The ING Hartford Marathon has supported philanthropic causes and the environment, while endeavoring to provide a quality experience for runners and their families, for the past fifteen years. In 2008, 7,000 runners toed the line for the full marathon, while hundreds more ran the 5K ING Run for Something kids race. The event aims to be the most sustainable athletic event in the country and is establishing itself in areas of green, health, philanthropy, and social responsibility.

It is often a challenge for established events to turn down "Green Street," but with the help of United Technologies, the marathon's "Presenting Green Sponsor," the event has strived to lessen its environmental impact each year.

The race course begins and ends in Bushnell Park, in the shadow of the Connecticut State House. The single-loop course takes runners along country roads, 19th Century homes, pumpkin farms, historic American landmarks, and along the revived Connecticut River trail. The field draws both local and international participants. The city of Hartford, guided by Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell's commitment to the environment, is a model for other communities with its recycling program in partnership with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA), Connecticut's trash management and recycling governmental authority.

Waste
In 2008, race organizers, in partnership with CRRA, implemented an integrated waste management plan to minimize the overall environmental impact of waste generated by the event and its participants, maximize the recycling of marathon-associated waste, and reduce the amount of waste deposited in the Hartford Landfill. The plan was designed to ensure the proper collection of waste materials generated, which eases sorting and increases recycling rates.

Early documentation provided by the event indicated that specially-designed receptacles would be placed at the Xcel Center, the pre-race expo site. None were observed, but the Xcel Center is likely to have procedures in place to address sorting and recycling behind-the-scenes. It is unclear how this waste was actually dealt with; however, the CRRA does not allow the disposal of municipal solid waste at the one landfill available for the Hartford region. Therefore, the municipal solid waste collected at the expo would have been incinerated at the CRRA trash-to-energy power plant in Hartford, and the associated ash residue disposed of at the CRRA Hartford landfill.

On race day, three methods for the collection of recycling materials were used at the race site and on the race course. Single stream recycling was introduced at the park. This allows the deposit of any recyclable item (cardboard, glass, paper, plastic) into a common recycling bin. The bin is then transported to a recycling center where people and processing equipment separate the waste into material type (paper, glass, etc.). Single stream results in a higher capture rate for recyclables, especially in large event settings, since separate containers are not required for each waste type. Ten single stream recycling centers were established with clear signage to direct participants to dispose recyclables and non-recyclables in the appropriate bin. Documentation indicated these stations would be manned by volunteers to prevent cross-contamination, however, they were not manned due to a lack of volunteers for these positions. Signage was clear, obvious, and adequate.

In addition to the single stream recycling stations, the park also contained plastic, aluminum, and glass recycling collection containers. Dispersion of these collection points was meant to reach those areas of the park where marathon crowds might not warrant single stream stations. On the course, aid station cups and filling bottles were collected along with non-recyclable trash and processed at the CRRA waste-to-energy facility. The CRRA used the event as an opportunity to introduce single stream collection to the general public, which will be available to homes across the Hartford metropolitan area in late 2008.

Pre-event documentation indicated that because the event is held within a CRRA community, all municipal solid waste (MSW) would be incinerated at the CRRA trash-to-energy power plant in Hartford, and the associated ash residue disposed at the CRRA Hartford Landfill. Therefore, estimates calculate the waste per participant going into the Hartford Landfill at approximately 0.40 pounds. These metrics will serve as a valuable benchmark in measuring future improvement as the event continues towards its goal to be "zero waste" and carbon neutral.

Leftover food was donated to the House of Bread.

Climate
Hartford is a commuter city, with few residents living in the downtown area, although buses and commuter trains access the city from surrounding suburbs. Race support vehicles were replaced with bicycles for medical response teams, course marshals, and communications experts. Electric golf carts were used as volunteer shuttles.

The race made significant efforts to source food from local vendors, although some food items, such as bananas at the finish line, are not local to New England. Many food items were certified organic.

