Today’s guest post was written by Sara Rae Lancaster, a personal friend of mine. She is a writer and long-distance runner based in Union Grove, Wisconsin. When she isn’t typing away at her next writing project, you’ll likely find her out on a trail training for her next marathon.
Sam Huber runs without footprints. Carbon footprints, that is. A self-proclaimed “eco-runner,” the endurance runner and environmental enthusiast from Milwaukee, Wisconsin is improving Milwaukee area running trails one mile at a time.
It all started one early spring day in 2007.
“I was going for a run here in Milwaukee at my favorite park down by the lake and I just started to notice how dirty and messy the trails had gotten. I thought, ‘This is ridiculous. Something needs to be done.’”
Frustrated, he grabbed a plastic bag caught in a nearby branch and began filling it with the trash he ran past. (Side note: He now uses biodegradable trash bags he purchases from BioGroupUSA.com.)
Huber knew onlookers were probably wondering what this runner was doing carrying a plastic bag and ducking in and out of brush collecting trash.
“I started thinking about what I would say if someone asked me what I was doing,” he said. Picking-Up-Trash-While-Running just didn’t have the ring to it that Huber was looking for. “Then the name just came to me. I’d tell them, ‘I’m eco-running.’”
And that was it. In just a few strides “eco-running” was born. Huber liked the name, but for the time being he left it as that; just something he would do to make his runs a more productive and fulfilling experience.
“I see so many people out volunteering and here I am spending so much time running,” Huber said, who usually trains five days a week. “That’s a lot of ‘me’ time. And I get that running isn’t completely self-indulgent, but here I can combine what I love with a greater good.”
On an average run, Huber said he can collect up to seven bags of trash. He did some quick math and realized that totaled 35 bags of garbage per week—or 1,680 bags per year!
“And this was just me. I got to thinking what a collective effort could do,” he said.
That curiosity fueled Huber to start a blog that detailed his own eco-running adventures and encouraged others to join his cleanup efforts. The entire process of writing about his eco-running experiences allowed Huber the chance to really shape the identity of the term he’d coined just a few months earlier.
On the surface the idea of eco-running sounds simple enough. You run, pick up some trash and call it day.
And in its simplest form, that’s essentially what eco-running is. Although, Huber says any form of outdoor activity while picking up trash qualifies.
“I call it eco-running because that’s what I love to do,” he said. “But I’ve had people from Serbia contact me who do eco-hikes. It can be anything that you want to do. I don’t want to make it exclusively for running, just so long as you’re exercising and cleaning up.”
But would others find the unique marriage of outdoor athletics and environmentalism as exciting as Huber did? After just a few short months of blogging about his experiences, Huber’s answer came as resounding—and pleasantly surprising—“yes!”
“I remember thinking, ‘This is wild! This is something that people really think is cool,’” Huber recalled.
Now, in just a little over two years, interest in the grassroots program has far surpassed Huber’s expectations.
On average, Huber estimates that the blog receives a 150-200 views per day, with interest as close as the elementary school in Grafton, Wisconsin at which he teaches physical education, to as far as Argentina, where a runner expressed interest in working with him to create a bilingual version of the site.
The programs even received national interest from various media, such as Backcountry.com (July 2007), Treehugger.com (2007), Endurance Magazine (April 2008) and Milwaukee Magazine (April 2009). Most recently, eco-runner received a Greenie Award as the “Greatest Fitness Trend” in Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine’s July 2009 issue.
In 2008 and 2009, the term “eco-runner” sparked enough interest to become the theme for the Carlsbad California Marathon. Currently, Huber is sponsoring two race series: The Sierra-Cascade Adventure Races in California, and the Oxfam Trailwalker in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.
“They are attempting to promote, use, and recruit participants to be eco-runner,” Huber wrote in an email. “Both are incorporating eco-running ethics into their race themes and encouraging and informing others about the movement.”
Inspired by the overwhelming positive response so far, Huber wants to generate even greater interest among the running community. He’s taken that next step by bringing his blog to the next level as a full-fledged Web site. As of last week, the “official” eco-running Web site, EcologyRunner.com, is now up and running.
The website expands upon the program’s multi-faceted components, allowing visitors to explore and see for themselves how the eco-running movement goes beyond just picking up trash. As visitors can read on the site, the greater philosophy blends three basic components: a passion for running, concern for the environment and a desire to foster volunteerism.
“When you think about it, the same earth that we use as our playground is also in need of our help,” Huber said. “Eco-running let me connect my “me” time with a bigger picture.”
Visitors can also continue to read Huber’s blog, discover tips on how to sponsor an eco-running road race, find current eco-running sponsored races and purchase eco-runner merchandise.
There’s even a place where young runners can get involved with the movement through the Eco-Runner Kids program.
This is the program Huber says he’s most excited about, and as a physical education background it’s not surprising. As Huber explains on the site, “Eco-Runner Kids” is a partnership between the eco-running movement and schools that incorporates kid-friendly activities and eco-friendly cleanups in those participating schools.
And, just as eco-running for adults can encompass any form of outdoor activity, the same rule applies for Eco-Runner Kids. The point is to get outside, get moving and clean up the earth in the process. Eco-Runner Kids commit to regular exercise, proper nutrition, and living healthy lifestyles, as well as the promotion of environmental conservation, sustainability, and green living. It’s a 35-day challenge that’s incorporated into part of a classroom or school-wide project with incentives.
When asked why he chose 35 days, Huber said he hated the idea of limiting living green to just a single month. His philosophy is that if kids go just slightly beyond a month by a mere five days, maybe they’ll keep going five more days…and then maybe another five days…and then just maybe it will become a lifelong habit. The students keep track of their efforts on a calendar and then turn in the completed calendar, signed by their parent or guardian, to their teacher for a chance to win incentive rewards.
On the website, Huber writes, “Eco-Runner Kids play a vital role in the development and acquisition of these life-changing components. I believe in this statement with all of my heart, and I consider it my duty to promote, teach, and inspire youthful ‘passion with a purpose’ for a greener tomorrow!”
A Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
In Huber’s case, each step makes his journey a little greener.
Similar Posts:
- Little Girl, Big Idea: Sunny Stevenson
- Surprised By Joy: My Introduction To The Service Industry (Part II)
- Return The Favor
- Our First ItStartsWith.Us Meetup
- A Love Bomb for Lauren
