
It’s earth day. And boy, do we LOVE this planet. If you’ve found yourself here, you probably love the earth too.
As runners and Ragnarians alike, we spend a whole lot of time outside. Why? Because it’s beautiful. And when the earth is thriving, we thrive. So, let’s keep it that way.
Ragnar is all about bringing people together to do inspiring things. This holds true not only for our races but also in our efforts to be kind to Mother Earth.
We’re celebrating Earth Day this year with 10 easy, small things you can do to make the world a better and cleaner place. Whether you’re at a Ragnar race or just exploring in your own backyard.
Before we jump into that let’s talk about those r’s. And no, not how to roll them. Or the big R’s. like Ragnar. Relay. And Run. Because isn’t about us. It’s about Mother Earth. And Respecting her. So how exactly does Ragnar commit to sustainability at our events?
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.





GREEN TEAM is a group of volunteers at our trail races, dedicated to sorting the waste produced during our events. The goal is that we get the correct waste in the right places so we have a clean waste stream and avoid sending our recycling bin to the landfill!
10 EASY WAYS TO PROTECT MOTHER EARTH
1. REUSE
Have old athletic shoes? We have a shoe donation partner this year! If you’re attending one of our events, you can drop off your used athletic shoes, the ones that still have some miles left in them, at our HQ tent! We’ll get them over to Sneakers 4 Funds, which will ship them to communities in need around the world. People in those communities then use those shoes in starting their own micro-enterprises. Your shoes will literally provide jobs to those in need! For every pound of shoes donated, Sneakers 4 Funds also makes a small donation to HEAL Utah on our behalf! At our most recent event (Ragnar Trail Atlanta 2021) we filled 3 bags up for donation. Thank you, runners!
So don’t forget to bring your gently used athletic shoes to the next Ragnar race!
2. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
How? Drive Less Days. Or should we say, “driveless days?” A simple way to do your part is committing to a certain number of days where you don’t drive! Walk where you need to go and start your runs from your house to cut down on emissions. If you NEED to drive somewhere, carpooling is also a great way to help.
3. Help Your Community
See trash on your run? Pick it up! Wearing something with pockets make this much easier. Find some gear with pockets in our GEAR STORE.
4. Respect. LNT. Leave No Trace!
This goes without saying, but don’t be a litterbug. In fact, try to leave the places you visit BETTER than when you arrived. If there are clearly marked trails, stay on them to sustain the growth of the natural environment. Remember that you’re visiting someone else’s home.
5. Reusable Hydration Vessels
You could try something like THIS or THIS or even THIS. Never use a single-use water bottle – like EVER. And here’s why…
Plastic water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.
Only about 1 in 5 plastic water bottles actually get recycled.
The energy we waste using water bottles would be enough to power 190,000 homes.
It takes 1.39 liters of water to make 1 liter of water.