Sustainability

The Trail Running Association of Queensland (TRAQ) place the utmost of importance upon environmental and social sustainability, and commit to being of benefit to the State of Queensland, local communities and the traditional owners upon whose land we meet to engage in trail running activities and events.

TRAQ’s mission is to assist people to engage with the natural environment around them, experience safe and challenging events, and to connect the growing community of trail runners and users in Queensland. TRAQ influences the behaviour of people in cultural, social and environmental matters by connecting them with five TRAIL Values: Tradition, Respect, Adventure, Initiative, and Learning.  

The five TRAIL values encourage safety, mateship, individual responsibility and respect for self and others. They are supported by four pillars, which provide the framework for this environmental and social sustainability policy: 

1. Environment – leave the environment in better shape than before the event. 

2. Community – respect for traditional owners and culture, local community, and athletic community & competitors. 

3. Economy – contributing to the growth of the regions in which trail running and events take place.

4. Governance – managing environmental and social risk through systems, monitoring and evaluation. 

TRAQ commits to continually improve our environmental and social sustainability performance in delivering  events and to implementing actions that demonstrate a commitment to our sustainability objectives. In addition, TRAQ will comply with all relevant legislation and regulations, and strive to achieve best practice in event management. Special consideration will be given to the safety of all event stakeholders and, wherever possible, environmentally sustainable, products and services will be sourced locally. 

TRAQ will appoint a Committee Member to monitor  our sustainability objectives. This volunteer will ensure ongoing environmental and social performance, identification of environmental risks, recording and monitoring of impacts and leading the implementation of environmental and social sustainability measures.  

We encourage staff, volunteers, competitors, visitors and the local communities to engage with us in our commitment to environmental and social sustainability. 

Sustainability Tips and Tricks

Tips & Tricks for looking after your gear and making it last! Recycling, reusing, re-purchasing…

So how do we do it?

Upparel

Upparel where you pack a box of any type of textiles and recycle the clothing ie lycra, socks, generally pay for a box and ship off to them.

Approx $35 per 10 kilos.

Race Belts

Bring your own clips / using reusable waist belts for race numbers.

Soft Flasks

After your long run, wash out your soft flasks and put them straight into the freezer. This keeps germs at bay and keeps your soft flasks fresher for longer and more runs!

Hydrovest Hacks

After a long day on the trails, fill them with water pop a denture tablet in, then close them to soak and clean. Fresh as new!

Carpooling

Long runs, local races, Parkrun or even for a coffee, carpooling is a great way to get to and from you group destination. Vibes, snacks and good tunes is always a great way to get yourself ready to run!

Old Race Shirts

Companies like Too Many Shirts, recycle old race shirts into new blankets, pillowcases… you name it! Recycling race shirts you don’t wear anymore or are filling up your closet is a great way to help prevent land waste.

You can also opt-out of a shirt at your next race.