Green
SPECIAL FEATURE
Runners
The natural environment is vitally important to all of us . It supplies the air and water that we cannot survive without , it provides much of our food and medicine , and many industries and jobs are dependent on a healthy environment . Unfortunately , the way we live and the resources we use cause widespread damage to the environment – even running can be destructive or damaging – but fortunately , there are dedicated people working to protect and conserve the environment . This including a number of incredible people from within the running community , so join us in celebrating their stories , and the vital work they do . – BY SEAN FALCONER
Environmental Ambassador
This is part 1 of our feature . The second part will appear in the February edition .
When you meet Blake Dyason , you are immediately struck by his great passion for the natural environment , and you can see why he has motivated so many people to come out and clean trails and beaches , and helped educate many people , from schoolkids to corporates , on ways to live and work in a more environmentally-friendly way . Interestingly , much of his early environmental work was done within the running community , but he has now branched out to a much wider audience .
Ask Blake Dyason ( 34 ) how he got involved
in environmental clean-up and recycling initiatives , and he says it was a threephase process , starting with a walk on Blaauwberg Beach with good friend John McInroy . “ We saw all the waste that had washed up on the beach , so we decided to organise a beach clean-up , but only two people pitched up – me and Mackie . People didn ’ t seem interested , which frustrated me ,” says Blake .
“ Then Brundle ( that ’ s Robert Le Brun – Ed .) and I ran the Winelands Marathon in 2014 and it was just a horrible mess on the route from all the plastic sachets dropped by the runners , so we grabbed black bags from one of the water tables , picked up the litter we saw and took it to the finish . Believe it or not , some runners actually told us off , showing they had an attitude of ‘ we can do what we want .’ That was a massive pivot point for me !”
Round about the same time , Blake went for a hike on Table Mountain with a friend from Joburg ,
Dean Brons , and says he actually felt embarrassed about the amount of litter and graffiti they saw along the trails , so he decided to organise another volunteer clean-up , this time on Mandela Day – and this time over 100 people pitched up . That led to Blake creating the Love Our Trails movement , and he continues leading trail and beach clean-ups that remove bags and bags of litter from the environment . “ I realised the best way to motivate people to take action is through leadership , and I also decided to use road running as a way to reach a bigger market , and convince people to take responsibility for their actions and effect on the environment .”
As part of that , Blake ran the 2017 Two Oceans Marathon as one of the GOGREEN Ambassadors , to promote the anti-litter message of the WILDLANDS GOGREEN campaign , and was involved in various discussions and initiatives that contributed to a huge growth in awareness of the litter problem in road running . This , however , prompted him to decide to turn his focus elsewhere . “ The running community has largely taken the lead in cleaning up the sport , and I ’ d like to think my contribution to that change was valuable , but I decided to take things to the next level .”
Images : David Papenfus , Alfred Thorpe & courtesy Blake Dyason
Blake enjoying the trails near Stellenbosch
14 ISSUE 137 JANUARY 2021 / www . modernathlete . co . za during the MaXi-Race Cape Winelands event
Get involved with the Love Our Trails clean-ups at www . loveourtrails . com