St Pete Run Fest values sustainability and has joined forces with several partners to produce a sustainable race weekend. Solid waste management is paramount in Run Fest’s sustainability efforts, as less solid waste means lower environmental risk to our coastal ecosystem. Partnerships with local (and a few not-so-local) organizations have allowed St. Pete Run Fest to take steps toward a zero-waste dream.
- None of the water provided will come from single-use plastic bottles, and we encourage athletes NOT to bring plastic bottles to the waterfront site.
- Hydration stops will serve water from reusable silicon cups provided by Hiccup. PLEASE DO NOT KEEP THE HICCUPS. They are collected, sanitized, and reused.
- Water at the finish line will be packaged in aluminum cans, provided by Liquid Death. Post-race beverage cans will be recycled by
- Every athlete will receive a reusable metal cup or tumbler that can be refilled multiple times from a water monster, a self-serve bulk water dispenser located in the athlete village.
- Banana peels from finish line nutrition will be composted at St. Pete Youth Farm.
- Cardboard from the many vendors will be stacked out of sight on pallets for municipal recycling.
- Blue municipal recycling bins will be around the entire race venue. It’s important not to put food in the blue recycling bins. Food contamination is the number one reason ordinarily recyclable materials do not get recycled. Many trash cans will be on site!
- Tees 4 Trees: For various reasons, some athletes don’t want a race t-shirt, so they can opt out of a shirt and donate the value of that shirt to plant a tree in one of our beautiful city parks. Thank you to those who chose Tees 4 Trees when they registered!
Meet Our Sustainability Partners
Hiccup—Hiccup is a local company founded by Kristina Smithe in 2020 with the goal of eliminating single-use cups on many types of race courses. Hiccup’s service includes dropping off cups to each aid station, picking up the cups as soon as the aid station is closed, and washing the used cups to be available again at the next race that goes green! Their mission is to eliminate cup waste. The blue silicone cups are easily recognized and are a key facet to Run Fest’s sustainability goals.
St. Pete Youth Farm—In 2019, St. Pete Youth Farm was established to provide access to nutritious food in South St. Petersburg, FL. They encourage leadership, entrepreneurship and career readiness to develop future leaders in our community. They strive to reduce food deserts in South St. Pete neighbors while teaching young folks in the community the importance of healthy food and healthy environments.