What You Can - Should - Do to Improve Our Air.

This summer, take simple steps for better air!

You can’t see it, smell it, or taste it. This invisible pollutant even accumulates the most on hot and sunny blue-sky days, when the Colorado air appears clear. Yet ground-level ozone is the Front Range’s most pressing air quality problem, impacting our health and environment each summer.

Ozone is simply three oxygen atoms stuck together. High up in the atmosphere, stratospheric ozone (the“ozone layer”) serves an important purpose: it protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. But at ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people and plants: irritating our throats and lungs, making it difficult to breathe, increasing our susceptibility to respiratory infections, and exacerbating ailments such as asthma. Exposure to ozone is also not healthy for your heart over time.

Where does this pollution come from? Ground-level ozone (also called surface-level ozone, or tropospheric ozone) is formed when two chemicals, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), react in the sunshine and heat that build up on Colorado summer days. These emissions are primarily produced from our gas-powered vehicles, gas-powered lawn equipment, and (you guessed it) oil and gas production.

Why is it a problem here, and not elsewhere? Ozone builds up to unhealthy levels in the Front Range due to these human-caused emissions being concentrated in a highly populated 9-county area, our plentiful summer heat and sunshine, and the region's geography and weather patterns, which trap it against the western mountains. As a result, summer ozone levels are often highest in the western and southern part of the Denver metro (think Boulder foothills, Golden, and Chatfield), although this pollution is the result of emissions generated over a much wider area.

Both colorless and odorless, ozone is different than wildfire smoke, particulate pollution, or the infamous “brown cloud” from decades past. But we have made good progress on ground-level ozone pollution over the years! We just have a bit further to go, to make the Front Range a healthier place for all of us – especially those who are active outdoors.

So what can you do? First, sign up for ozone alerts from the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC)’s Simple Steps. Better Air. program to receive timely updates by text or email when summer ozone levels are high in the Front Range: SimpleStepsBetterAir.org/signup-for-alerts. You can also sign up for email air quality alerts from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), which include information on ozone, wildfire smoke, and particulate matter throughout the year.

Second, take some Simple Steps for Better Air in the summer to reduce your emissions! Find yourself driving a lot? Skip just two car trips per week by carpooling, combining errands, and walking, taking a scooter, bike, bus, or the light rail to get where you need to go. Avoid idling your gas-powered car in the driveway or parking lot for the AC — instead, roll down the windows, and turn the car off when not driving. You’d be surprised how much idling a car contributes to air pollution: it’s equal to 150 balloons’ worth of pollution per minute!

Or, consider a low- or zero-emissions vehicle, like an electric vehicle (EV), when it's time to purchase a new vehicle.

Own or manage a property with a grass lawn? Switch to emissions-free, electric lawn equipment with a 30% discount statewide! Or mow after 5 p.m. when possible, to keep emissions from building up in the heat of the day.

And as many of us do these days, you can work from home at least one day a week and eliminate your commute altogether!

Visit SimpleStepsBetterAir.org this summer for more information about how to reduce your ozone impact this summer and help your Colorado community breathe easier. Stay tuned for an updated website and more information about ozone and air quality tailored towards outdoor athletes in 2025.

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Want to get involved as an outdoor athlete, and get free stuff? Take our outdoor athlete survey, by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczIn3yrN6Vj7b5DCKKKLUdlXQ5oolAl-3fJwtHDkRG54fW9g/viewform

Want to learn more? You can learn about ozone’s impact on your health from CDPHE as well as more about ground-level ozone from the EPA. Read about How The Changing Climate Is Impacting Your Breathing And What You Can Do About It.

What if Everyone Did Something to Slow Climate Change?

What if Everyone Did Something to Slow Climate Change?

Researchers are looking at the impact that individuals’ actions can have on reducing carbon emissions — and the best ways to get people to adopt them.

Research shows that it is not easy to motivate people to curb their emissions, but it is not hopeless.Credit...Anna Watts/The New York Times

 By Alina Tugend

Sept. 25, 2024

This article is part of a special section on the Climate Forward conference hosted by The New York Times.

Make more beef-free meals. Compost food scraps. Replace a natural gas stove with an electric one.

