By Green Team captain Rachael Rewitzer
Tris4Health’s Ugly Dog triathlon marks one year of me being a part of the Happy Planet Running team, something that felt very momentous. And despite the name of Ugly Dog (actually the name of a local distillery), we were blessed with many gorgeous pups cheering on their owners.
The race was another success with a 95.4% diversion rate! Our Green Team consisted of me, Jeff, and fellow HPR intern Alex (above, schmoozing the cute dogs). We set up next to the delicious barbecue tables. Below, Alex and me at our swanky station, and athletes putting waste in our All Waste collection boxes to be sorted by us.
We also set up a station inside the beer tent for those who wanted to enjoy a cold one after their race. We collected about 60 lbs. of general recycling consisting of water bottles, pop, and of course the highly desired beer. Our more specialized recycling consisted of race bibs, cooling cloths, Gu wrappers, small plastics and plastic bags.
Smokehouse 52 supplied the meat and mac & cheese, and HPR supplied the compostable plates and sporks. But don’t worry, all those cheese crusted sheet pans were washed out by Jeff after the race so that they could be recycled properly!
And along with our barbecue and doggie joy fill, we watched our fellow HPR intern Charlie Vaughn win first place overall for the Men’s Olympic Tri in 2:30:43, a stunning time given the bike portion was on gravel!
Congrats to Charlie and all the other racers for making an amazing race all while leaving no trace!
Happy Planet Running 