Sub-4 milers honoured by Olympian’s new non-profit

On Tuesday in Eugene, Ore., U.S. Olympian and world record holder Ben Blankenship unveiled the Endless Mileage project, a non-profit organization aimed at the intersection of the running community and environmental sustainability.

Dedicated to fostering sustainable environments and programming, with hopes of inspiring the next generation of track and field athletes to break barriers, Blankenship’s Endless Mileage project has two components: the Fast Forest and Recovered Running.

Fast Forest

The Fast Forest recognizes one of the most storied feats in track and field: breaking the 4-minute and 4:30 barriers in the mile. A tree has been planted for every historic barrier-breaker, and trees will continue to be allocated as future generations accomplish the feat.

The orchards of the Fast Forest live within Dorris Ranch, a natural historic preservation site, working commercial filbert orchard, and public park with a rich history in the Oregon running community.

Every tree in the Fast Forest is connected to a runner through a biodegradable hanging wood tag. To date, 692 trees have been planted to recognize the 692 men, women, and non-binary athletes who have run sub-4 or sub-4:30-minute miles from 1957–2021.

“We were looking for a way to meaningfully connect environmental sustainability to achievement in sport, and the Fast Forest does that. We look forward to expanding our groves to encompass additional track and field events and accomplishments,” says Blankenship.

In addition to the physical on-site signage, a handy searchable website provides the location of each tree.

Trees searchable in the Fast Forest!

Visit https://t.co/Q1jA1o4Nrq and plug in your favorite miler’s name to see a photo of their tree and where in the grove it’s located pic.twitter.com/mllVMHEFLW

— Endless Mileage Project (@endless_mileage) November 16, 2022

Recovered Running

Blankenship’s second endeavour, Recovered Running, accepts new and gently used track and field apparel and equipment, donating them to schools and running communities in need. Since 2020, Blankenship’s personal efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 pieces of clothing and gear donated to seven high schools in both Oregon and his home state of Minnesota. In 2022 alone, Blankenship has collected over 3,000 pieces of clothing and gear. 

“No athlete should be prevented from participating in track and field because they do not have the equipment to do so,” says Blankenship. “As I accumulated gear from my own professional running career, the opportunity and responsibility to give back became clear.”

The 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene became a perfect place to expand Blankenship’s project. Competitors and team staff could access Recovered Running bins to donate gear, and all abandoned and extra gear from the athlete’s village was given to Recovered Running–more than 1,500 pieces of running-related gear that will be redistributed to local programs.

To learn more or to donate, visit the Endless Mileage website.