The Marin County Triathlon was held for the first time on October 26, 2008. Located just north of San Francisco in the small city of San Rafael, the event took full advantage of all the environmentally-friendly resources of the progressive Bay Area.

The event and its race director, Mark Leibert, planned the race to be responsibly produced from the outset. Every decision took into account environmental impact, and race day execution was nearly flawless. Even details that the attending public would never see were considered. What resulted was one of the greenest events in the United States, top to bottom, and a myriad of ideas for other race directors to adopt as best practices.

The event offered an olympic-distance triathlon in and around China Camp State Park. The swim took place in San Francisco Bay amidst perfect weather conditions, the bike was an out-and-back over rolling terrain, and the run included pavement and trail sections within China Camp. Over 500 participants competed in this first year, most from local Bay Area communities.

Waste
The event produced 40 pounds of landfill waste. For an event with roughly 500 participants, that's less than 0.08 pounds per athlete - and included in the weight is trash generated by volunteers and spectators.

Much of the success of the triathlon's trash diversion can be attributed to the efforts of the Marin Conservation Corps. These volunteers staffed all waste/recycling stations, patiently separating waste into the appropriate bins and educating the public about proper disposal. With all the planning in the world, and all the eco-friendly containers and compostable products, waste diversion simply does not work without oversight of the public. Marin County understood this and paid just as much attention to this implementation detail as all the rest.

The triathlon recycled cardboard, glass, plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, and paper. Not only were items consumed at the event recycled, but the race encouraged participants to bring old water bottles and other recyclable material to the race, and the event took care of their proper disposal. Recyclables were accepted by the Marin Resource Recovery Center in partnership with the Marin Sanitary District.

Food waste was sent to the Marin Resource Recovery Center for composting in the new bio-cell facility. The sole food vendor cooperated with the event to offer burritos wrapped in wax paper, which was placed into compost bins with the assistance of the Marin Conservation Corps and Marin Sanitary District.

Much of the success in waste management followed from the event's efforts to reduce consumption from the outset. Packaging was minimized, cheap throw-aways were eliminated, and all race partners and vendors were encouraged to develop solutions that would minimize waste.

Climate
The Marin County Triathlon not only used renewable energy sources for 100% of its electrical needs, but it did so in a visible way to engage the public. Electrical energy needed for the sound system, vendors, timing, and so forth came from two sources: solar panels mounted to a portable trailer and a generator running peanut oil. Pure Power Distribution, a company that builds custom solar panel devices for mobile uses, provided the solar panel trailer for the event to use free of charge. The 5kW trailer on display at the triathlon is the smallest of the portable units manufactured by this company, yet the electrical needs barely registered.

The smaller peanut oil generator was used to power the sound system at the swim start. It was run for only a short time and smelled pleasantly of french fries.

To shuttle volunteers from the parking area to the race site, the triathlon used two shuttle vans provided by Incredible Adventures of San Francisco. The 14-passenger vans operated continuously throughout the day and drew energy from biodiesel.

Carpooling to the event was encouraged in pre-race communications (website and newsletters). The closest city of San Rafael is accessible by buses from the Golden Gate Bridge Transportation District, however the race site itself (China Camp State Park) is not served by public transportation. Even with the Bay Area's extensive collection of public transportation options, the final leg needs to be completed by car, bike, or other means.

Special attention was given to the food served at the event, with an emphasis on local and organic. The race worked with Mangia Nosh Catering, a local provider, to serve burritos entirely sourced from within 250 miles. The burritos contained organic, responsibly-raised chicken from Sonoma County, vegetables from Marin and Sonoma Counties, beans from the Central Valley, cheese from Sonoma County, tortillas made in San Jose County, and organic sauce from San Francisco County. Additionally, the event placed signs at the serving area alerting spectators and participants of these sources. The combination of local food and publicizing it increased the effectiveness of the entire effort.

Fruit accompanied the burritos, also local and organically grown. Apples came from the surrounding farms of Sonoma County, grapes from Modesto and Merced, and pears from Stockton and the Central Valley. Again, a sign alerted consumers of what they were eating.

The race director is in the coffee business, so caffeine was not in short supply throughout the event. Club Caffeine, the brand of choice, is 100% Fair Trade and organic.

As with much of the event, the carbon footprint was confronted locally. The triathlon chose to offset participant, volunteer, and staff travel by purchasing 75 credits from 3 Degrees Group, a company based in the Presidio in San Francisco. The "Verified Emission Reductions" funded the restoration of trees in the Van Eck Forest Project in Northern California, allowing for direct and immediate impact on the triathlon itself.

Equipment & Materials
As a first-year event, the Marin County Triathlon could choose alternative materials and processes from the very beginning. Race organizers used a combination of borrowing, creativity, less-is-more, and existing connections to devise unique solutions to common infrastructure needs. The transition area boundary, for example, used hemp rope sourced locally instead of traditional plastic scrim. While this created a natural and reusable boundary, it fell short of USA Triathlon's requirements for a secured area. Members of the public could enter and leave the transition area without passing through an entrance or exit, a potential concern with so much high-end equipment inside.

