I have been seeing quite a bit of discussion on trail racing and its sustainability (or lack thereof) lately. Leadville in particular has been the whipping boy here to some degree. Having run it now, I get it to some degree, but perhaps I missed some of the egregious actions out there.
Absent throwing gel packets, it seems to me even a large number of runners would not significantly degrade most trails unless it was a huge rainstorm (as in last year's SF North Face 50 mile/50-K).
Lace's report of the mid-mountain marathon reminded me that yes, in fact, some trail runners do persist in littering during races, but I also secretly think "road runner" when I see the litter (and often stop to pick it up). Cyclists in races or sportives tend to be worse than trail runners, fwiw.
So, as far as the "issues" go, I have a few thoughts/questions:
1. Other than litter, what are the key factors that make trail running/racing (un)sustainable?
2. Onto the much discussed #2, many posters rail against racers defecating near the trail. My reaction is generally that runners do not favor doing their business on the trail, and often it is due to gastro-intestinal distress. Leadville was a welcome change for me in that my only contribution was puking, and well off the trail. Also, runners do not generally carry shovels so burying is going to be a bit crude in any event. Finally, for someone who shares all my local trails with horses, one horse deposits more feces on the trail than all runners I have ever seen, so is it possible people are just overreacting? Perhaps horse poop is like diamonds and only human poop is an issue.
3. Isn't the environmental impact of actually running pale in comparison to any of the travel to get to the races, crewing, etc.? I ride and run locally most of the time, but my flight to France or Colorado does more environmental damage than cycling or running once I get there. What is the environmental impact of covering trail or ultra running?
More thoughts?
In regards to #1. Many years ago I tried mountain biking. I gave it up since I don't seem to have the balance that is required for the rocky trails here in PA. But the one thing that I took away from that community was the importance of designing trails appropriately to minimize washing. I've run some trail races that portions were on very soft dirt and had only basic grubbing or went straight down a hill. Even a moderate rain was going to cause a lot of wash outs. If mountain bikers had cut those trails and raced on them they would have been thrown off due to the damage, yet no one seemed to mind if it was runners. Since I was one of the last ones coming through I could see how bad the trail was torn up. I think that runners need to be conscious of issues such as this.
For #2. I have had to go in the woods several times. I always try to get far enough off the trail that no one will come in contact with it. I didn't take the time to look up the list of different diseases that can be transmitted via human feces but it's generally considered to be far worse then animal poop. Consider places in the world where there is a lack of sanitary facilities. Diseases are very prevalent. Contrast this to farmers who handle animal manure on a regular basis. They rarely get sick from it. It's just not as dangerous. So I think that runners should try their best to cover their poop up and keep it away from creeks and the trail.
I'm always mystified when people call running an environmentally friendly activity. As runners we buy products that we otherwise would not need and most are made with synthetic materials. We drive to get to our favorite trails or roads thereby consuming fossil fuels. I have to drive at least 20 miles to get to a good trail. When I jump on the bike I can leave from my house and ride so that could be a little more environmentally friendly, but that could change if you calculate in the environmental footprint of manufacturing a bike with a carbon fiber frame. I try to take prudent actions to reduce my impact on the environment but you can only do so much so I don't let the environmental impact bother me too much.
Watoni - love that you made the poop issue #2. Hilarious!
I should disclose before I start that I am a microbiologist in my day job. And I was a hiker long before I was a trail runner.
The issue of poop is one that can't really be generalized across all trails or all trail running. Whether or not it's going to be okay to take a crap on the side of the trail depends on the climate, the local water, the number of trail users, the sensitivity of the local flora and fauna, and probably some other things I can't remember right now.
Generally speaking, the powers that be tend to have a good idea of how often people take a crap on the trail, and manage that well enough. If a given area has a lot of visitors, they will put in toilets for them. They will either get the money through permits and admission, or apply for grants based on the number of visitors they have. They won't issue a permit for a race with 200 runners if the environment can't bounce back from the pooping. Please do try to avail yourself of any facilities if at all possible, and if the powers-that-be require people to pack out their poop in tube, plan on doing that or don't run there.
You're right - if they allow horses without poop bags, that's a good indication that this isn't a sensitive environment.
IMO, I think burial is mostly for asthetics.
sugnim
I've never thought about the sustainability of trail running before. I guess I had always considered it to be a very low-impact activity. The trail races where I live all have strict caps on the number of participants which are put in place by the forest service. And one of the trails I regularly run does not allow groups larger than 10 people to hike, run, ride horse, or bike together. I don't see too much trash on the trails, although a week ago I found a map that someone had dropped. As for relieving one's self on the trail, I've tried but have never had any success, so in this area I think trail running has more impact on my guts than on the trail. Probably the worst thing that I do is to take my dog on some of the trails that don't allow dogs. I've never even encountered another human on these trails before, so hopefully we aren't causing any harm just by being there.
