Run Scream Run brings Halloween to the running community a bit early, but while it’s still pretty warm and the fall colors are just getting established. And it’s a great excuse to get in some exercise with cider and donuts afterward.
The event offers a 5K and 10K in the orchard and nearby pathways, concluding with a run through the Haunted Forest, where “scary” creatures holed up in decrepit buildings leap out to surprise the runners. There’s also a one mile run for the kids, and a costume contest.
Like last year, we set up Zero Waste stations at the entrance to the building where the cider and donuts are served, and another just past the exit on the way to the parking lot. A third, unattended station was put near the porta-potties and vendor tents, with a “Free Stuff” box containing sweatshirts, hats, and gloves. It was a chilly morning, so the box good some good attention, with an added benefit of no yellow jackets feasting on cider and donut residue in the cups.
After finishing, runners got bananas and water bottles at the finish line, then went for cider and donuts. This year the cider cups were compostable, so no rinsing was needed. Which helped a lot, as this year’s events continue to have a shortage of volunteers, so it was just Grace and me staffing the stations. The finish line crew helped by bringing us their cardboard and plastic wrap, and the water station bags were very clean, just cups and water jugs for the most part.
During the event, a couple of orchard workers came through, looking for trash to pick up. There’d been a frat party the night before, and they’d been busy earlier in the morning. I told them we were a Leave No Trace event. They didn’t seem overly impressed, but hopefully the orchard took notice that we left the area clean, as we always do.
Less than a half pound of landfill, consisting of wet wipes, and tape binding bunches of bananas (why they believe this is necessary is beyond me). Solid result!
Happy Planet Running 