Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 14

# RUNCLEAN
More Races Go
Plastic-free
In great news for the environment,
more race organisers are joining the
fight against the litter problem in the
sport of road running, by getting rid
of plastic sachets at their refreshment
stations. Even better, these races
are going still further, by introducing
several measures to eradicate single-
use plastic (SUP) throughout their
events, and it is all helping greatly to
spread the #runclean message still
further in the sport.
Many runners heeded the
call to carry their own
water at the FNB Cape
Town 12 ONERUN
W
South Africa, which has resulted in World Best as well
as Continental and National Records being run.
City Series Cleans Up Meanwhile, the races have also contributed greatly
to the cleaning and greening of the city centres they
run through, thanks to innovative steps introduced
by the Stillwater team. This includes ‘city clean-ups,’
which have been undertaken in the build-up to the
races since 2017, but even better was the decision
Stillwater took earlier this year to implement a Single-
Use Plastic (SUP) Management Campaign at the FNB
Cape Town 12 ONERUN in May.
The three races in Cape Town, Johannesburg and
Durban that make up the FNB Run Your City Series,
organised by Stillwater Sports, have quickly grown into
some of the biggest and most talked about events on
the SA running calendar. Not only have the three races
attracted huge fields of runners back to urban centres
where they seldom venture, let alone run, but the races
have also brought world class international talent to This campaign aimed to drastically reduce the usage of
single-use plastics in the event, not only getting rid of
plastic wrappers on race numbers, T-shirts and medals,
but even introducing reusable cable-ties for signage and
branding. The most visible changes were on the route,
though, with the number of water points reduced from
three to two, and using recyclable paper cups instead
What this means is these events have significantly
reduced their carbon footprint and impact on the
environment by putting a serious dent in the amount
of plastic waste generated by their events and the
runners who take part in them – and these organisers
deserve special mention for their greening efforts!
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ISSUE 120 JULY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
of plastic sachets to dispense the water. Furthermore,
runners were encouraged to run with a hydration pack,
or the DHL water bottle handed out at registration, and
use the #ICarryMyOwn refill stations along the route.
“As part of our campaign, we teamed up with Modern
Athlete’s #RunClean campaign to implement strict
‘litter zones’ and ensure a litter-free route, while with
#ICarryMyOwn, we encouraged runners to be self-
sustained by running with a hydration pack and/or water
bottle,” says Stillwater Sports General Manager Agne
du Plessis. “We are thankful for the positive manner in
which Capetonians welcomed the campaign at the race,
putting their DHL water bottles to good use on the day in
support of #ICarryMyOwn and #RunClean.”
More to Come from Stillwater
Following the successful introduction of the SUP
Management Campaign in Cape Town in May,
the Stillwater team have announced that they
hile many races around South Africa have
signed up in support of the #runclean
campaign started by Modern Athlete three
years ago, a few races have really gone the extra mile
in the last few months in terms of their commitment to
the environment. These races have introduced greening
measures that have seen as much plastic as possible
removed from the races, and replaced with more
environmentally friendly alternatives where necessary.