These are all fairly simple ways people can help combat climate change in their own kitchens. Still, most Americans don’t do it. Why?

Because it means changing lifelong habits. Because they believe it won’t make a difference. Because they think their friends and neighbors aren’t doing it.

Research shows that it is not easy to motivate people to curb their emissions, but some strategies do work, and experts are trying to identify the best ones.

Magnus Bergquist, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said widespread behavior transformation is difficult, as people often have contradictory goals. For example, changing habits or buying energy-efficient products, “can conflict with people’s goals of seeking comfort, saving money and gaining social acceptance,” he said in a video interview.

Even those with the best intentions can run up against such conflicts. Leah Murphy, 63, of New Paltz, N.Y., said she recycles, has reduced her use of plastic, shops with canvas bags and has installed energy-efficient lightbulbs, among other efforts.

Nonetheless, “over 30 years ago, when my first child was born, I arranged for a diaper service because it was supposed to be better for the environment,” Ms. Murphy said in an interview. Yet there were still a lot of diapers to wash, and after six weeks, she switched to disposable diapers.

“I told myself that the energy used to wash cloth diapers was probably just as bad for the environment as disposables,” she said. “That experience represents the start of a long series of rationalizations between convenience and conscience -- more often than not, with convenience prevailing.

Researchers are trying to identify the best methods to get people to adopt environmentally friendly habits, like recycling and reducing their carbon emissions. Credit...Annie Flanagan for The New York Times

At the same time, there is concern that promoting personal solutions to address global climate change lets corporations and governments off the hook and even plays into their hands. For example, a carbon footprint calculator was created by the oil and gas company BP in 2004 as part of an advertising campaign to help people measure their impact on the environment. Critics said it was simply a way to shift the responsibility from big companies to everyday consumers.

 But it’s wrong to look at solutions to the vast issue of climate change as solely good or bad, said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, which researches the public’s knowledge, attitudes, behavior and policy preferences on climate change.

 BP did create the calculator “as a way to put the onus on individual consumers, but it’s still valuable as a basic concept to say, ‘well, if you really do want to reduce your own emissions, shouldn’t you probably start with an estimate of how much you’re emitting?’” he said in a video interview. “Both can be true.”

According to the organization Project Drawdown, which advances climate solutions, individual and household actions taken together — from reducing food waste to installing LED lighting — have the potential to produce about 25 percent to 30 percent of the reductions in greenhouse emissions needed to avoid the extremely dangerous aspects of climate change.

 Does promoting personal solutions to climate change let corporations and governments off the hook? Experts said the job cannot be done without improvements in corporate habits and the transition to clean energy technologies, like wind turbines.Credit...Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Take eating beef. Cows, and to a lesser extent goats and sheep, are significant contributors to greenhouse gases through the methane they emit from gas and manure. And cows’ pastures are typically created by cutting down forests, which releases the carbon dioxide stored in trees.

But according to the World Resource Institute, a research organization, if each person living in high beef-consuming countries — like the United States — ate 1.5 fewer burgers a week, the need for agricultural expansion and deforestation would be eliminated and greenhouse gases significantly reduced.

Still, modifying even such seemingly minor behavior is difficult. Since the 1970s, overall beef consumption in the U.S. has dropped considerably, because of the climate, as well as health and animal welfare concerns. But it needs to decrease substantially more to address climate change. Instead, it slightly increased in 2022 to the highest in more than a decade.

It’s not clear why, but it’s an example of how hard it is to induce change.

“Some people have the naïve idea that if we just educate people, change will follow,” Professor Bergquist said. “But it doesn’t take much to understand that we know we should exercise more; we know that we should eat more healthy; but we don’t do it. So, knowledge is a necessary but insufficient factor. On top of that, we need motivation.”

He coauthored an analysis of data from 430 primary studies of strategies to improve environmental-related behavior, such as recycling or biking or walking instead of driving.

Research has found that social comparisons — what are my friends and neighbors doing? — had the biggest effect on changing habits, like bike riding instead of driving.

Of six interventions to change people’s behaviors, the study found, providing data or information was the least successful, while financial incentives like rebates, coupons and fines can make a difference.