All paper-based materials created by the event used recycled paper and soy-based inks. Additionally, vendors were required to follow these same guidelines with their promotional materials. Online registration avoided the need for additional paper waste.

Along with the hemp rope demarcating the transition area, live plants and sandbags composed of natural, biodegradable jute fibers and filled with sand from the beach were used to construct pathways. Carpeting and bike racks were borrowed from local sources, and almost nothing was made from scratch.

Race apparel was limited to bamboo hats for volunteers and organic cotton t-shirts for athletes. Although the t-shirts were organic and screened locally using water-based inks, they were stitched in India and thus traveled a long distance to reach the event.

The triathlon exercised creativity and ingenuity in devising its awards. Overall awards given to the top male and female finishers were made from used materials gathered from old wetsuits, bike parts, and running shoes. A local artist, Steven Shaver, designed and assembled the trophies. For all finishers, medals were given at the finish line. Over 700 medals consisting of recycled lanyards and old bike cogs (collected from three REI locations and Mike's Bikes in the Bay Area) were cleaned and assembled by Mitchell Calder, a 14-year-old with a lot of time on his hands.

The event worked with World Centric of Palo Alto, Calif. to source compostable food service items used at the expo and run aid stations. Cups were made from PLA (corn-based) plastic, paper towels and napkins were made from 100% recycled paper, spoons were made out of compostable corn, trash bags were "BioBag" made from corn, and even the toilet tissue in the port-o-loos was made from 100% recycled paper.

In addition to environmentally-friendly toilet paper, the port-o-loos themselves used non-toxic chemicals to treat the waste.

Community & Outreach
Along with all the environmental initiatives, the Marin County Triathlon did not lose sight of its relationship with the local community. The Bay Area has large triathlon clubs, demand for races far in excess of supply, and several classic, celebrated races on the yearly calendar. That said, it's a difficult market to enter with bureaucratic rules and a high cost of living.

San Rafael proved a gracious host for the event. All members of the organizing committee are from Marin County or the city of San Francisco, and the members represent local government, triathlon clubs, and affiliated charitable organizations. The triathlon was promoted nationally but produced locally.

A "green" theme permeated the event. Unobtrusive signs told participants of the sustainability initiatives while inviting them to take part, the announcer sprinkled messages into his talk throughout the day, and per-race literature and the website spoke frequently of the responsible choices being made. The combination was effective - participants felt like they were part of the process and became motivated to help.

Local charities were very much a part of the triathlon. Proceeds in excess of expenses were donated to three organizations: the Lupus Foundation of Northern California, Girls on the Run Bay Area, and Jenny's Light. Each of the charities had a spot in the race expo on both Saturday and Sunday, allowing them to interact with participants and spectators to raise awareness of their missions.

Health Promotion
As a new triathlon just north of San Francisco, the event had the potential to reach a broad audience. And with a focus on environmental and social sustainability, the race appealed to progressive Bay Area sensibilities that complemented participants' desires for a healthy lifestyle.

Efforts were made to recruit volunteers from segments of the community that could not take part in the race itself. This allowed youth and individuals affected by Lupus, as well as nearly 100 volunteers from the three partnering charities, to experience the positive atmosphere in person.

To engage beginners and novice athletes, the event management staff conducted two clinics specifically for beginners and three training programs with race partners (Bay Club Marin, TriMore Fitness, and PacWest Athletics). At the expo the day before the race, seminars were held for first-time athletes.

To reach a broader audience and publicize the health benefits of triathlon, the event tapped into Bay Area news outlets like Pacific Sun, the Marin Independent Journal, North Bay Bohemian, KTVU Fox 2, and KLLC radio. Finally, to encourage feedback on all of these efforts, participants were asked to fill out a survey electronically.

Innovation
The Marin County Triathlon came up with a novel, three-pronged approach to avoiding the ubiquitous single-serve water bottle found at many sporting events today. Water for athlete hydration came from the Marin Municipal Water District, which was carbon-filtered and placed directly into serving containers by U.S. Pure Water. At the bike aid station, water bottles made from bio-degradable plastic obtained from Insight Resource Group were handed to athletes. Additionally, used water bottles brought to the event by athletes were collected by Marin Conservation Corps volunteers and recycled by the Marin Resource Recovery Center.

The final piece of the triathlon's water strategy was found at the finish line. Instead of plastic single-use bottles, metal Klean Kanteen bottles were handed to each finisher. The attractive, logo'd bottles are reusable and do not leach chemicals into the water they hold.

A second innovation credit was earned by the triathlon's use of volunteers from the Marin Conservation Corps. This group did the manual work of materials separation for the recycling/composting effort, as well as educating the public during the race about which materials could be diverted from the landfill. Each volunteer wore a blue t-shirt identifying them as being part of the Corps, which increased visibility for the organization and its goals.