How to Make Participation In Your Next Running Event More Sustainable

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How to Make Participation In Your Next Running Event More Sustainable

Published on January 27, 2025

2 min read

Sustainability Tips: Before, During & After Your Next Sports Event

Ella Cowen is the Sustainability, Property and Facilities Lead at Ordnance Survey and she is also a keen trail runner. Ella recently took part in the gruelling Arc of Attrition by UTMB , one of a global series of events growing in popularity every year.

As an expert in sustainability, we asked Ella for her thoughts on mass participation events and how participants like her can be more sustainable before, during and after an event.

As participants let’s find ways to minimise our own impact on the environment. Collectively this can and will make a difference.

The sustainability advice from Ella below applies broadly to many mass participation events, let us know if you have any additional tips to share.

Top tips for being more sustainable before, during, and after trail running events

Planning For The Event

OS Map route planning – Try and prioritise circular or out-and-back routes or use public transport to return to your car – this minimises car ferries and additional emissions and air pollution.

Carpool – Travelling to training and events causes significant environmental impact, share the joy of the run with a friend and you can also save on fuel.

Train local – getting out to recce a race is important, but not all training runs need to be on-location or even the same terrain. Try and train local, from your front door if you can, for a large portion of your runs, and save the long journeys for your ‘long run’ days. It also means you can run in safe, well-lit areas when training for winter races.

At The Event

Your best bet at minimising your impact on the environment is to follow the Countryside Code:

Farming, livestock and wild animals – Close gates behind you, respect the access you’ve been given through public or farmland by closing gates behind you and passing livestock wide and slow. If you’re running with your dog, keep them under control and put them on the lead around livestock or if a sign says to do so. I will often swap between on and off lead throughout a run as the terrain and livestock change.

Follow local signs and keep to marked paths – signage on trails is there to protect the environment and the people enjoying it. Sticking to paths can minimise erosion and damage and keep you safe

Leave no trace – whether it’s nutrition packaging or poo bags if you’re taking your pooch, take everything home with you or find an appropriate bin. I like to double bag dog poos and put them in the back of my pack, you can keep the extra bag when you bin it but it keeps the smell away. You can also half rip when you open gels to make sure those small pieces of packaging don’t fly away. Read more about how to genuinely ‘Leave No Trace’

After The Event

Keep your gear clean to promote longevity – soft water bottles for example will last longer if you keep them clean between uses so you can get more time out of your kit, you can even put them in the freezer between uses to prevent the build-up of mould

Donate or sell old kit – just because your kit is no longer right for you (you need a new size, you want the latest tech etc.) it doesn’t mean it’s useless. Second-hand kit is a great way for new runners to get into the sport without breaking the bank or creating waste

Are Mass Participation Events Sustainable?

The Mass Participation Pulse carries out regular surveys looking at various aspects of mass participation events, how they are growing and the impact on the environment.

2024 Mass Participation Event Survey

WHICH OF THESE SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEEIMPLEMENTED AT EVENTS IN THE FUTURE?

56% Stop offering bottled water and provide refillable

55% Offering better recycling facilities

38% Encouraging participants to take public transport

33% Only serving locally sourced, organic and fair trade

31% Ensuring all suppliers are carbon neutral

26% Offering less giveaways or goody bags

24% Stop giving away t-shirts

19% Replacing metal medals with wooden ones

8% Offering a digital alternative instead of a medal

We hope you have found Ella’s advice useful and will make use of it when training for and attending your next big trail running event. Email hilary.pullen@os.uk or mention/tag us @ordnancesurvey #ordnancesurvey if you have any thoughts or posts relating to sustainability and mass participation events, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

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