But research has also found that social comparisons — what are my friends and neighbors doing? — had the biggest effect: When customers were told how their utility use compared to their neighbors’, the higher users often decreased their consumption by one to two percent. And with solar panels, people are persuaded to install them if they see them on their neighbors’ rooftops.

Mr. Leiserowitz said he witnessed that in his own neighborhood. “We were the first to put solar panels on a roof 10 years ago, and now there are dozens that have solar panels on the roof,” he said. “It’s not because I went out talking to people about it — it’s because people can see that somebody else who’s much like them has adopted this new technology.”

People are persuaded by their neighbors’ actions. When customers were told how their utility use compared to their neighbors’, the higher users often decreased their consumption by one to two percent.Credit...Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times

But collective changes, from reducing littering to wearing seatbelts to drinking less alcohol, often evolve gradually. It took many years and numerous initiatives to reduce smoking, for example. That included more education about the dangers, restrictions on smoking in public areas, prohibitive taxes on cigarettes, public stigma and greater access to programs that helped people quit.

“Changes are slow and hard to see — but when you look backward you see that things that seemed outlandish are increasingly commonplace,” said Jason Mark, the editor in chief of Sierra Magazine, in a video interview.

A 2019 report by Rare, a 50-year-old global nonprofit that uses behavioral insights to encourage action to protect the environment, examined seven personal choices and their impact on climate change: switching to an electric vehicle, reducing air travel, eating a plant-rich diet, offsetting carbon, reducing food waste, tending carbon-sequestering soil and purchasing green energy. 

A report found that if one in 10 people in seven categories of personal action adopted a reduction behavior, total U.S. global greenhouse emissions would decrease by eight percent.Credit...Philip Cheung for The New York Times

The report found that if one in 10 people in each category adopted a reduction behavior, total U.S. global greenhouse emissions would decrease by eight percent. That would shrink by 80 percent the projected gap between what the U.S. has promised in the Paris Agreement — the international treaty on climate that took effect in 2016 — and where it is now, the report stated.

Genevieve Guenther, the author of “The Language of Climate Politics,” emphasized that not all people are equally responsible for climate change. According to a report by the nongovernmental organization Oxfam International, the top 1 percent in income worldwide account for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66 percent. In the United States, a study by PLOS Climate found, 10 percent of the richest Americans account for about 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Political actions, such as voting and pressuring elected officials, can help, Ms. Guenther said in a video interview.

“Our true responsibility is to use our choices as political agents in the world to try to shift power, take power away from the people who are blocking the transition away from fossil fuels and give it to people who will lead into a livable future,” she said.

A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 25, 2024, Section F, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline: Getting People to Pitch In. 

Sustainability - A Good and Never-ending Effort

Since our mission, in part, is to work to protect our special outdoor places, we believe it’s important, critical actually, to do our part to lessen our own footprint. In the outdoor event world, especially where those events are often located in the mountains, away from major population centers, that’s not always easy. But we try. We’re also always trying to improve, so if any of you reading this have ideas that can help us do better, drop us a note and let us know how we can improve. We’d appreciate that. Here’s a few things we do:

1) Power generation. These days we try to power all of our event needs with rechargeable solar generators. Thanks to our partner ECOFLOW, we’re darn near there. They’ve donated a massive 2kH generator, a pair of solar panels, a backup battery, and a heating/cooling unit so that we can provide what our athletes need. Thanks to them we can power lights, heat, comms, timing systems, Starlink, and more, even in winter, for our overnight event. A vast improvement - in so many ways - over the loud, stinky and finicky gas generator we used to have to rent.

2) Cup-free. We decided early on to not provide disposable cups for any of our events, instead encouraging our runners to provide their own cups/bottles for their on-course hydration. Thankfully, our runners, great group that they are, were more than up to that request. And now, thanks to our new partner, Hydrapak, we are able to offer every single one of our runners an easy to carry reusable cup. It’s just brilliant. Even at our race HQ our runners use reusable stainless steel cups and simple and sturdy wheatstraw plates for their in-race and post-race snacks. These are simply washed and reused - no waste at all.

