The Battle of Waterloo, Epic Races style, is not your average three-stage triathlon. Oh, no – it’s ten stages in the Waterloo Recreation Area with several of each type, and for some you have to either wear your running shoes in the water, or carry them! It’s so epic they only dare hold it every other year. Naturally, it also has to be sustainable, so HPR was there to make sure it was.
Jeff’s friend Jamie finishes her half battle. Way to go!
We set up the Zero Waste Station in the finish area, and placed All Waste boxes at each end of the transition area as usual, and more boxes in the food prep area and on top of the park’s trash can near the bathrooms. Volume was light enough that a team of two (Jeff and intern Alex) handled it without trouble, although it was a long day with the final athletes finishing in mid-afternoon. (Below, Alex watches the race start.)
After the battle (or the “half the battle” option), athletes were treated to a variety of food and drink, including coney dogs, mac & cheese, salad, and even ice cream bars. With compostable materials being used to serve it all, handling all that was simple. Recycling consisted mainly of water bottles, water jugs, and cardboard.
Everything went smoothly during the event, with the one challenge coming at the end, in the form of unsorted aid station bags, and mixed compostable cups with poly-lined paper cups. This required additional sorting after the event. An improvement opportunity for next time.
With less than four pounds of landfill, however, I’d say we won the battle overall!
Happy Planet Running 