This is a guest blog from Tina Muir, the founder of Racing for Sustainability.
Putting on a race means balancing countless moving parts — budgets, logistics, participant experience, community impact, all while trying to do the right thing for the cities we host in. For many race directors, sustainability matters deeply, but finding practical, affordable ways to reduce environmental impact can feel overwhelming amid the realities of event planning.
Last year, we launched Racing for Sustainability, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on helping running events reduce their environmental impact in realistic, achievable ways. Our goal is simple: make sustainable racing easier, more affordable, and more accessible for events of all sizes.
We provide race organizers with:
- Practical guidance on sustainable event practices
- Tools and resources that fit real race budgets
- Racing for Sustainability Certification, helping runners identify events that prioritize the planet
- Education and awareness around why sustainability matters in racing, and how races can make a difference
Now, we’re taking the next step.
Introducing the Sustainability Support Fund
We’re exploring a new initiative called the Sustainability Support Fund, designed to help remove the financial and logistical barriers that often prevent races from adopting more eco-conscious practices.
Through this fund, Racing for Sustainability may:
- Cover or offset the added cost of more sustainable materials or systems (such as switching to hemp bibs or paying for a Terracycle gel and nutrition wrapper recycling collection bin)
- Directly procure or pay for vetted sustainable products or services
- Provide implementation guidance so the sustainable option is also the easiest option
- Support pilot programs or transition efforts that can be replicated at future events
This fund isn’t about forcing big changes overnight. It’s about helping races take meaningful, manageable steps forward, on your terms.
Why We’re Asking for Your Input
Every race is different.
What’s an easy sustainability win for one event might be a major challenge for another. That’s why we want to hear directly from race directors and organizers about where sustainability feels hardest right now.
We’ve created a short survey to understand your biggest sustainability pain point, the improvement you’d like to make but haven’t been able to tackle yet due to cost, logistics, or uncertainty.
Your input will help determine:
- What the Sustainability Support Fund prioritizes
- Which solutions will have the biggest real-world impact
- How we can best support races of all sizes, locations, and formats
Share Your Perspective
If you’re a race director or event organizer, we’d love to hear from you.
Please take just a few minutes to complete our short survey and tell us what sustainability challenge you’d like help addressing: https://forms.gle/Ntuiykp93gxeUmyt5
By sharing your perspective, you’re helping shape a program built for races, by races — and helping move the sport toward a more sustainable future.
Thank you for everything you do to make running events happen, and for being part of the solution.