The 2024 Vitality London 10,000 will be the first mass participation sports event in the UK to use the green travel tool You Smart Thing to encourage participants and spectators to choose low-carbon travel to and from the event.
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About 18,000 people are expected to take part in the Vitality London 10,000, the country’s most iconic 10K which is organised by London Marathon Events (LME), on Sunday 22 September.
As part of LME’s commitment to manage the environmental impact of its events, it is trialling the use of You Smart Thing, a personalised travel tool at the Vitality London 10,000 to encourage participants to journey to and from the event in the most environmentally friendly way as possible.
LME research has identified participant travel as one of the major contributors to the carbon impact of its events. The You Smart Thing platform will allow users to plan the greenest route to and from Green Park which is both the Start and Finish Area for the event, which starts on The Mall and finishes in stunning fashion in front of Buckingham Palace.
Kate Chapman, LME’s Head of Sustainability, said: “London Marathon Events is committed to reducing its environmental impact and we know there are key areas where we can make a real difference. One of these is participant travel to our events. We already have a carbon removal initiative in place for the TCS London Marathon which is funded by a levy from international participants. Now working with You Smart Thing enables us to encourage people to think about how planning travel can help us collectively reduce our carbon footprint.”
Last year LME’s flagship event, the TCS London Marathon, became the first major event in the UK to be awarded Gold certification by The Council for Responsible Sport (CRS).
The CRS assessment is based on five key areas of social and environmental impact: planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity, and community legacy.
Founded in 2008, the Vitality London 10,000 is one of the most popular 10K events in the country. Among those taking part in the 2024 edition are Commonwealth Games gold medallist and four-times Olympian Eilish McColgan, DJ Adele Roberts and EastEnders stars Adam Woodyatt and Jake Wood.
The event also features the Vitality Wellness Festival in Green Park, where participants, their families and friends and members of the public can enjoy the variety of activities. The day before, on Saturday 21 September, the family-friendly Vitality Westminster Mile takes place on a course around St James’s Park.