The Manitoba Marathon has a long-standing commitment to hosting environmentally responsible events. Each year, we set an ambitious goal of 85% waste diversion—meaning only 15% of event waste goes to landfill, with the rest directed to composting and recycling facilities.

We are proud to be strengthening this commitment by pursuing Evergreen Certification through the Council for Responsible Sport. This comprehensive, year-long process includes policy development, detailed documentation, and the introduction of new initiatives designed to enhance our environmental and social impact. Key focus areas include conservation, waste diversion, accessibility, equity, and community legacy.

Once certified, the Manitoba Marathon will become only the third major road race in Canada to achieve this distinction. We look forward to sharing what we learn and helping to build best practices that benefit our entire running community.

How You Can Help Keep Our Events Green

  • Sort your waste at the start/finish areas. Look for our sustainability volunteers stationed at waste pods with three bins—recycling, compost, and landfill. Your careful sorting makes a big difference in helping us reach our diversion goals.
  • Use compostable cups responsibly on the course. All water and electrolyte cups on race day are fully compostable. Please drop them within the water station footprint to help keep neighbourhoods clean.
  • Choose a Green Bib. Our Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Full Marathon Green Bib option allows you to opt out of receiving an event shirt, with a portion of your registration fee donated to an environmental charity.
  • Take only what you need at the finish line. All leftover food from the recovery area is donated to Winnipeg food charities and schools. You can support this initiative by taking only what you need to refuel.
  • Support low-waste expo practices. Our Birchwood Fit Expo partners commit to distributing only compostable or reusable items. We also eliminate flyers and single-use samples from race kit bags to reduce waste.
  • Our Fit Expo does not use individual plastic bags for kits nor do we distribute samples or flyers in our kit bags. We invite you to visit with our exhibitors and take only what you need/can use from their samples.

For more information, click here to view our 2026 press release.