3) Bulk food. Rather than buy single serving packets/bags or food (like pretzels, chips, etc.) we use only bulk packs to limit our event waste. Of course, we buy locally to eliminate the carbon costs of shipping. Ultimately, we have only one small bag of trash for a 50K trail race. Likewise, we utilize only reusable 5 gallon water jugs for our hydration needs. Once emptied these can simple be returned and refilled. We collect and compost all our food waste, along with other compostable items.

4) Carpool and offsets. We encourage our runners to carpool to our events and create and share with them a shareable carpool document. We know we have work to do on this front: it’s hard to get people in such a car-centric world to abandon the freedom to come and go at will. Understandable. In order to make that option more doable, we incentivize carpooling by offering all who carpool free entry into the park where our events are held, usually a $10 cost. Money talks. We also include the option of offsetting personal travel to and from each of our events - the offset cost, just a few bucks, is based on the average carbon released for the typical roundtrip to and from the event.

5) Event Swag. We also offer our participants the option of not taking the official race swag (usually a hat in our case) and receiving a discounted race fee. We hear too often about the unwanted/unused Ts or medals or hats, and we incentivize the idea of not taking what you don’t want or need.

6) No medals. While we know and appreciate that many runners do want the official race medal, we’ve heard too many times how unnecessary these are. And when you look at the cost, in terms of time, money and energy consumption, it really doesn’t make much sense. Not for us anyway.

7) Course marking. We utilize only reuseable event marking materials so that our arrows, flags, signs, etc. can be used over and over, only rarely, and at the end of a long “marking” life, ending up in a landfill.

8) Pre-race educational events. Because each of our events is focused on a particular/specific sustainability issue (clean air, public lands and water) we host pre-race events at outdoor shops and running stores to educate us and our runners about the issue and, most importantly, what each of us can do to be part of a solution.

9) Separate containers for trash, recycle and compost. We provide clearly marked containers for our runners to dispose of their “trash”, and have a volunteer there to ensure things go in the right container.

10) Pre-Race loads and Marking. To minimize the number of trips we end up making to our event locations, we rent/borrow a van that can carry virtually all of our events needs in a single trip. We burn less gas, drive less, and get the goods where they need to be. It’s money well spent, in our opinion.

As noted, it’s a work in progress, and constantly evolving. But it’s important.

Let's talk partners

Let’s talk partners. 

We – and that means you, too – couldn’t do what we all do without our generous partners.  Their support is key to us being able to create the kind of events we expect to deliver for all of you.  Our partners provide generous financial support, share their amazing products with our community, offer vital promotional support, and, most of all, share our values when it comes to community, the environment, the outdoors, and the role we can all play in building a better now and creating a brighter future.  We collaborate with our partners because we believe in one another and share important goals and values.  We consider ourselves darn lucky. 

Let’s introduce you to our current partners:

Real Athlete Diets (RAD: radboulder.com)

Kelly – the ingenious and talented chef behind RAD – is much, much more than a partner; Kelly is a dear friend who we’ve known for years and is one of those people who simply makes the world a better place.  And that’s not just because she is a brilliant chef, which she is, but also because she is a warm-hearted, thoughtful, inspiring, and caring human.  Kelly and her husband, Morgan, an equally special human, are what makes RAD so special.  Over the years, RAD has shared their unparalleled vegan meatballs, glamorous cupcakes, unforgettable cookies, and delicious salads with us and our community.  RAD provides performance focused meals and snacks for athletes, groups, camps, and more.  Truthfully, a good percentage of our runners join us for the food.  We’re all better off for that.

 BPRunco (bprunco.com)

 Our favorite local running shop, now in its sparkling new location at Gold’s Marketplace, on the corner of 26th Ave and Kipling St in Wheat Ridge, CO, BPRunco is your local, full-service running shop, but they are so much more than that. They are welcoming and inclusive trail and environmental advocates, local event supporters, and, more significantly, community builders.  There is nothing like joining them for their various weekly group runs and events – you’ll see old friends, make new ones, and have a blast doing both. 

