Making a Greener Standalone 10k
Standalone 10k 2023 is over! we had an amazing day and we hope you did too .... and we made great progress in making it the greenest event possible!
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Number Re-Use
You very diligently handed in your numbers after the race which will all be re-used for future races ... saving valuable natural resources. Trainer Re-Use
You also brought your unused trainers so that we could donate these for re use by other budding athletes. |
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Bunting
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recycling points
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re-usable cups
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In partnership with the Heritage Foundation one of our main aims for the Standalone 10k is to make our race the greenest Standalone event to date, lets reduce the impact it has on the environment! ... this year we are challenging as many attendees as possible to walk or cycle to Standalone farm.
We’ve reviewed everything we do, what we use, how we use it and the potential environmental impact in 2019, we started to make some changes in partnership with Transition Town Letchworth and Plastic Free Letchworth and Letchworth Garden City Foundation.
Our main aim is to reduce the number of single use items we use as part of our event. For 2019 we removed the need for 1600 single use cups in the finish area by hiring reusable cups and providing a dedicated place for runners to leave their water bottles in the finish area to pick up at the end of the race. Since then, we have bought a stock of reusable cups to use at all our races. We have replaced plastic tape with reusable tape (after using up any existing stocks of tape that we have) and bespoke NHRR bunting (which looks a lot prettier too!).
In 2023, we offered runners 3 t-shirt options: no t-shirt, a recycled technical t-shirt or a donation to Trees not tees
For the water station on the course, we are using up our existing stocks of plastic cups (which will be recycled after the race) and biodegradable and compostable cups. We now know that biodegradable and compostable cups aren’t as great as we thought in the past because bioplastic cups can only be composted at high temperatures in an industrial compost facility that isn’t actually available locally, we will continue to look into more sustainable options for our water station.
We want to reduce the amount of waste send to landfill by the race and to recycle as much as possible. At race HQ on Standalone Farm, we will be providing more recycling. The food vendors at Standalone Farm will all be local to reduce food miles and support the local economy and they will be offering a wide range of food options, including vegan food. We are also working closely with them to ensure they make the right environmental choices for their single use items as well as encouraging them to ensure that any food waste is recycled or passed on to other local organisations.
For the race, we now give cash prizes, with no trophies or medals to reduce the number of items we are introducing into the world as a result of our race. And in 2023, we moved to a new race timing provider, Races online, who are based in Hertfordshire and encourage race number recycling, so we no longer need to print single use numbers for our event.
And finally, we are replacing our blow up gantry which was powered by a petrol guzzling generator with a new aluminium gantry, reducing noise and emissions. We’re also moving to modern 4G radios for race communications meaning that we no longer need an aerial booster powered by a generator.
But we can’t do this alone, what can you do?
We’d like you to think about how you get to Standalone Farm on race day. If you live locally, please cycle to the farm, you'll arrive nicely warmed up and it is a great cool down after the race! We will be providing additional cycle racks on the farm, just follow the signs at race HQ. Or come on the train, Standalone Farm is just a 17 minute walk from Letchworth Garden City Train station on the London to Cambridge line. If a car journey is your only option, then please car share if possible. Not only is this more environmentally friendly but it will ease pressure on our car park.
On the farm, please bring along a water bottle for after the race (store it on the dedicated table in the finish area) and bring along your own cup for hot drinks on the farm. Finally, if you have any unwanted trainers, then we will be providing a Jog On collection point for them.
We’ve reviewed everything we do, what we use, how we use it and the potential environmental impact in 2019, we started to make some changes in partnership with Transition Town Letchworth and Plastic Free Letchworth and Letchworth Garden City Foundation.
Our main aim is to reduce the number of single use items we use as part of our event. For 2019 we removed the need for 1600 single use cups in the finish area by hiring reusable cups and providing a dedicated place for runners to leave their water bottles in the finish area to pick up at the end of the race. Since then, we have bought a stock of reusable cups to use at all our races. We have replaced plastic tape with reusable tape (after using up any existing stocks of tape that we have) and bespoke NHRR bunting (which looks a lot prettier too!).
In 2023, we offered runners 3 t-shirt options: no t-shirt, a recycled technical t-shirt or a donation to Trees not tees
For the water station on the course, we are using up our existing stocks of plastic cups (which will be recycled after the race) and biodegradable and compostable cups. We now know that biodegradable and compostable cups aren’t as great as we thought in the past because bioplastic cups can only be composted at high temperatures in an industrial compost facility that isn’t actually available locally, we will continue to look into more sustainable options for our water station.
We want to reduce the amount of waste send to landfill by the race and to recycle as much as possible. At race HQ on Standalone Farm, we will be providing more recycling. The food vendors at Standalone Farm will all be local to reduce food miles and support the local economy and they will be offering a wide range of food options, including vegan food. We are also working closely with them to ensure they make the right environmental choices for their single use items as well as encouraging them to ensure that any food waste is recycled or passed on to other local organisations.
For the race, we now give cash prizes, with no trophies or medals to reduce the number of items we are introducing into the world as a result of our race. And in 2023, we moved to a new race timing provider, Races online, who are based in Hertfordshire and encourage race number recycling, so we no longer need to print single use numbers for our event.
And finally, we are replacing our blow up gantry which was powered by a petrol guzzling generator with a new aluminium gantry, reducing noise and emissions. We’re also moving to modern 4G radios for race communications meaning that we no longer need an aerial booster powered by a generator.
But we can’t do this alone, what can you do?
We’d like you to think about how you get to Standalone Farm on race day. If you live locally, please cycle to the farm, you'll arrive nicely warmed up and it is a great cool down after the race! We will be providing additional cycle racks on the farm, just follow the signs at race HQ. Or come on the train, Standalone Farm is just a 17 minute walk from Letchworth Garden City Train station on the London to Cambridge line. If a car journey is your only option, then please car share if possible. Not only is this more environmentally friendly but it will ease pressure on our car park.
On the farm, please bring along a water bottle for after the race (store it on the dedicated table in the finish area) and bring along your own cup for hot drinks on the farm. Finally, if you have any unwanted trainers, then we will be providing a Jog On collection point for them.