Sustainable Skye Half Marathon
The Isle of Skye Half Marathon are working hard to reduce the environmental impact of our race. Here are some of the measures we have put in place. If you have any ideas on other things we might consider, please get in touch.
Plant a Tree
Offset your carbon by planting a tree. We are proud to attract runners from all over the world to our small Island. However, we want to offer our participants an affordable opportunity to reduce the impact of their journeys and so in 2021 we launched our Isle of Skye Half Marathon Tree Grove. For participants needing to travel, or just wanting to help with the planet you can buy a tree for just £6 to be planted in our Grove.
Race T-Shirts
We want to reduce the waste of unwanted T-Shirts so we no longer offer a T-Shirt on entry. Instead we have sourced better quality eco-friendly technical t-shirts made from recycled control-dry polyester. So if you would like to add a Isle of Skye Half Marathon T-Shirt to your running wardrobe you still can and are available to buy upon entry and on the day from our merchandise stall.
Race Drinking Water
We want to permenantly and significantly reduce all waste associated with water stations so we'd love our runners to carry their own water. New for 2022 we'll be asking all of our runners to be self-sufficient with their hydration whilst out running on the course. We're encouraging everyone to practice training with this in mind by using whatever hydration method you wish. On race day itself, there will be plenty of water refill points along the route for runners to use. For emergency purposes we will have a small supply of recyclable Tetra Pak Cartons available on site and along the route.
Medals
Partnering with Portree High School and Shilasdair Yarn has enabled us to make a more sustainable medal, without compromise. Portree High School have designed and made all of our wooden medals using local wood. Shilasdair dye yarn using local plants to give the medal string a piece of take home Skye. You can continue to proudly display your medal at home with all your others or perhaps recycle it. How about giving it a couple of coats of varnish and use it as a coaster? Or attach a magnet & use it to hold up your race dates on the fridge. Plus our Fun Runners will all receive the most sustainable medal we could find. a Seeded Medal that can be planted once you've finished admiring it.
Lift Share
We'd like to encourage participants to lift share to the event. If you would be interested in offering a seat in your car or would like a lift. You may find more details on how to arrange a lift of out Travel Tips page.
Merchandise
We have sustainability in mind when considering our merchandise. All fabric merchandise will be made from organic cotton or recycled fabric and where possible embroidered to ensure longevity. We will also offer products that reduce single use plastics, such as water bottles. Runners will have the opportunity to purchase items in advance of the event and collect on the day at registration.
Race Day
Our Sustainability Team will continue to review our event and identify other areas where we can reduce our environmental impact even further. Such as race numbers, food offerings etc.