Running.. 'what sport could be more environmentally friendly that something powered solely by your legs (and mind) ?' you may be thinking Well.. you are right! Yet there are still some impacts involved that could be reduced by being aware of them to try and reduce them as much as possible. 1) Clothes Running clothes are often made of technical fabrics promising to maintain optimal temperatures, keeping you dry and being breathable. This comes at the cost of being made of plastic and artificial fabrics, which will leach microfibres into the environment. Solutions: buy natural clothes whenever possible, switch technical for cotton, bamboo, wool - they are very breathable and better for your skin as well! If you are not ready to make the switch or are in real need of the 'technical' clothes then consider changing the way you are washing them! Read here for some great advice. 2) Shoes As a general rule of thumbs shoes should be changed every 300-500 miles, which may sound like a lot, but serious runners may get to this mileage quite quickly... which means a lot of shoes in the bin! Also - one should think about all of the process of running shoes making and shipping, and one can see that the impacts can be... huge! Listen more about it and learn about some actions you can take on the Running Realized podcast! Solutions: (1) recycle them!; (2) choose brands that put sustainability on the forefront! (Your choice matters!) - for example oncloud cycleon (more on the runpod podcast) 3) Races
some impacts associated with racing events: racing packs = often a lot of waste of plastic/papers in race intro packs, goodie bags (often full of 'junk' items that end up in bins) water points = water served in plastic cups that end up on the ground shortly after being used driving to races Solutions: Try and choose wisely what events to attend, take everything home with you and sort it in various recycling bins, see if there are things worth keeping or giving away to a friend, try not to throw your empties on the floor, actually try not to leave any traces of you ever being there. Try and car share whenever possible, or maybe take public transport? See if they need volunteers to clean up after, I know, it may be the last thing you want to do but hey - you are doing something for the greater goods! 4) Wild running Trail and nature - what could be best? I love my dose of trail running. However some risks include disturbing nature. So: be mindful of where you are running, what are you likely to encounter? Stick to the paths to avoid stepping on potentially important plant species, be quiet (steps aside), be generally aware, read any signs at the trail entrance that may warn you of what and what not to do and most important: leave no traces!
1 Comment
3/21/2022 01:35:12 pm
I very much appreciate it. Thank you for this excellent article. Keep posting!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Disclaimer: some posts may contain affiliate links. At no extra costs to you, buying through the link will help me in this blogging journey!
Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|