We had another nice day (for December) for the final HPR-served event of the year – the RF Events Holiday Hustle. A good thing, with another great turnout for both the morning half marathon and the afternoon 5K.
The half marathon starts and finishes at Erratic Ale in Dexter, with an out-and-back up the Border-to-Border Trail to Hudson Mills Metropark. Last year there was very little Zero Waste work to do for the half , so I set up two stations and then ran the course, since I wanted to check with the water stops to make sure we recovered the cups. I had fun being included in the cheers for the actual racers! And I got a photo of this great sign.
Back at Erratic Ale, I got a beer and then worked the stations until the course closed. After a quick trip home to drop off collected waste and change clothes, I was off to Monument Park for the 5K. Interns Rachael (right) and Kaylee (center) joined me there, as did veteran volunteer Bridget (left), giving us a large enough team to staff two stations.
The 5K start was memorable for its lead vehicle. Instead of a bike, it was the first wheeled dogsled I’ve ever seen! (See the featured photo at the top of this post.) And lots of people were in costume. In addition to Santas, including an “official” one at the pavilion, I saw many Grinches. And then there were the general oddball costumes, as seen below. (Not judging!)
Food was the same as last year, with the addition of fresh pretzels from Raterman Bread Haus at the half in addition to the BBQ truck and beer. The beer was served in compostable cups, the pretzel bags were compostable, and the BBQ used compostable containers and utensils – much appreciated!
At the 5K they handed out bags with a cookie and a pretzel to finishers, along with water. Bananas were available at both events, although they were so green, not a whole lot were consumed.
We had more cardboard and water bottles this year, with about the same amount of compost, and minimal landfill. I wish RF had used the smaller water bottles they used at Turkey Trot, because we had to empty out a lot of the larger ones. Setting up one more station on the east side of Santa’s pavilion would be useful, as we found a lot of trash on top of our covered trash cans there.
This year we finished takedown in time to take in some of the parade that runs through downtown Dexter after the 5K. This photo seems like a great way to sign off for the year.
Happy Holidays to all, and HPR will be back in business at events next year!
Happy Planet Running 