Exercising while protecting nature is absolutely possible — even if large mass events often leave mountains of waste in their wake! A new trend is emerging in the running world with the rise of eco-friendly races that are committed to encouraging good habits among their participants. Here is a selection of French eco-friendly running races and plogging events where you can enjoy your favourite sport while helping to protect your environment!
Run Eco Team: it's not a specific event or race but rather an association working to promote plogging. Today, 23,000 followers of the Run Eco Team Facebook page regularly post photos of their litter hauls collected while running. With its slogan "un run, un déchet", the association has already won over many runners and the movement keeps on growing!
L'Échappée verte: it's a giant plogging event taking place at the Bois de Vincennes on Sunday 30 September. It's a chance to run across three routes while collecting all surrounding litter. Participants are each equipped with a specific kit including t-shirts, rubbish bags and protective gloves. After the race, a large picnic is offered to all participants. This initiative is part of the national "Nettoyons la Nature" weekend, which last year resulted in nearly 530 tonnes of waste collected across the country.
Running without harming the planet is absolutely possible. Running is fundamentally a low-impact activity for the environment. It simply requires adopting the right habits to reduce the ecological footprint of each run, particularly at large events. This means, of course, leaving no litter, using recyclable packaging and choosing the least polluting transport options. There are countless ways to make running more eco-friendly, and at Cimalp — where protecting our playground is close to our hearts — this is a fundamental challenge we embrace by developing increasingly sustainable products with the lowest possible environmental impact.
Eco-friendly races
L'Ecorun
Taking place in Vaucresson (92), this event will be held on 29 October and is built around 3 core values:- Health and wellbeing
- Accessibility for people with disabilities
- Nature preservation
Le Marathon Vert
The 12th edition of Marathon Vert will take place in Rennes on 21 & 22 October. The event aims to raise awareness of durable development through several initiatives.- Promotion of public transport and carpooling to reach the venue
- "Ecological code of conduct" charter distributed to each participant
- Litter collection throughout the course
L'Eco-Trail de Paris
Held on 16 March in Paris across various locations (Versailles, Meudon, Saint-Cloud, Tour Eiffel...), the Ecotrail offers routes ranging from 10 to 80 kilometres and puts a strong emphasis on environmental action:- Incentive for durable transport
- Elimination of unnecessary packaging
- Individual waste pouches
- Showcasing the natural heritage along the route
- Waste reduction and sorting initiatives
Plogging events
This new trend from Sweden involves running while picking up litter. Known as "plogging", the movement is growing rapidly in France. Certain events and organisations are working to unite individual efforts and share their results, aiming to convince more and more runners to embrace this environmentally beneficial practice.
Run Eco Team: it's not a specific event or race but rather an association working to promote plogging. Today, 23,000 followers of the Run Eco Team Facebook page regularly post photos of their litter hauls collected while running. With its slogan "un run, un déchet", the association has already won over many runners and the movement keeps on growing!
L'Échappée verte: it's a giant plogging event taking place at the Bois de Vincennes on Sunday 30 September. It's a chance to run across three routes while collecting all surrounding litter. Participants are each equipped with a specific kit including t-shirts, rubbish bags and protective gloves. After the race, a large picnic is offered to all participants. This initiative is part of the national "Nettoyons la Nature" weekend, which last year resulted in nearly 530 tonnes of waste collected across the country.
Running without harming the planet is absolutely possible. Running is fundamentally a low-impact activity for the environment. It simply requires adopting the right habits to reduce the ecological footprint of each run, particularly at large events. This means, of course, leaving no litter, using recyclable packaging and choosing the least polluting transport options. There are countless ways to make running more eco-friendly, and at Cimalp — where protecting our playground is close to our hearts — this is a fundamental challenge we embrace by developing increasingly sustainable products with the lowest possible environmental impact.