Using data from the 2007 race, the event completed a comprehensive carbon footprint calculation and then purchased the equivalent amount of carbon credits to offset the event's entire CO2 emissions. Calculations included participant travel, participant lodging, the pre-race expo, pasta party (food prep), electricity consumed, volunteer travel, and operations. Required RECs to offset 100% of the marathon's energy used was calculated at 2 MWh. Required CO2-equivalent offsets to achieve carbon neutrality was calculated at 387 metric tons CO2-equivalent. The event purchased the offsets and RECs from Native Energy. The purchased offsets support the Dovan Family Farm Methane Project Expansion and the Colonie Landfill Methane Abatement Project in New York State.

Equipment & Materials
Event organizers made a significant effort to reduce the amount of printed material and use recycled stock with non-toxic ink. Seventy percent of the equipment used for the race was rented, while essential items were reused from other events held throughout the year. 2008 marked the first year with title sponsor, ING. Branding requirements for specific ING-branded collateral posed a significant challenge for event organizers. Often such collateral is updated each year, with the previous year's collateral ending up in the landfill. It is unclear what branding requirements will be imposed but is important to consider for future years.

The event shirts were made of traditional cotton and printed with traditional, toxic inks, while the finisher medals were also traditional finisher medals. Participants were given the ability to opt-out of receiving a shirt or medal, as well as the option to donate their race shirt or medal to Medals4Mettle. The actual quantity donated was not provided. It should be noted that some earth-friendly clothing options were available for purchase at the expo.

All event-provided food service products were compostable, and proper receptacles were clustered with the single stream collection stations.

Community & Outreach
The ING Hartford marathon is a celebration of everything Hartford and Connecticut. In 2008, the race was held in conjunction with the One Thing Governors Convention (see Innovation section below) and mobilized 1,200 local volunteers. In support of the city of Hartford's Connecticut Riverfront Recapture, the marathon course was re-routed to showcase the revived riverfront and takes runners along several miles of the waterfront trail. The marathon has raised over $3M for various local charity organizations committed to ending childhood obesity. Employees from United Technologies, the race's presenting green sponsor and headquartered in downtown Hartford, volunteer on the organizing committee to carry out green initiatives, like coordinating the recycling collection clusters at the race site and building the gravity-fed water bubbler.

As mentioned previously, the race also helped CRRA introduce the single stream collection process for recyclables to local Hartford communities. Instead of hosting a traditional pre-race carbo-load party, race organizers organized a city-wide pasta party by enlisting 15 local restaurants to provide a generous discount to runners and their families.

Health Promotion
In an effort to combat childhood obesity and introduce kids to healthy lifestyle habits, ING developed "Run for Something Better", a program to help fund free, community and school-based running programs. Through the sale of orange laces, which symbolized the children's commitment, the program raised over $2M to support such initiatives.

Beginning six weeks before race weekend, 1,700 inner-city youth trained to complete the equivalent 13.1 miles of a half marathon through ING's "Run for Something Better" program. Each week they completed 2 miles, and they "finished" the 13.1 miles of their race by running the final 1.1 miles through the actual finish of the marathon on the day before the actual marathon. In addition, the event presents the "World of Fitness" expo to highlight 27 local fitness activities for the youth to explore, as well as providing free training programs for beginners. Following the event, a survey was emailed to all participants requesting feedback on sustainability efforts. Survey results were not available before publication of this case study but distribution to participants was confirmed.

Innovation
Engineers from UTC developed a 40-person water bubbler for the event. This device, placed at the finish, provided enough drinking water to replace the equivalent of 10,000 plastic water bottles. In its two years of use, it has eliminated the need for over 20,000 individual plastic water bottles to be handed out to finishers.

As mentioned earlier, the marathon partnered with Connecticut's governor to jointly promote the race and the "One Thing Expo," aimed at raising individual awareness of environmental issues and helping individuals to find "one thing" they can do to contribute to a better environment.

The race also served as a collection site for gently-used running shoes for recycling into court and track surfaces through the Nike Reuse Program.

The ING Hartford Marathon aims to be the most sustainable athletic event in the country. It is helping to lead the marathon community with bold initiatives and strong actions. The event engages the local community, empowers youth to participate, demands commitment from sponsors, educates participants, and supports local public assets. Although a mature race, it has reinvented itself in the past few years - a commendable task not easily accomplished.