We wanted to see what kind of good we could get up to by bringing together 100 of our members and a worthy cause. So, in celebration of World Oceans Day 2019, Onetrack teamed up with Blue Marine Foundation to launch a 1000-mile run to save our oceans. Healthy oceans are vital for the future of humanity – complex ocean ecosystems absorb half of the planet’s CO2, produce nearly half of its oxygen and are a crucial part of the global food supply chain. That’s a lot of legwork for the oceans!
Our idea? Get a group of runners working together to achieve a shared goal of 1000 miles on one track, on one day in support of a good cause. We chose our mileage target to represent the square miles covered by the UNESCO Biosphere off the North Devon coast, where Blue Marine works with local fishermen, conservationists, scientists, recreational interests and regulators to protect marine life.
Why Blue Marine? The Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) combats overfishing and the destruction of biodiversity – one of the largest problems facing the world’s oceans – by delivering practical conservation solutions, including creating large-scale marine reserves such as the one off the coast of North Devon. BLUE’s aim is to put 30% of the world’s oceans under protection by 2030.
We laced up our runners and gathered at Battersea Park Millennium Arena on 1 September 2019. Mindful that sporting events are notorious for creating waste, we were set on ensuring our sunny event day was single-use-plastic-free and carbon neutral. Jamie Baulch kicked off the event with a start line ribbon cutting and by the end of the day our 100 runners had looped the track a combined total of 2,500 times – with individual accomplishments of everything from 5ks to full marathons – to meet the goal of a shared 1000 miles, raising £15,000 for Blue Marine Foundation in the process.
And that’s not all – we’re already dreaming up ways to do more good when we can gather together again. Keep a watch for Onetrack 1000 updates for more details in the (fingers crossed) near future. Want to see what Blue Marine Foundation has been up to? Give them a follow on Instagram @bluemarinefoundation or Twitter @Bluemarinef.
A big thank you to all of our sponsors and partners: Blue Marine Foundation, Venturethree, Active Training World, Tribe, Biopac | Choose Water, Findarace.com, Letsdothis.com
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