1,000 Turn Out for Earth Advantage Institute’s Earth Day Run and Fair

April 27, 2010 - PRLog -- PORTLAND, Ore., April 27, 2010 – Close to 1,000 people, including more than 700 runners and walkers, came out to support Earth Day, green building and sustainable living at Earth Advantage Institute’s Earth Day Run on Saturday. The second annual event was held in Tigard outside Earth Advantage Institute’s national center.

The crowd cheered the participants, tasted organic specialty foods from Chez Gourmet and Whole Foods, asked questions of expert green builders at Legend Homes, lined up for massages, and drank custom-brewed Earth Day beer from Hopworks. The run was a benefit for ACE Academy, a charter high school for students learning architecture, construction and engineering skills. Many runners brought old athletic shoes to be ground into new athletic surfaces through Nike’s ReUse A Shoe and Grind programs, and Energy Trust of Oregon’s fridge recycling staff provided coupons offering $50 dollars and free pick-up of old refrigerators.

“As a nonprofit green building resource and certification organization, we were tremendously excited to triple the runner participation in our flagship consumer sustainability event,” said Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “The green living fair also enables us to reach out to families to communicate the value of a certified, healthier home as well as a more sustainable lifestyle. This year’s event held special significance because it coincided with Earth Advantage Institute’s 5-year anniversary as a nonprofit organization.”

The men’s 10K race winner was Jeff Carman of Lake Oswego and the women’s winner was Alana Kent of Portland. The 5K winners were Chris Sheaffer and Lorilynn Bloomer, both of Portland. The race appealed to young and old -- 5K finishers included an eight year-old boy and a 69 year-old woman.

Carol Craig, 69, of Southeast Portland, said she’s been walking for 7 years and competes in a number of events each year to stay fit.  “I participated in last year’s Earth Day run and have been looking forward to this year’s event -- I couldn’t miss it. The route was good, and all the volunteers were very helpful. I came in first in my age group.” With a smile, she added “Of course, I was the only one in my age group. I’m ready for next year’s event.”

A Kids’ Recycle Race and a 1K Race went ahead despite a brief shower, with more than 100 children participating. The Recycle Race, for smaller children, had different age groups shuttling plastic bottles back and forth to bins with encouragement from parents. The wet but happy children crowded into the building for an awards ceremony, after which the sun came out again.

Tim Ahaus, director of business development and race coordinator for Earth Advantage Institute, says the organization is looking forward to an even bigger turn-out next year. “I think we can say we’ve established the run as one of the primary Earth Day events in the Portland area and from here on out regional runners will make room for this on their calendars each year.”

The event was carbon neutral thanks to the generous carbon offset sponsorship from Legend Homes, which is building solar energy systems as a standard feature on all its new homes in the Edgewater Development.

Major sponsors for the Earth Day Run include Nike, Hopworks, Energy Trust of Oregon, Legend Homes and 1Thing.

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About Earth Advantage Institute
Earth Advantage Institute works with the building and design industry to help implement sustainable building practices. Its nonprofit mission is to create an immediate, practical and cost-effective path to sustainability and carbon reduction in the built environment. The organization achieves its objectives through a range of innovative certification, education and technical services programs.