Hoka (hoka.com)

Hoka has been with us since the beginnings, really for both of us.  We know the guys who launched Hoka all those years ago with their pillow-soft, brightly colored shake-up of the traditional trail shoe.  And we’ve been wearing them ever since.  Of course, there is now such an array of Hoka options – for both road and trail – and they continue to innovate and advance, both technology and the sport.  And, like us, they know we all have to be better and protect our precious planet – and they work constantly and diligently (as they should) to lessen their footprint.  We’re thankful for Hoka’s continued support and generosity. 

ECOFLOW (ecoflow.com)

We, too, are constantly working to reduce our own footprint for our events and programs, and ECOFLOW is making that so much simpler for us.  Thanks to their generous contributions, we no longer need to haul a loud, smelly and emission-heavy generator to provide power for our events (think heat, lights, timing, hot beverages, PA, and recharging options for phones, etc.).  Instead, their powerful, efficient, silent, solar/rechargeable Delta 2 Max, and its sidekick, the Wave 2 for optimum heating/cooling, generator gives us everything we need to keep our runners and volunteers happy and comfortable – even overnight, in the winter, and at altitude.  We’ve even got a few of their solar panels so we can keep things up and running from Start to Finish.  That’s just brilliant.

La Sportiva (lasportivausa.com)

La Sportiva has been a key member of the team for several years now, sharing their focused mountain running shoes and apparel with our hard-running community.  They’ve been part of both our running and educational events, showing up with demos and support.   Their Boulder, CO home is certified climate neutral, powered by wind energy, and their people donate countless hours for a variety of causes, all of which enhance their local community - and ours.  People, product, planet – you can’t beat that. 

Phun Bar (phunbar.com)

Jason, Phun Bar’s founder, a long-time outdoor athlete, realized he wanted/needed a better bar for his outdoor activities, better meaning: better tasting, easier to eat on the trail, no BS packaging, all natural ingredients.  Not finding what he wanted he decided to make his own – and they rock.  Phun Bars are made right here in CO, in small batches, come in tasty edible flavors, and utilize fully compostable packaging.  What’s not to like about that.  Our favorites are the Cherry bomb and the Lemon blueberry.  But that’s just us. 

Athletic Brewing Co. (athleticbrewing.com)

Finally, a great-tasting (meaning it actually tastes like craft beer) nonalcoholic beer.  In this day and age, the option to enjoy a refreshing cold brew after a long day on the trails, without the effects of alcohol, is a no-brainer, and ABC makes that nonalco craft brew better than anyone else.  A certified B-Corp, ABC’s mission is to:  “positively impact [their] customers' health, fitness, and happiness while greatly impacting [their] communities and environment for the better.” We love being able to offer this to our runners after their races – and, not all that surprisingly, they like it too.

Racerite (racerite.com)

Not terribly surprisingly, runners want to know how fast they ran.  Duh. OK, we get that, so in order to provide reliable timing, we are lucky enough to work with Mark and the Racerite team.  Their timing systems and equipment – bottom line – works, no matter the weather/conditions, and provides reliable, real-time timing.  Even better, they recognize anomalies and figure out to ensure that when results are reported they are accurate.  Runners love that, so do we.

EcoVessel (ecovessel.com)

No one – no one – should be drinking out of a disposable plastic bottle these days.  There are better reusable options out there, and none better than EcoVessel.  Based out of our backyard in Boulder, CO, EcoVessel really does make a better vessel: cold liquids stay colder longer, hot ones hotter longer, and they even have a built-in tea strainer.  These are, quite honestly, the best bottles we’ve ever used and we’re thrilled to partner with EcoVessel. They offer bottles and drinkware in a variety of sizes and types, but know this: they all look and work incredibly well.

BOCO (bocogear.com)

CO-based BOCO has been making our hats and beanies and socks since we opened the doors nearly 9 years ago.  And we’ll continue to do so.  They just get the outdoor/running community.  They make it all so easy – offering a variety of killer styles, brilliant designers, reasonable minimums, amazing customer service and an excellent product.  We change it up each time, and it always comes out the way we want.  And, even better, our community digs ‘em.

