Photo: Runners Need
Runners and their shoes are inseparable. Trainers take runners to challenging, memorable yet sometimes indescribable places. They are ingrained in the journey that runners lead to accomplish their goals. They play a part in that success and so runners can quite quickly become attached to their shoes... Unless of course you're a barefoot runner.
Yesterday I visited the Runners Need on Waterloo bridge to say goodbye to my first ever pair of marathon trainers. I dumped them in a ‘bin’ and bid farewell to them remembering all of the fond memories I have had since my first marathon and recognised how far I have come since then.
In the 'bin' they go
My trainer donation is all part of a Runners Need campaign called #RecycleMyRun. The initiative sees runners donate their old trainers and receive a £20 donation towards their next pair. The shoes are then sent to the European Recycling Company where they are either recycled or sent to countries in need of affordable trainers.
Donated trainers are collected by the European Recycling Company (ERC) that assists people all over the UK to recycle their unwanted clothes and footwear reducing the impact of shoe waste all around the world. Recycling trainers diverts important resources from landfill and allows them to be reused or recycled, creating employment opportunities and providing footwear to those who could not otherwise afford them.
It was hard to let go despite not having used these for three years (yes I am a hoarder), but made easier knowing they would be going to someone who would make much better use of them.
I hope that soon, they make their way to someone else’s happy feet that need them far more than me and I hope too that they take them on journeys that will live with them forever.
Thank you Runners Need for a fantastic initiative and to the wonderful team at the Waterloo store.