Running – a sport that readers here love and indulge in – has been evolving so much in the last few years. Fortunately, it is moving in the right direction. In terms of equipment and gears, nutrition and training, technology has improved by leaps and bounds. Beyond hardware, there is also a more important evolution taking place in runners’ mindset. This is manifested in the concept of eco running, where there is a conscious and conscientious effort to make running a sustainable sport that can coexist happily with nature.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you would be hard pressed to miss mainstream news or social media feeds of marine plastic pollution in the form of whales and other sea creatures found dead with plastics in their bellies, or marine birds that suffocate due to plastic bottle cap rings stuck on their beaks. Simply put, there is just too much plastic waste in the oceans today that have dire consequences on marine life.
No Baby Steps Are Too Small
Increasingly, we are seeing more eco friendly running events. Organisers are ditching plastic bag wraps of event tees and asking participants to carry reusable cups. In this year’s London Marathon, the organisers raised the bar by handing out to runners edible water capsules or pods in efforts to reduce plastic bottle waste.
If all these efforts seem stuff for the big boys, we may wonder what can we do on an individual level? We can always start really small, and make it a habit. We can opt to drink with non-plastic straws, or scrap the straws altogether. We can refuse single-use plastic bags when we do our groceries; instead we can bring our own reusable non-plastic shopping bags. In other words, any effort no matter how small, will help towards the fight against marine plastic pollution.
Celebrating World Oceans Day
On Saturday 8 June, more than 320 runners consisting of members of the public, adidas employees, the local adidas Runners community and adidas ambassadors gathered and ran in unison along the Marina Bay waterfront.
Petr Stastny, Country Manager, adidas Singapore, said:
“We believe that through sport, we have the power to change lives. With adidas Run For The Oceans 2019, we harness the power of sport to raise awareness about the state of the oceans and inspire positive action. We are extremely heartened to see the strong turnout at Run For The Oceans 2019 in Singapore, and the enthusiasm and ownership among our runners for this cause. Every kilometre, every step counts; together, we can make a marked difference and create change.”
Musician Benjamin Kheng, actor Danial Ashriq, and host of the event and 98.7FM radio personality Kimberly Wang joined other runners in chalking up between 4 to 7 kilometres each through the Run For The Oceans challenge via the Runtastic app.
With every kilometre run between 8 to 16 June 2019, adidas will contribute US$1 to Parley Ocean School towards educating youths on the threat of marine plastic pollution. To date, US$1.5 million has been raised.
At the event, local singer-songwriter Inch Chua and food and travel writer Victoria Cheng, both advocates of environmental sustainability, shared their personal experiences and encouraged participants to take action by incorporating sustainable habits in their day-to-day lives.
Through educational zones at the venue, participants also learnt more about the impact of their participation in Run For The Oceans and the transformation journey of ocean plastic waste into an adidas x Parley product.
adidas also took this opportunity to launch the new Alphabounce+ Parley, designed with maximum support and comfort in mind, with tuned forging, a welded lacing system and an optimised fit. It is priced at S$140, and is available at adidas Suntec City and on adidas.com.sg.
Join The Movement And Spread The Word!
The fight against marine plastic pollution is a collective effort. You can help spread the word about the issue of marine plastic pollution by inviting your friends to sign up on the Runtastic app and join the Run For The Oceans movement, between now until 16 June!
Find out more here: adidas.com.sg/runfortheoceans and share this link with your friends to get them started!
Everyone is welcomed to join the adidas Runners community in Singapore. There will be an exciting new line up of activities, weekly runs and the unveiling of a new batch of the community’s group leaders soon. Visit adidas Runners Singapore Facebook group for more information.
