Discussion: Events that have gone green?

Thought about putting this in off-course, but it might have relevance to A meet organizers or AR race directors on here.

I volunteer with a cross country ski race in Minneapolis, and I am trying to make a pitch to get rid of those bags that all competitors and volunteers get. You know, the ones with 900 pieces of paper from the sponsors that most of us who do a number of events just throw away

Do any of you know of events, that have found a way to satisfy sponsors' desires of exposure with a more eco (and racer) friendly approach.

One thought I had is as people complete their on-line registration, they are immediately taken to a page of ads/coupons, marketing and they choose whaat they want to print. My guess is that this would be fairly straightforward, but not sure it would meet spnsor needs

Thanks in advance

That sounds like a great idea.

I don't have an answer for you, but I have a few suggestions for people you could contact who are likely to be responsive:

Rebecca Heaton -- Editor, Rocky Mountain Sports. RMS provides bags for race organizers, they publish an annual directory of all Colorado races, and her editorials suggest an eco-friendly slant. So, maybe she's heard of alternative ideas or could give you insights on sponsor attitudes. rheaton@rockymountainsports.com

Darrin Eismann -- Occasional Orienteer and Race Director for lots of Colorado trail races, duathlons, triathlons, snowshoe races, etc. darrin@racingunderground.com

Hi Jerritt, I just noticed this feature in an email newsletter from active.com:

ING Hartford Marathon Aims to be Most Sustainable Athletic Event
...
ING and race organizers are working with presenting green sponsor United Technologies to become the most sustainable athletic event in the country. The water bubbler designed and built by UTC engineers and powered by Vital Water saved 10,000 plastic bottles from the local landfill in 2007.

The race has also taken the following actions:

* Only organic food served at race events
* Recycling at all events
* An environmentally friendly purchasing policy
* Reusable race bags

The Council for Responsible Sport has selected the race as one of five seedling races in the U.S. These races will establish standards and processes for a sustainability certification for athletic events.
...
For more information, visit the marathon's website: www.hartfordmarathon.com.

Thanks a lot. I will check that out.
Have to look into the Council on Responsible Sport as well.
Here is an event in the U.P. of Michigan that has done some cool things as well.
http://www.greatlakesendurance.com/race_info.htm

Could you get cloth bags printed up with all the logos on them (each sponsor pays a contribution?).
Over here in the UK we got Yorkshire Water to provide sports drinks bottles at a multi-day event that competitors could refill each day (and use afterwards) instead of taking a plastic mineral water bottle each day. Again you could get drinks bottles logoed up?

In Bulgaria, for many events the map itself includes logos of the sponsors. From sponsor's point of view it can't get more direct exposure than that, and from participants point of view it is really easy to fold your map while running, and still be able to look at the sponsors later after the race if you want.

Could you get cloth bags printed up with all the logos on them

My wife and I are still carrying the cloth bags we received at check-in for a worldloppet ski race years ago. We keep them in our duffles to use for dirty clothes. The race was point-to-point and used them initially for clothing transport from the start to the finish. They were printed with competitor numbers on them without sponsor logos, but there's no reason that couldn't be done.

As noble as it may be to try to get rid of all those advertising circulars in "goody bags" I think there are more important eco considerations when presenting athletic meets: have you ever noticed that most competitors drive themselves to races, all alone? Think how many equivalent plastic bags are dumped into the environment from those gallons of gas each racer uses to get to his race.

Why don't race organizers make a better effort to schedule and locate races convenient to public transit...and then promote its use? Or provide for car-pooling and ride-sharing during registration on their websites as LAOC does? Even in Minnesota there are bus systems. Do you mention the public transit option, with times and schedules, in your race materials as CAOC does?

We used to have a marathon here in Chicago, that began near the Wisconsin border and ran south, down the Lakefront for 26 miles. The whole course was organized along the train tracks. People were encouraged to take the special trains to the start. And then return trains would pick up the 10k'ers, the half-marathoners, and the marathoners and return them to the City, or to their cars. And thousands rode those trains.

Clark,
The race does encourage using public transit. The finish is located at a major bus terminal and people are encouraged to use it. The race has also put systems into place to make it more realistic that people use it.

I look at getting rid of the circulars as a win/win/win situation. As a race organizer it takes volunteer time to stuff the bags. As a competitor I have rarely found much use for the 10-20 pieces of paper. And while eliminating those two aspects, the race is doing a little bit to be greener. Also, some of the paper ends up on the ground and needs to be picked up by more volunteers.
BTW, "Noble" is not a word I would apply, "pragmatic" is probably closer to what I am thinking.

As a relative newcomer I've noticed some parks that we use for local meets could use clean-up (one memorable one was Cliff Cave where a flag was located at the bottom of a depression/pit littered with trash--almost cut my hand on rusty metal reaching for the puncher). Perhaps it would be a good idea for local groups like ours to invite participants to come early, or a day before or after the event, to also clean up. If folks are just too pressed for time to travel, race and clean up all in one day or weekend, then maybe a day every few months devoted just to cleaning up one park well-used for O-meets would be an idea.

You might want to contact Amy Frostick, race director of the recent Shamrock Marathon (Virginia Beach), which had a big hooplah about being a green event (with a green theme on a green holiday weekend, get it?) Their bag to hold shwag was cloth and reusable. They heavily emphasized recycling at the after-party.

chitownclark asks Why don't race organizers make a better effort to schedule and locate races convenient to public transit...and then promote its use? Even in Minnesota there are bus systems. Do you mention the public transit option, with times and schedules, in your race materials as CAOC does?

A couple of us in our club actually use the transit system for meets. My challenge is the change of dry, clean clothes which must be worn for the return trip on transit after a muddy, rainy meet. How do I keep the gear dry during the event? Where do I change? Are there any helpful hints I may not have thought of?

Why bother changing - you'll always have plenty of room on an otherwise crowded bus/train ;-)

Well I always bring a change of shirts and socks, so I can ride home in comfort. And I try to arrange my return to pick up a bit of lunch and a beer on the way back while I wait for my bus, which I find is quite restorative.

I came up to Ottawa for that February ski race in Gatineau one year. I caved and rented a car for my stay. But I'm impressed that you can get around to orienteering meets there on public transportation. Nice going.

Aspleaf strikes again!

Unfortunately the text is in swedish but includes wooden 'chips' for punching...

I don't know how you keep your change of clothes dry during the meet, but you don't need a place to change. You only need a towel. With a towel you can create your one-person large cabana and change underneath it. Triathletes do it all the time after they've finished.

In Ottawa we run a series of Tuesday evening one hour 'Score O' events through June. They are held in city parks and although it is not actively promoted there are several of us who bike or use a combination of bike and transit to get to and from the events.
A backpack can hold the wet clothes and I'm not so large - in any sense of the word unfortunately - that I can't hide behind a tree to change.

So which would people prefer, an average venue reachable via mass transit, or a spectacular venue reachable only via a 2 hour drive?

That is, would you preclude spectacular venues that could not be reached via mass transit?

Obviously, the greenest event is one where everyone stays home. Moreover, competing requires training and exercise, which of course requires more calories than sitting home, which of course puts more strain on the bioresources of the planet, which of course drives up the price of calories such that others on the planet find it harder to afford calories.

I'm not trying to be a pain, but sometimes I question myself when I eat extra calories before a 20K training run that burns them off into thin air. Sounds like the planet would be better off if we all locked ourselves in a closet.