Running on the ragged edge of the West coast, the Big Sur Marathon is one of those bucket list “must dos” that has you coming back every year. The course’s coastal views are a distraction from thoughts of the miles ahead, and it’s easy to be present and get in the zone while you run to the rhythm of crashing waves. Views of the cliffed and wildflower lined California coastline don’t hurt either. This year, Big Sur takes stride on April 24 and runners from all over the U.S. and beyond will gather to take part in the marathon, 21-miler, 11-miler, 12k, and 5k events.
The world class experience of an event like Big Sur is the product of a lot of hard work, and Blistering Pace Race Management (BPRM) is a huge part of the “magic” behind it all. Founded in 2016, BPRM works in a variety of race management capacities, from organizing staff and volunteers, to management and permitting for a course, to evolving events to be as sustainable as possible. They work with the San Francisco Half Marathon, 10K & 5K, the Napa Valley Marathon and Half Marathon, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the New York City Marathon, the new WineShine Half Marathon, and the Big Sur Marathon Foundation.
This year, Recover is BPRM’s official partner in five west coast events. “As a race management organization, we are very cognizant of the environmental operating costs not just of the events we produce, but also of the partner companies we choose to build relationships with,” said Director of Partnerships for BPRM, Christy Slye. Slye continued, “Recover Brands is the industry leader in sustainable apparel and social responsibility, and we’re excited to continue to build a robust partnership for years to come.”
Choosing Recover apparel adds up. By partnering with Recover since 2018, Big Sur Marathon Foundation has diverted 552,832 plastic bottles from the landfill, saved 838,299 lbs of CO2 emissions, saved 2,059,232 KWH of energy, and saved 144 million gallons of water. These numbers are based on using 69,104 Recover products for their races, volunteers, and merchandise.
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BPRM works with the Big Sur Marathon Foundation to put on the Big Sur International Marathon (April) and Monterey Bay Half Marathon (November), joining tens of thousands of runners together through their vision to “create beautiful running events that promote health and benefit our community.” That “community” spreads near and far, and includes everyone from kids to 87 year olds participating in the events.
Big Sur Marathon events raise money to benefit local charities and causes (over $5 million to date), and also lead the way in action and innovation for green events. Events across the board have the potential to create major positive or negative impact in their destination areas, and more and more events are taking action to reduce negative impact, especially on the environment.
Part of greening an event is choosing sustainable apparel, and Recover provides 100% recycled for Big Sur Marathon Foundation participants, volunteers, and merchandise. Describing Big Sur, Recover’s President and Co-Founder, Bill Johnston reflected, “Ever since Recover’s partnership began with the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, I have looked forward to traveling out to California’s Coast from North Carolina to be part of these awesome events.” Bill continued, “The partnership is so aligned with what Recover stands for, and personally it’s such a cool place to experience a world class race. A couple of years ago, I headed west for the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, not just as a vendor and race partner, but also as a runner. Needless to say, for anyone who has run the race, it did not disappoint, and I feel so privileged to have experienced the race from this lens.”
Recover sponsors the events’ Green Team. At the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, the Green Team sorted through all the waste, diverting about 5 tons of waste, resulting in a diversion rate from the landfill of 90.1%.
Partnered with Blue Strike Environmental, Big Sur Marathon Foundation events truly lead the way with the aim for zero-waste and keeping destinations “green and pristine.” It’s certainly not easy to navigate all of the ins and outs of going green in the age of plastic and packaging, but Big Sur works every year to innovate ways to be greener and consciously partners with vendors that have sustainable practices in line with their own in order to build a green event.
At Big Sur events, there are no trash cans. Participants can recycle bottles, cans, plastic, and cardboard. Heat sheets, foil-lined wrappers, and performance nutrition packaging are also separated and up-cycled. In its last event, 290 pounds of nutrition wrappers, like GU gel packets and stroopwafel wrappers were sent to Terracycle to be upcycled into new products. Compostable items such as food waste, plates, and utensils are collected and sent to the Monterey Regional Waste Management’s anaerobic digester. Leftover food, abandoned clothing and shoes are donated to the Food Bank for Monterey County, the Last Chance Mercantile, and to the Monterey branch of Meals on Wheels, a program that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals.
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Looking forward to Big Sur Marathon this year, Bill describes, “BPRM and Big Sur's commitment to being zero waste and making sustainable choices in all aspects of their races is such a big part of the unique running experience they create. We're excited for what lies ahead in 2022 and look forward to making a positive impact together."
