Author Archives: happyplanetrunning

ROAR! Triceratops Tri achieves 95% Diversion

A famous long-extinct species was spotted everywhere at last week’s Triceratops Triathlon. But you know what’s hardly seen these days at an RF Events race? Garbage! Sending piles of event waste to a landfill is on its way to sharing the fate of the dinosaurs, although I doubt any future triathlons will be named afterContinue reading “ROAR! Triceratops Tri achieves 95% Diversion”

Freedom from Waste: Liberty Festival achieves 97% Diversion

Oh say, can you see. . .any trash? Not at this race! Sustainability Report: Liberty Festival Races 2017 Date: June 17, 2017 Event company: RF Events, Ann Arbor MI Location: Heritage Park, Canton MI # Attendees: 1,200 runners Zero Waste Team volunteers: 2 Race Overview The races are part of a weekend-long Liberty Festival heldContinue reading “Freedom from Waste: Liberty Festival achieves 97% Diversion”

Plastic Recycling Gets A Boost, and More

Some really good things have been happening recently with plastic recycling. And a few of them relate directly to the plastic we consume and discard at running events. Even at the Zero Waste events I work at and/or run in, plastic remains highly used, from water bottles and jugs to coffee and beer cups, disposableContinue reading “Plastic Recycling Gets A Boost, and More”

Flirting with Zero! Flirt with Dirt achieves 99% Diversion

ONE BROKEN PINT GLASS. One discarded race bib. A few strands of masking tape. A few odds and ends. That was it for trash. Sustainability Report: Flirt with Dirt 2017 Date: June 3, 2017 Event company: RF Events, Ann Arbor MI Location: Lakeshore Park, Novi MI # Attendees: 500 runners Zero Waste Team volunteers: 3Continue reading “Flirting with Zero! Flirt with Dirt achieves 99% Diversion”

Don’t Just Toss Those Old Race Clothes!

Look, I get it. I’ve run plenty of wet, sloppy trail races. You expect a mess, so you bring along an old pair of shoes you intend to “retire” immediately after the race. You cross the finish line, change into clean and dry clothes, have a celebratory banana and beer, and then into the trashContinue reading “Don’t Just Toss Those Old Race Clothes!”

Hightail to Ale: Zero Waste in the Rain

Sustainability Report: Hightail to Ale 5K Date: May 5, 2017 Event company: RF Events, Ann Arbor MI Location: Atwater Brewery, Detroit MI # Attendees: 2,900 runners Zero Waste Team volunteers: 4, plus basketball team members Hightail to Ale is one of the “Thirsty 3” series that celebrates great beer, wine, and cider in southern Michigan.Continue reading “Hightail to Ale: Zero Waste in the Rain”

Gazelle Girl Race Achieves 98% Diversion and Saves 2,000 lbs. From Landfill

The Gazelle Girl has done it again! Not only does this annual women’s race get more popular each year, they find new and better ways to make it more environmentally friendly. This was the event (2015) that sparked my involvement in Zero Waste at races, and led to the creation of Happy Planet Running. IContinue reading “Gazelle Girl Race Achieves 98% Diversion and Saves 2,000 lbs. From Landfill”

Trail Marathon: A Great Anniversary Present

Happy Anniversary to RF Events! Despite the threat of lousy weather, the races went on, and the results were great both for the runners and for the environment. See below how we did vs. our very first Zero Waste event at this race last year.

Mars Shows Earth How to Go Green!

GREETINGS, EARTHLINGS. Now that we have successfully invaded and occupied Earth, we will show you that we love it more than you do. Case in point: we came to Dearborn last Saturday – Earth Day – and ran one of the “greenest” marathons on the planet.