The St Valentine’s 30k road race, organised by Stamford Striders Running Club, is embracing green initiatives to support the Plastic Free Stamford campaign.
Taking place on 16th February, the race is aiming to be kinder of the environment and will fulfil specific criteria to help Stamford’s bid to become a plastic free community.
The organisers have taken the decision to rid the event of carrier bags to hold ‘goodies’ for race finishers and of plastic cups at the water stations.
In addition, the running shirts given to competitors will be made from recycled bottles, and they are being printed in a way that prevents particles of plastic ‘leaking’ into the eco system through washing machines.
The race medals will also be produced without any paint in the design.
Race director Mark Alderson said: “As a club, we have put a lot of time and effort into finding initiatives that will make our race as environmentally friendly as possible.
“Some ‘greener’ products cost more, but we believe in looking after the environment and the principles of a growing number of runners, so we’ve taken the view that if going greener costs a bit more, then so be it.”
All waste from the 30k event will be taken away for recycling.
The race, which attracts up to 750 competitors, is one of the most popular running events in the region, with the 2020 event having sold out within a few hours of opening to entries.