My Inspiration: I’ve been reading Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson, a blogger/author who systematically reduced her waste to the point where her family no longer owns a trash can.  Her book is as overwhelming as it is inspiring, and I often need to remind myself that she took several years to get to the point where her family no longer produced trash.

Her book has so many amazing ideas for ways that we can reduce our own waste, and many of them are just as easy as the wasteful version.  I don’t need my soap to come in a box.

Refusing is Better than Recycling: In one of my favorite sections, Johnson discusses the importance of refusing things.  Recycling is great, but refusing and reducing is better.  I’ve started to apply her “refuse” strategy, and in a short amount of time I’ve appreciated the lack of clutter and obligation to dispose of unwanted, temporary use items.

Do You REALLY Need the Race Day Giveaways? My most recent refusal – I politely declined the race bag at the Maine Half Marathon.  I didn’t need all those little freebies, and I own plenty of reusable bags for the grocery store.  Many of the free items were individually packaged food items that I don’t even eat, because they’re processed foods with chemical additives, not vegan, or both.  What would I do with a little plastic first aid kit?  I thought about how many times in the past year I’ve wished I had one… and landed on zero.  As a whole foods vegan who has found a line of sports nutrition I love (vega), it didn’t make sense for me to take that bag full of items I would ultimately dispose of or have to find recipients for.

If the Race Shirt doesn’t fit, you won’t wear it.  I walked away… and headed over to the technical shirts.  Here I was excited, because I could use another long sleeve running shirt (ok I don’t NEED one, but I would definitely wear and enjoy it, so I was ready to bring one home).  However, even the women’s small was too big.  It was big enough to be unflattering and likely uncomfortable to run in.  I decided not to take one.  After all, I’d accepted one from the Chilly Half Marathon the year before and never once worn it.  Yes, it was free, yes it had the name of a race I enjoyed running on it… and it sat there unused.  Better to leave it.

Can I do better next time?  Part of me wonders if refusing these items did much good in the long run since they’d already been produced – I wonder about e-mailing race directors in the future and letting them know not to make a bag for me, because I don’t need one.  At the very least, someone else can find homes for those products I won’t use, so I’ve saved myself the headache (and heartache) of disposing of them.

Bottled Water & Disposable cups: I did create some waste on race day – I used three of the water station and threw out those paper cups.  I could have worn a hydration belt.  I’m trying to find as many ways to reduce my family’s waste that work as well or better than the wasteful ways (although some inconvenience is completely worth it.)  Am I crazy to consider a fuel belt on race day to save three little paper cups?  I run well with it on all my training runs, how much added weight is it really?  I wasted a lot of time at the water stations, because I stop to drink the water and have to merge on and off the course through other runners.  What if I could take my gel and hydrate while I walked up a hill, and then skip the water station entirely?  I would strategically reduce the difficulty of the hill, while saving time later on.  It’s worth considering, especially at my pace.  (I would be less inclined to run Greg’s speed with water jiggling on my hips the whole time.)

One thing I definitely could have avoided was the bottle of water I accepted at the finish.  I refused the disposable foil blanket (I was so close to my family and my gym bag with a sweatshirt).  Yet without thinking I accepted the bottled water.  I could have easily asked a spectator to hold onto a bottle of fresh water for me at the finish line, they could have kept it right in the stroller.  If I didn’t have spectators at a race, I could keep water in my checked bag at gear-check or in the car.  Sure, it’d add a few minutes until I got water, but after a 2 hour and 17 minute run, 5 minutes is nothing in the scheme of things.  No bottled water for me next time.  I’m on this.

Here Are Some Strategies to Green Your Racing:

Refuse: Don’t accept items you won’t use, even if they’re free.

Reduce: Wear a hydration belt if it’s all the same to you, and have a water bottle stashed somewhere for after you finish so you don’t need to accept bottled water.

Communicate: Tell Race Directors you’d prefer not to have a race goodie bag.  Suggest that they let runners fill their bags with only the items that they actually want, by having vendors give out free samples rather than making bags filled in advance. If the technical shirt doesn’t come in a size you’ll wear, mention it to a race volunteer and let them know you’d love to either see it in your size, or have the option to reduce the number of shirts made by opting out during race registration.

Save Money: Don’t buy lots of gear you don’t need at the race expo, especially if the price is more enticing than the style and fit!  Do an inventory of your running gear before you hit up the expo to grab your bib.  Knowing that you already have 4 long sleeve running shirts, 2 jackets, 1 windbreaker, 3 pairs of capris, etc. can strengthen your resolve not to buy that cute running jacket that’s on sale but was manufactured in China, shipped here on an oil rig, costs you money, and isn’t necessary because you already own three.

It’s not always easy: I am going to be honest – it wasn’t easy saying “no thank you” to the bag of free goodies.  But as soon as I walked out of there, that pang of regret faded.  I didn’t need any of it, and now I don’t have to find homes for all those unwanted items.  Score for me!  I made the right choice for me AND it was a green one.  Being greener will be easier if you find the most compatible green choices for your personality and lifestyle.  I wasn’t about to refuse the race medal, my race medal collection means too much to me right now to sacrifice it to the principles of environmentalism and minimalism.  I’m letting go of the things that are easiest to let go of.  Think about the environmental impact we can make if everyone does the same.

Happy racing – do good!  (And I don’t mean just by running.)