Recycle your old runners

If you run as much as I do, you probably go through as many as 3 pairs of shoes a year. On average, I put in between 700-800 km per pair before noticing a difference in the cushioning. My last few runs with my previous pair, have had noticeably more impact on my knees. On my first run after switching to a new pair (same make and model) I noticed I had more spring in my step and felt like I was running on pillows! What a diiference.

I remember when I was a kid, I would keep my sneakers as long as they would fit or wear through the uppers before getting a new pair. Never did I change a pair because the cushioning was gone...but I wasn't running marathons and my feet were growing too!

So anyway, fast forward thirty years and now I find myself with several pairs of old runners for mowing the lawn, for using around town, for using on the elliptical trainer, and I still have 3 pairs in the closet rotated out of running but still good for secondary uses. Seeing as it is time for spring cleaning, and this year I decided to shed anything in my household that is "without purpose", I decided to get rid of at least 4 of these pairs of shoes.

I could give them to a local chartiy like Goodwill, or those bins used to collect clothes like at WalMart, but I also wanted to share with you what a few Ottawa runners created. Their charity is called Sole Responsibility and they recover old runners to send them to impoverished countries. They have a collection point at the Ottawa race weekend. All they ask is that you tie the laces together and that you donate a twoonie for each pair you drop off - this is to cover the shipping costs.

Check out their website and do a triple good deed ; declutter, reuse; and help someone less fortunate!

http://www.soleresponsibility.org/

Cheers!