Run to Win

Last year, Atayne cleaned up after the Maine Marathon by organizing a trash run. This Summer, they did the same thing for the Beach to Beacon. I wasn’t able to participate in either one, as I was out of town at a wedding for the marathon last year, and had a broken foot this year. (My sister and my nephew had fun, though!)

This year, Atayne is stepping up and doing another trash run in conjunction with the Maine Marathon. Here’s an email I got from Jeremy:

Hello All,

Summer is almost over and that means it is time for the fall marathon season. But even more important it is time for the fall Trash Running season.

Last year the Atayne Trash Runners took the Maine Marathon by storm helping to divert about 75% of the event’s waste from going into a landfill.

We are once again working with the Maine Marathon and hope to make an even bigger impact this year.

I know many of you are experienced trash runners, but for all you rookies, it is a pretty simple concept. Run behind the participants and pick-up trash. It also includes some non-runners who separate recyclables from landfill waste at the start/finish and aid stations. Our goal is to recycle as much waste as possible and leave the race course cleaner than the event found it. As unglamorous as it may sound, it actually is a really good time.

I am reaching out to see if any of you would be interested in joining the Atayne Trash Running Team at the 2009 Maine Marathon. The event is Sunday, October 4. We are looking for a team of 30 to 35 people to run the course and help sort landfill and recyclable waste at the aid stations and the start/finish area. If we get enough people, we are even going to try to add composting this year.

As always, all volunteers will receive an Atayne top to wear while getting trashy and to sport proudly afterwards.

If you are available and interested in volunteering, please email me and include your preferred role: runner or sorter. If you are a runner please indicate how many miles you are willing to cover (minimum of 3 and maximum of 14). If you are interested in running but are unsure about the pace, we typically run a 12 to 15 minute mile while trash running. Feel free to spread the word and invite others you think might be interested.

Keep it clean,

Jeremy

You can contact Jeremy at Atayne’s website here:
http://atayne.com/connect/contact/

Just mention you are interested in taking part in the Maine Marathon Trash Run and he will get you the specific details.

This past weekend, I was unable to run the Beach to Beacon due to the slight problem of having just broken my foot.

Fortunately for me, that meant that I was able to volunteer and see the race from a different perspective.

I decided to volunteer with the folks from Atayne at the finish line for 3 reasons:

1. I like Atayne’s environmental philosophy and thought it would be good to help them out.
2. My 11 year-old niece was already signed up to help out at the finish line and this allowed me to spend more time with her (and coincidentally simplified our pre-race travel arrangements.)
3. I had a broken foot and if I was able to run with the trash runners behind the race I probably would have just competed in the actual race!

Surprisingly, the morning started out pretty well, with my niece and both nephews not needing too much coaxing to wake up and get moving. We were out the door around the time I wanted to be leaving and arrived in plenty of time at Fort Williams Park, where I hobbled around on my crutch with Morgan.

We met up with Becca Darr from Atayne, who filled us in on what we would be expected to do today:
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Weren’t able to get into the Beach to Beacon before registration closed (which happened in a mere couple of minutes this year)? Well, there’s still an opportunity to run, thanks to my friends at Atayne.

Last year, Atayne adopted the Maine Marathon and sent a few runners along the course after everybody to help pick up the trash and separate anything that could be recycled. This year, they are going to do the same at the Beach to Beacon, and are offering bribes for anybody that wants to help out.

I received the following email from Jeremy Litchfield, which details what they are doing:
(Click here to continue reading…)

About a year ago, I discussed the environmental impact of running and offered some suggestions about how you can lessen the damage that you personally cause by running. This year, I’d like to revisit the topic by focusing specifically on the impact caused by marathons.

The Problems

Photo by Don FulanoThe vast majority of marathons are not very environmentally conscious. Even race directors that are environmentally aware have an uphill battle getting their hordes of volunteers to cooperate with their initiatives. Trash and recyclables do not get separated at the source, making it an impossible task to separate the trash later and leading to it all being thrown into a dumpster or two (or more.) It can be extremely time consuming to separate the white cups from the gatorade cups from the cardboard from the plastic jugs from the general trash left behind at an aid station.

Aid stations aren’t the only problem. Most runners will think nothing of tossing their trash off of the side of the road as they are running, rather than carrying their empty gel packets or water bottles until they reach an aid station with a trash can.

“Each year I drive my truck the entire length of the course at 10mph and stop a million times to pickup those **ing packets and stray cups,” said Erik Boucher, the water stop coordinator for the Maine Marathon.
(Click here to continue reading…)