Every year in late April, thousands of athletes from across the country come to Toledo for the renowned Mercy Health Glass City Marathon. For this year’s race, the planning committee has decided to go green, and Partners for Clean Streams is helping to achieve that goal.  Partners for Clean Streams is assisting the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon planning committee with the recycling, composting, and Terracycling endeavors before, during, and after the race.  In addition, Partners for Clean Streams has been selected as a charity partner for this year’s race.  Runners, or friends and family of runners, can donate directly to PCS on their website and contribute to our efforts to make northwest Ohio’s waterways clean, clear, and safe. 

Every year, the Toledo Roadrunners Club affords local non-profit organizations the opportunity to become a charity partner of the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, Owens Corning Half Marathon, and the Medical Mutual Glass City 5k.  Since 2009, the Toledo Roadrunners Club have raised over $300,000 for various Toledo nonprofits!  However, not all nonprofits are included every year in this awesome opportunity; the Toledo Roadrunners Club carefully selects each nonprofit organization and this year, Partners for Clean Streams was awarded this honor. 

Apart from being selected as a charity partner for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, PCS is helping the race gain accreditation from The Council of Responsible Sport. Through a rigorous process, The Council evaluates sporting events based on their environmentally and socially responsible work that benefits both the participants and the larger community.  Since 2008, The Council has certified over 100 different sporting events across the county.  Partners for Clean Streams is advising the planning for the recycling, composting, and Terracycling stations at the race.  What is Terracycle® you ask? It is when used products, typically seen as unrecyclable like plastic gloves or pens, are transformed into entirely different, and new products.  During the marathon, PCS will collect the used GU Packs that runners consume for energy and submit them to a Terracycling company to be repurposed into something else. PCS will also help with water stations throughout the course, assist in the sorting of recyclable vs. non-recyclable materials, and provide educational materials at the race expo the day before.  

We hope you join us, and many fellow Toledoans, in celebrating the 2016 Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, for it will surely be an exciting day! Also, remember you can directly donate to PCS, whether running in the race or not, on the Glass City Marathon homepage, under the charity partners section.