GREEN GIANTS
How a community of runners is looking to make our sport kinder on the planet
THE GREEN RUNNERS is a community trying to make the planet fitter. Founded by a handful of ultrarunners – including Jasmin Paris, Damian Hall and Dan Lawson – it’s aiming to inspire runners from around the world to make personal changes to help the environment. These are based around four pillars: how you move, kit up, eat and speak out.
‘How you move is about looking at how you travel to races,’ says Paris. ‘If the race is abroad, can you go by means other than flying? On a local level, can you take public transport?’ To help with this, The Green Runners is encouraging race organisers to change start times of certain races to make them more accessible via public transport. If you do have to fly – as Edinburgh-based Paris did when she competed in the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee, US, earlier this year – you could look to offset it or make other compromises. ‘I didn’t apply for Hardrock 100 because I’d travelled to the Barkley Marathons and couldn’t justify flying to the US twice in a year,’ she says.
When it comes to kitting up, The Green Runners want to encourage people to repair, reuse and recycle. ‘The most sustainable kit is the one you’re wearing,’ says Darren Evans, another of the founders. ‘For example, you can repair any rips to the uppers of your trainers by using RockTape and a glue called Fantastic Elastic. If we can reduce the overconsumption we’ve been guilty of in the past, it will make a big difference.’
A lot of The Green Runners are vegetarian or vegan, but they’re not asking that everyone who joins gives up meat and dairy. It’s about making small changes, such as going meat-free for a day or two a week. For Paris, who was already vegetarian, it was about reducing dairy. ‘I used to eat a fair amount of cheese and milk,’ she says. ‘Just switching to oat milk almost halved my dairy consumption as I drink a lot of tea. The important thing is to try to make some change – make a pledge and make it meaningful so you stick with it.’
Which brings us to the fourth pillar: speaking out. Visit the website, thegreenrunners.com and, for the cost of £2.50, you can make a pledge. This can cover everything from reducing travel and/or meat consumption to repairing kit to maximise its lifespan. You’ll then have the chance to receive a Green Runners badge from ReRun Clothing, a company that specialise in remaking old running kit, to wear proudly at your next race.
You’ll be in fine company. ‘I’ve stepped away from any ambassadorship for any company,’ says Paris, who was previously sponsored by Inov-8. ‘I raced the UTMB in August for The Green Runners. That was a way of maintaining independence. It’s difficult to be in the thick of it as a sponsored athlete and maintain that integrity. It was important for me to step away from it.’ Talk about living your values. But with an issue as important as climate change, maybe we should all start voting with our feet.