This year’s RF Events Legend trail run at Sleepy Hollow State Park was the finale, as the event has been retired. It took place under perfect conditions on a cool October morning with the sun coming up at race start, and everyone who showed up for 5, 10, or 13.1 miles seemed to have a good time. And, as since 2016, the Green Team was there to keep the park pristine and leave any Headless Horsemen scratching the air above their shoulders at where all the trash went.
Taking off on the final “Legend-ary” run.
Below is a chart showing the waste reduction at this event since it first went zero waste. I attribute this to less cardboard from T-shirts becoming an optional extra, lower food waste from fewer post-race choices, and quite a lot from the race going cupless in 2019. You can see the immediate spike downward starting that year.
I set up a Zero Waste station near the finish line and the parking lot, and put an All Waste box near the awards area. I moved the park’s trash can in the area and went through another at the far end of the race area to remove race waste and other recyclables.
Total waste was the lowest ever for this event at just over 27 lbs. and the smallest amount of landfill with just a few pieces of tape and some fast food wrappers. Going out with a minimal footprint seems like a suitable farewell to a trail run!
Happy Planet Running 