Fitness Comment: Should You Recycle Your Run Kit?

I often laugh with running friends about how things have changed with our running gear over the years. About when, 25 years ago, I would run in any old trainers, cheap cycling shorts, an over-size t-shirt in t-shirt material and a normal everyday watch. Back then ‘V02 Max’ could have been R2D2’s best mate from robot college for all I knew.

With all this in mind, it didn’t surprise me that a study, conducted by Runners Need, discovered that 62% of people interviewed claimed to have kit gathering dust at the back of their cupboards.

Nowadays I buy trainers according to their stability, heel to toe drop, suitability for intended terrain and of course their aesthetically pleasing colour combinations. My tops are moisture wicking, my socks offer compression features, and my watch knows everything about me and my vital organs. This is before I even get to my high visibility light up vest, my selection of hydration bottles, ammo belts, headbands, baseball caps, beanies, arm sleeves and recovery flip flops.

Other People’s Favourite Things:

I pride myself on having many friends who are much faster runners than I am. They inspire me and make me want to be like them. This frequently results in me buying kit or shoes that they wear, hoping that wearing similar things will transfer the magic to me. I’ve also learned that every runner is different, there are no shortcuts and often it’s a better strategy to stay in your own lane.

Classic examples: Any shorts with elasticated waists (I look like a bin bag). Pull on or ‘racer back’ bras (I cannot escape from these). Trainers that are not Brooks Adrenaline.

I can relate to this. My own surplus collection includes the following categories:

Sale ‘Bargains’:

Often you find expensive brands discounted to prices that, whilst still eye watering, can then seem enticingly accessible. You must buy these, right? – Even if they are a strange shade of orange or a print reminiscent of a 70s lampshade.

Classic examples: Leggings with a cloud print that creates the illusion that my legs are twice their normal size. Anything ‘cropped’. Trainers that are not Brooks Adrenaline.

Items For That One Run:

I have many things that were bought for a single purpose, be it a ‘let’s all run wearing pink’ affair, Hallowe’en, or St Patrick’s Day. The sad thing about any of these is, even when the day repeats annually, you always feel the need to buy fresh.

Classic examples: Leprechaun t-shirts, a Union Jack beanie (OK, I still want that) and a headband with elf ears.

Items That Fulfilled a Need I Didn’t Really Have:

This is an interesting one, as I do admire the entrepreneurial spirit that is behind some items of run kit that I’ve partaken in over the years. I don’t want to call anything out here, but save to say, do we really need much beyond an outfit and trainers to do this thing?

Classic examples: About 17 methods of carrying a phone, none of which are that much better than a pocket and four different types of recovery shoe – none of which can beat fluffy slippers.

‘…And Some Socks’:

Socks are the cheapest things in a running shop normally. It would be a shame not to add a few pairs even if you already own 4000 of them.

Classic examples: Sock pairs 5 – 4015.

It’s good to know then, that staff at Runners Need are not only trained to help make sure you are buying the right stuff in the first place but can also help ensure your old run kit gets to live again.

In partnership with SOEX, Runners Need recycles around 5 tonnes of running kit every year. The shoes are graded into categories based on quality, and those that are still of very good quality (around 70%) are distributed on an a need basis across 90 countries. The rest is shredded into tiny pieces so that metals, textiles, rubbers, leathers and foams can all be extracted and repurposed – so that a faithful pair of running shoes or kit can find new life as a ping pong bat, an athletics track or a piece of garden furniture.