(Don't get me started on horse crap. If dog owners have to pack out their animal's poop, I say horse owners should also have to pack out poop. I've never understood why people seem to think that horse shit is somehow different. Shit is shit. Unless it's fresh grizzly bear shit--in that case it's scary.)
Well, it is somehow different. And I can explain.
One of the reasons horses are allowed to crap everywhere is because there isn't a lot of disease transmission from horses to humans via feces. The few bad bugs that we can share, the horses are more sensitive to them than we are. So, if a horse is shedding something that people can catch - that horse is going to be really sick and in no shape for a trail ride. Horses are kind of a special case here, hence why horse poop is "allowed".
But if it's something that you don't like, I'd encourage you to write to whomever manages the land in question, and complain. If a lot of people complain that the horse poop is bothering them, they might require equestrians to use a poop catcher.
And Daydreamer - you're wrong about the farmers. They do get sick with animal poop diseases. They are called "zoonotic" diseases. A friend of mine who is a large animal vet gets crypto about once a year, and I have several friends that have had histoplasmosis from working with chickens.
Le professeur de trail
So I think that runners should try their best to cover their poop up and keep it away from creeks and the trail.
Pooping near a creek is highly discouraged. That's all I have to say.
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
Yes, I agree of course that people should do their best to minimize impact, and follow rules.
The #2 issue is only prominent in my mind since I have read many hostile posts on this lately (Strava's FB page regarding Leadville, Irunfar, etc.).
Again, I see trail running as low impact when you do it from home and respect the trails. Races and travel are trickier, but strike me as something that should be manageable -- this is not Everest tourism.
Thread killer ..
. I've never understood why people seem to think that horse shit is somehow different. Shit is shit.
I've been a horse owner all my life and I have also shit all my life , I have had many people ask me for horse shit for their gardens no one has ever asked for mine for their garden .
I don't want to get argumentive here but I'm not wrong. I said they rarely get sick from it and I stand by that. You see I grew up on farms and working around them. I spent my teenage years and into my early 20s working around all kinds of livestock. This included shoveling poop, spreading poop and getting splattered by poop. Like I will tell my bosses. I'm a old farm boy I know what BullS%^t looks like, smells like and even tastes like. Considering how much livestock farmers are around manure and animals, it is rare for them to get sick from the animals. For a time I worked at a livestock auction where we would see some sick animals come through. One of my jobs was to help the vet treat those animals. I had numerous conversations with him about which parasites and diseases would cross over to humans. It does happen, but as I stated it's rare.
Hahahaha! That cracked me up! You have a point, to an extent. I raise chickens, and people ask me for their manure all the time as well, and I even use it on my own garden from which my family & I eat everyday. However, it is still shit. Bird shit, horse shit, dog shit, people shit. I don't want to step in it, and I wouldn't want to see it all over a trail.
(Also, I would only put the manure on the garden after it is dried & well composted. You could do the same with human poop, and in fact the city that I live in sends it's solid sewer waste to a local composting plant where it is mixed with local yard waste, composted, and sold in bags for use in gardens.)
I don't want to get argumentive here but I'm not wrong. I said they rarely get sick from it and I stand by that. You see I grew up on farms and working around them. I spent my teenage years and into my early 20s working around all kinds of livestock.
Yeah, probably you're more likely to get in a car accident on the way to work. But they are considered an occupational hazard of farm workers. I think it's a bigger concern now than it was in the past because some of the emerging diseases (like the bad E colis and some drug resistant Salmonella strains) are causing severe illnesses. So the likelihood of an outbreak isn't that high, but the consequences are getting a lot higher.
I don't see too much trash on the trails I run and also don't notice much when traveling to races. Especially in between the aid stations. I sometimes do see a pile of cups and trash a few hundred yards after an aid stations, but I think the runners tend to pile it up so it's easier for the aid station workers to pick it up. At the aid station I always work at we make a point of placing some boxes a few hundred yards down the trail and tell the runners to walk out with the cups, there is a box out there for trash. We then go and empty the boxes every once in a while during the race. I think this works really well and all of the stuff ends up in the boxes and underscores the point that the trash shouldn't be left along the trail.
I kind of feel good when I arrive at an aid station and the first thing I have to do is unload the empty Gel wrappers and stuff into the trash. I've had more than a few aid station workers smile and offer to take my trash for me.
Another thing I have noticed is that races are supplying less paper cups and relying on people carrying bottles or hydro-packs. I actually do that at the few road marathons I run and don't use cups at all, but I'm certainly in the minority at road races on that score.
As far as #2 is concerned, yes, shit-is-shit, but isn't it all biodegradable for the most part? Unless everyone decides to take a dump in the exact same spot, I imagine that the natural spread of things and space of time between races should take care of it.
As far as transportations to/from races is concerned. You could drive yourself crazy and might as well become a shut-in or something. I say as long as you are driving a car with decent gas mileage and carpool whenever possible you are doing more than the average person.
2/17/24 - Forgotten Florida 100 Mile, Christmas, FL