Ultimate Direction (ultimatedirection.com)

 Ultimate Direction – aka UD – produces the tools long distance runners, through hikers, and outdoor athletes need to perform at their best. Think running vests and packs, hand-held hydration flasks, apparel, and more.  You can tell: when you toe the line at virtually any ultra you’ll see a ton of the athletes relying on UD to get them back to the finish.  UD works tirelessly to develop sustainable products and processes that help shape a better future and outdoor experience for everyone. UD products are 100% BPA-free and all apparel is 100% PFC-free, and more and more UD apparel utilizes recycled materials and fabrics (e.g. bluesign and OEKO-TEX certified). It just keeps getting better.

Gnarly Nutrition (gognarly.com)

Endurance athletes need quality and effective hydration and nutrition for their outdoor adventures, and Gnarly offers the best of both.  Gnarly provides the tasty hydration beverage for all of our runners, and they drink it up.  Gnarly offers great taste, with all the essentials for a long day on the trails, with no fake stuff.  And they’ve recently changed to offering their bulk mixes in steel cans – a huge step forward from the usual plastic bag - for better recycling.  Better for recycling, better for us all, better for the planet.

The Pierogies Factory (pierogiesfactory.com)

Several years ago, we decided that for our winter event we needed an easy hot and tasty snack to keep our runners on track, over 24 hours in the winter and through the night.  We connected with the Pierogies Factory restaurant here in town and it’s been an amazing ride since then.  We now cook pierogies at all of our events and our runners just love them.  We couldn’t be happier!

Salomon (salomon.com)

Salomon has been a leader in the trail running/outdoor community for a long, long time. They’re active in ensuring we trail runners understand our role in helping protect our planet so that future generations can enjoy the trails and mountains the way we do now. Their trail shoes and running apparel are thoughtfully produced to ensure we all get to make the most of our time outdoors.

PTRA: Guidelines for Trail Races

The following was authored by the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) having been approved on May 25, 2023, and reflects the PTRA’s views. 

As the number of trail races and events grows worldwide, the PTRA feel that there is increasing need for a set of boundaries and guidelines to help organizers ensure that their events respect the ethics & values of our sport. 

The goal of this document is to outline a set of boundaries that we, as athletes, feel are important for ensuring that we feel comfortable participating in an event. 

This is not an exhaustive list and individual athletes may have higher standards which inform their decision-making when it comes to participating in events. Nonetheless, this document shall provide a basis of information that PTRA can use when exchanging with races, circuits, federations, etc. It will clearly state the areas that our organization feels strongly enough about, should a clear lack of compliance occur in the future, could merit objection, public communication campaigns or even a boycott. 

RED LINES: Items we feel should be respected by every event, under all circumstances. If an organizer chooses not to respect these boundaries, PTRA may take action - including, but not limited to public objection, communi-cation with media and boycotts. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: Items we highly recommend as important steps toward a better sport. Non-respect of these recommendations will not automatically trigger public-facing communication. However, PTRA may choose to speak with the media or call out events on social media if organizers do not meet these criteria. 

We define Trail Running as the activity of running outdoors and on natural surfaces. We consider trail running to be an umbrella term that includes many sub-disciplines (mountain running, ultra running, skyrunning, fell running, etc.). 

While trail running is born of many cultures, territories, backgrounds and motivations, the sport shares common values that we believe form the foundation for the sport. These values are: 

 Respect of nature 

 Respect of people and communities 

 Respect of sport 

In order to ensure that these values are shared and respected by all, we believe it is important that our sport does not violate the boundaries found below. 

Respect of the natural environment: 

Trail running is practiced in natural environments. Without them, the sport wouldn’t exist. The respect and even the preservation of ecosystems and landscapes is deeply rooted in the trail running culture. The value of these ecosystems includes their biodiversity, their natural resources, their function in ensuring ecosystem and climate resilience, and their non material (cultural and spiritual) value. Therefore we strongly believe that all trail running stakeholders - organizers, federations, teams, brands, athletes and spectators - should promote and respect the lands where we run. 

“Leave No Trace” principles 

Events will have an impact on the ecosystems where we run. That impact can be mitigated by some work before and after the competition and also by limiting the access to those ecosystems to the number of people and nuances that can be held by that particular ecosystem without exceeding their hosting capacity. 

It is nearly inevitable that trail running events will have some impact on the ecosystems that they pass through. However, that impact can be mitigated by taking measures before and after the competition, limiting access to fragile ecosystems, and limiting the number of participants. There is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to ecosystem protection or a “magic number” of participants because different environments have different hosting capacities. 

