New nonprofit launches to help small and mid-sized races go green

Racing for Sustainability, a nonprofit created to support small and mid-sized races, officially launched this month to help race directors reduce their environmental impact—without needing the resources of a major marathon.

While large races have the resources to execute impactful green initiatives, small and mid-sized races often lack the funding and guidance to do the same. Racing for Sustainability removes those barriers to sustainability by offering affordable, practical tools and guidance to help races of all sizes adopt more eco-friendly practices.

“There are thousands of race directors who want to make their race sustainable but don’t know where to start—or assume it’s too expensive or complicated,” said founder Tina Muir. “We created Racing for Sustainability with them in mind.” 

Racing for Sustainability’s membership portal is hosted on RunSignup, enabling race organizers to easily join RFS and to implement initiatives such as offering a t-shirt opt-out or adding a gender category to their race registration from their RunSignup account.

Racing for Sustainability offers:

• Guides to all aspects of putting on a sustainable race
• Templates, PDFs, and ready-to-use content for vendors, volunteers, and runners
• Webinars with trail blazers and innovators in sustainable racing
• The Racing for Sustainability digital badge so races can showcase their sustainability initiatives

Race organizers are encouraged to visit Racing for Sustainability to learn more.