? Is it a point to point or a loop? Is it a relay race? Transportation is the single biggest impact I can think of from a running event.”

The obvious benefit of greening an event is that you are doing a good thing. From the point of view of race participants, however, Peters says, “It may be less about a race director marketing and getting more participants, and be more about not losing participants to the other races who are doing the right thing.”

One creative “green race” example is at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, where upwards of 20,000 plastic bottles were collected this year for recycling. The bottles were then donated to an apparel producer and used to produce fleece made with recycled PET. The resulting fleece garments were donated to the needy.

The Austin Marathon, another race working hard to be green, uses a solar-powered main stage for its musical performers and award ceremony and has a team of kayakers in Lady Bird Lake collecting discarded items as runner’s passed over the bridges above it. The event organizers also have a local farmers market in place with organic produce at the race’s finish area.

According to Peters, creativity and common sense in going green translates to retail as easily as it does to events. The key is to set clear and simple goals, both short-term and long-term. Understand what you want to accomplish, how you will accomplish it, and how you will measure success

Bruce Rayner is the chief green officer for Athletes for a Fit Planet LLC, a company that works with races to host eco-conscious events. Rayner notes that the benefits of going green are clear. “You reduce waste and emissions and you start to develop a new attitude toward and relationship with the natural world around you.”

The challenge, according to Rayner, is that going green is hard work. Some of the green options can be more expensive. For example, compostable cups can cost upwards of five times as much as the regular old not-so-easily recyclable polyethylene lined cups. “But prices are coming down and within a year or two, I believe these cost differentials will start to disappear,” says Rayner.

Rayner feels that running specialty retailers play a key role in the green chain. “They can support events that are going green, adopt green practices in their own stores and in their purchasing practices,” notes Rayner. “They can pressure local race organizers to make changes and encourage athletes to do the same. Retailers and vendors are the customer interface with the supply chain. There are so many ways that the supply chain can clean up its act.”

Like others in the industry, Rayner feels green races are here to stay. “The market demands it, and it’s the right thing to do. The challenge is to make it cost effective. Just take it slow, experiment and add on to your list one thing at a time.”

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