The Red Lines outlined here represent the bare minimum expected of events in terms of respect for the environment. The Recommendations are not intended to be exhaustive, but shall provide organizers with some suggestions for improving their event’s impact. 

RED LINES 

Publicly stated environmental policy. All events must have a publicly-stated environmental policy or commitment that can be consulted online. 

Infrastructure. Events shall not build infrastructure (buildings, roads, trails, etc.) that will cause permanent damage to the ecosystems and/or will not have a purpose outside of the event. 

Prevent Permanent ecosystem damage. Events shall pay special attention to fragile ecosystems, species and protected areas that risk permanent damage by hosting an event. When possible, these areas should be avoided and in all cases local land managers must be consulted to ensure that necessary measures are taken to avoid unnecessary damage. 

Non-polluting vehicles. Races shall not use vehicles that are highly polluting/high emissions or especially loud (motorbikes, quads, helicopters) for purposes outside of security/rescue needs. Races also shouldn’t allow third party companies to use these vehicles in anv action related to the event (i.e. TV filming) 

Single use items. Races shall not supply single-use plastics and styrofoam food and beverage containers to race attendees and spectators. This includes aid stations and at the finish line, as well as in pre- and post-race meals. 

RECOMMENDATIONS* 

Contamination. Events should encourage zero-contamination behavior to help ensure that the event does not introduce invasive species to the local ecosystem. Athletes, pacers, crews and race attendees’ shoes and equipment should be cleaned of dirt, seeds and plant material before and after participating in an event. The race event should provide washing stations and gear inspections at check-in. The athletes remain responsible for cleaning their shoes and equipment. 

Transport. Races should provide participants, crew and spectators with public transport, shuttle and carpool/rideshare options to make access to the event easier and reduce the need for individual cars - thereby reducing local pollution and carbon footprint of the race. 

Goodies. Races should consider eliminating goodies for participants in favor of environmental protections. In all cases, goodies should be opt-in for all participants and the distribution of promotional material should be kept to a minimum. 

Markings. Races should ensure that course markings, and evidence of aid stations be removed after the race. 

Trash. Events should provide clearly marked recycling points near the start and finish lines, as well as at accessible crewing and spectating areas. Participants and crew should be prohibited from dropping trash outside of designated areas, and course sweepers should ensure that no micro-trash is left on the course. At aid stations and at the start/finish, single-use plastic bottles should be minimized or entirely eliminated in favor of large-capacity water containers that can be refilled. 

Education. Educational information should be provided for participants, crews and spectators to ensure that they understand their impact, including why they should respect established trails. 

Sanitation. Races should provide ample bathroom stalls at the event to minimize the use of the area around the start line as a toilet. Where possible, and especially for ultramarathons, toilets should be available at aid stations. Noise pollution. Races and events should take into account the impact of noise (especially at the start/finish lines) on the local biodiversity and community. Noise should be limited to a reasonable decibel level and period of time. 

Reporting. After an event, races should attempt to measure and report their impact. This should be communicated to the public and inform choices for improvement at the following editions. *These recommendations may be included in a stated environmental policy. 

Greenwashing 

Sponsoring is key in the development of the sport, to be able to organize events or develop the athletes careers, but it is also a powerful tool to promote the values of the partners. In certain cases, some companies might use the events or athletes that have values close to nature and its preservation to greenwash the company image. 

Sponsorship is key to the development of the sport, both in terms of event sponsorship and athlete sponsorship. Companies and brands may choose to sponsor an athlete or event for a variety of reasons, including a desire to support or promote the values embodied by chosen partner or beneficiary. However, in some cases, companies and even government entities may want to associate themselves with an athlete or event with strong connections to environmental protection or conservation in order to improve their own image. 

This practice can qualify as greenwashing. Greenwashing is a deceptive marketing practice that aims to persuade the public that a company or organization’s practices are environmentally friendly. These campaigns are at odds with the organization's actual operations and practices. The PTRA believes that athletes and events should be aware of this practice and refuse to accept sponsorship from companies who aim to use them and their environmentally-friendly image to bolster their own image without backing it up with action. 

