Picture a marathon. One image that probably comes to mind is of runners slowing down along the 26-mile course to grab a tiny cup of water, gulping a few sips and then tossing that cup to the ground without missing a stride.
That scene won’t play out at the 47th Catalina Island Marathon.
The event slated for Saturday, March 9, is billed as “cupless,” meaning the 600-plus marathoners on the Catalina Island course will have to refill reusable flasks or hydration packs at water stations along the trail.
The change is one of many at California’s oldest trail marathon aimed at making the event more sustainable than it’s been in the past.
Organizers hope the changes will be enough to earn them a certification from the Council for Responsible Sport. They also hope that spreading the word about sustainability might inspire organizers and participants for all sorts of public events — whether it be a sports competition or a concert in the park — to follow suit.
“It’s the way we’re going to be going in the future,” said Mike Bone, CEO of Ontario-based Spectrum Sports Management, which produces the Catalina Island Marathon. “And it’s the right thing to do.”
Plus, Bone said, “There are a lot more advantages than disadvantages once you actually get into working with sustainability.”
The concept of a “green” sporting event got lots of attention in the wake of this year’s Super Bowl. The game, in Las Vegas, was billed as the first “100% renewable” event because it was powered by a solar farm in Nevada, though critics were quick to point to many not-so-green issues, such as emissions from the hundreds of private jets that flew visitors to the game, the lack of ads promoting electric vehicles, and the mountains of trash generated.
While the Catalina marathon’s environmental impacts aren’t in the same ballpark, Bone said they are concentrated because the event takes place on a small island. So they’ve been working for several years to reduce and offset the problems they do generate, with the Council for Responsible Sport’s framework to guide them.
More than two dozen California events have been certified by the Council for Responsible Sport since the nonprofit launched its process 15 years ago. Others include the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium and that year’s Los Angeles Marathon which will return to L.A. streets on March 17. Even auto races, such as the Indianapolis 500, have been certified as sustainable thanks to their use of solar power and carbon offsets for their emissions.
Dian Vaughn, who’s on the board for the nonprofit, has been working with the Catalina team to review and share ideas for making the event more sustainable. And she’ll be at the marathon Saturday to run down a 50-item checklist of best practices, then award organizers credit for each step they’ve taken. They need to score 45% for basic certification, and then score higher to achieve silver, gold and evergreen status.
Certification means bragging rights for event organizers, Vaughn said. But it also opens dialogue for those involved to show off and share best practices, so ideas to reduce the climate and environmental impacts of these events can spread.
“We’re in an industry where people want to help other people. And we all want to help the environment because all of these people going out and running do not want to run in smoggy cities or really horrible weather and heat,” Vaughn said.
The idea of safeguarding nature is deep “in the ethos” of trail runners, Bone said. That includes those who’ll tackle 26 miles of challenging, hilly dirt roads through the interior of Catalina Island, between Avalon and Two Harbors.
“We’re the endurance industry,” Bone said. “We’re running and riding and swimming and working out and racing in the outdoors. If we don’t take care of that, and preserve it, who’s going to?”
The eco-friendly aspects weren’t what made Jacob Pletcher, 27, of Long Beach sign up to make the Catalina event his first-ever marathon. He was lured by the idea of being able to visit the island for the first time and to run on trails through largely undeveloped wilderness. The event’s FAQ, after all, includes directions about what to do if runners encounter bison along the trail.
But Pletcher said he tries to do his part for the planet in his daily life and while training for the race. For example, he’s ditched the single-use packs of gel nutrition that help maintain energy on long runs. So he was happy to learn about how Catalina Island Marathon organizers were prioritizing those practices, too. And Pletcher said he’ll likely choose the race again with that mission in mind.
“It’s just cool to see that people putting on the race kind of have a similar perspective as I do,” he said.
When Bone’s team first started talking about going down this path several years ago by ditching cups, he approached long-time participants, including runners who’ve participated 45 of the 47 times the race has been held.
“Two of them looked at me and said, ‘You should have done this years ago,’” he recalled.
The first year without cups had its hiccups, Bone said. He acknowledges they didn’t do enough to inform runners about the change ahead of time, so roughly a third of that year’s participants showed up without a reusable option.
To further reduce waste at water stations, he said they tried using 5-gallon jugs. “We ended up with volunteers that were young kids, from junior high age, and they just couldn’t lift the darn things up onto the table,” Bone recalled with a chuckle.
“We’ve made our mistakes and we’ve learned through trial and error. But it’s all part of the process.”
Most participants have been understanding of that learning curve, Bone said. He’s received a couple emails from folks, though, who complained about having to supply their own cup and vowed never to run the Catalina event again.
“Then we’re not the race for you,” Bone said, “because this is part of who we are.”
A next step was to stop offering single-use gel packs that offer runners a quick jolt of energy. After earlier races, Bone said, there were reports of wildlife becoming sick, which scientists attributed to animals eating those packs. So now they only offer snacks like M&Ms and pretzels in compostable cups.
Next, they insisted all vendors ship t-shirts and other materials in bulk, without using Styrofoam packing peanuts or wrapping each item in plastic. Race medals are now made by local Catalina artisans and post-race is food is provided by five local restaurants.
Instead of using safety pins to attach typical bib numbers to their shirts, runners will get BibBoards, with fasteners made from recyclable materials. And reusable bungee cords, not plastic zip ties, will hold up signage.
Marathon organizers also have partnered with Catalina Island Conservancy, a nonprofit that manages and protects 88% of the island’s 48,000 acres. Racers will pick up their packets from the nonprofit’s headquarters, which is nationally certified for its water and energy efficiency. The organization is installing signs along the course that educate runners and others about how Catalina is the ancestral home of the Tongva people and about the island’s native plants and animals. And when runners register for the marathon or the 10K and 5K races also taking place Saturday, they’re prompted to consider donating to support the conservancy’s mission.
Out of the roughly 1,300 people expected to participate Saturday in all of the races on the island, Gina Nelson, who’s head of annual giving and membership for the conservancy, said they typically receive about 200 individual donations.
Whether all of this is or isn’t enough to get the Catalina Island Marathon certified as a sustainable event, Bone said they’re looking forward to any feedback and to continuing to build on their mission.
The biggest challenge ahead is to offset the emissions generated by everyone traveling to Catalina Island, a trip that typically includes either a gas-fueled ferry or a helicopter. Runners already can donate to the conservancy or other environmental nonprofits to offset those emissions, but Bone said they’re developing a more formal process to encourage and track those offsets.
Down the road, Bone said he’s excited about the potential to switch from gas generators needed to power the race’s start and finish lines to solar-powered equipment, as the Austin Marathon and some other events have done.
At first, Bone was concerned about how sustainable changes would affect his company’s bottom line. But he said he’s been pleasantly surprised to find they’re saving money by not buying cases of water bottles and swapping other single-use items for reusables. So he said it’s proven to be a smart business practice that also happens to be “very gratifying.”
“You just know you’re doing the right thing.”
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