RED LINES 

Races, circuits and/or federations shall not be sponsored by: 

 Fossil fuel companies (Gas extraction companies, gas distributors, or similar) 

 Mineral extraction companies 

 Industrial-scale livestock farming 

 Logging companies 

 Tobacco companies

 or Any companies clearly associated with environmental crimes 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Avoid contracting event sponsors from industries that are highly polluting and/or promote a lifestyle with a big environmental footprint (e.g., car companies, etc. or other equipment or materials that are highly contaminating). 

Follow Pro Trail Runners Assoc: https://trailrunners.run/ 

Suffer Better Do Good Grants

Ever since we became a nonprofit - now some 5 years ago - we’ve wanted to be able to support members of our community who really do “give their all and give back.” Our Do Good Grant program is a way to do just that. We tailor our grants - small, $500-$1000 only - to compelling, innovative projects that unite endurance and giving back in a truly meaningful way. Over the years we’ve supported some quality projects, some of which succeeded and some of which didn’t. Of course, that’s the beauty of the endurance world, any world, really; it’s unpredictable. Just like life!

Here are a few of the projects we’ve supported, and a bit of the why.

We supported the compassionate work of this truly great man, who, for his 50th birthday gathered a core group of friends to join him in running 50 miles and raising money to support his friend and neighbor whose daughter suffered from a rare mitochondrial disease. It was a gnarly, windy day and, while no one actually ran 50 miles, everyone contributed to a special day and real dollars were raised. We provided some dough to print special Ts for those joining in and made a donation to the cause.

This is Millie.

A truly special woman and member of our community learned that her sweet young niece, Millie, had been diagnosed with medulla blastoma. To support her niece, she raised real $ by running Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim at the Grand Canyon - some 48 miles all in. We donated to the cause and supported her effort via our various social channels.

We loved this Camp from the moment we heard about it. For 2 years now, we’ve supported this unique Camp for youngsters in one of Denver’s worst neighborhoods, forging the thoughtful active outdoorists of the future via a summer program that introduces them to the power of the outdoors and their key role in protecting it for future generations.

These two extraordinary women host regular gatherings, bringing together diverse groups of women in their circles, building confidence and community. Their work is beautiful to behold, almost magical, and is shared with incredible joy. We’ve contributed both $ and product to them and their groups.

Up our alley!

@adentures.of.tracy reached out to us with her plan to hike the Long Trail in VT, to raise awareness and dough to get more young people outdoors via Big City Mountaineers. Right up our alley!

Origins - From Competitor Magazine

An article about SB that appeared in the now-defunct Competitor Magazine

THIS or THAT Nutrition

“THIS or THAT Nutrition”

Unfortunately, the bulk of “healthy eating” recommendations tend to come in the form of a “This or That” feel:

Don’t eat bananas. Eat blueberries.
Don’t eat red meat. Eat beans.
Don’t eat frozen vegetables. Eat fresh.
Don’t eat conventional. Eat organic.
Don’t fuel with energy gels. Fuel with whole food.
Don’t count calories. Eat intuitively.
Don’t drink to thirst. Drink to a plan.
Don’t eat high carb. Eat high fat.

This messaging conveys a Wrong or Right vibe: This Choice OR That Choice, with no in between.

Most of us need to unlearn this mindset of needing to live (and eat) on one end of the spectrum or the other. There are too many moving pieces when it comes to our health foundation, our healthspan, and our athletic pursuits to settle permanently on one end.

It is a disservice to ignore Our Personal Context and to be inflexible.

And don’t get me wrong - I’m NOT saying “all things in moderation” either. That obviously doesn’t work or we wouldn’t have the health issues we do in this country (and in many parts of the world).  Additionally, athletes are different. We don’t train “in moderation” when we have specific goals.

Take caution next time you encounter the This or That food rule. Chances are there is way more to the story (e.g., the framework, the context, the contributing factors, the “where do I fit in this picture?”, etc.) that needs consideration and attention.

Food for thought and thought for food and stuff in between,

Dina Griffin, MS RDN CSSD
Sports Dietitian
Chief Fueling Officer at The Nutrition Mechanic
dina@nutritionmechanic.com