How Runners Can Save The Planet
How every step you take on the run can have a positive environmental impact on the planet
Even small changes can have a major impact
IN ITS MOST BASIC FORM, running is a pretty eco-friendly sport. The reality, though, is often far from environmentally ideal. Most of us own several pairs of running shoes, buy new kit more often than we need to, and enter and travel to resource-sapping events. Still, even the least eco-aware runners leave a relatively small footprint compared with those involved in many other sports (Monster Truck Racing, anyone?) and the more eco-conscious can take big steps to further reduce our footprints (see Racing Green, p32 and Tread lightly, p60). However, if the world’s deepening environmental crisis leaves you feeling that simply having a minimal negative effect on the planet is not good enough, there are ways you can use your running to effect positive change.
Run to work
RUNNING TO OR FROM WORK is better for the planet, your physical health and your mental wellbeing. Plus, it could even save you time. Strava’s 2018 Year in Sport review showed that, in Aberdeen and Belfast, it is now quicker to run to work than to drive, and it predicts that in 2020 the same will be true of London.
Most importantly, the positive ecoeffect of swapping transport for two feet is significant: last year UK run commuters covered over 10 million miles, offsetting a potential 1.1 billion litres of CO2, equivalent to keeping more than 1,300 cars off the road.
And it’s easy. Aside from your usual kit, there’s just one indispensable extra: a quality running-specific backpack that ticks two key boxes: comfort (look for waist and shoulder straps to limit the amount the pack bounces on the run); and capacity (big enough to fit your essentials plus a change of clothes and, possibly, a towel). See We’ve got your back, p42.
While you’re unlikely to be setting PBs or cranking out high-intensity interval sessions en route to the office, there are, obviously, training benefits, too. ‘It’s a great way to get the easy miles in,’ says 25-year-old London-based run commuter Alex Mills. ‘My current route is between 5.6km and 6.6km, and it’s perfect for easy-run pacing. One thing we can •
all struggle with as runners is nailing that easy run pace, but with a run commute you’re carrying a rucksack full of clothes, which naturally slows you down. Then there’s peopledodging and traffic lights, which help to keep the intensity in check.’
But if you do want to inject some competitive fun into your commute, you could ‘race’ your normal mode of transport for part of the route, or the whole way. If you live in a city, buses – with their frequent stops and traffic constraints – are easier to beat than you might imagine. The 7.2 miles from Fulham to Liverpool Street on the No 11 bus, which averages just 5.7mph, can be beaten by 10 minutemiling, for example. And even many Central London tube routes can be pipped to the post
Perhaps the biggest personal benefit of run commuting is the stress-free thinking time it affords. ‘I’ve been run commuting for eight years,’ says Gill Bland. ‘I enjoy the headspace in the morning. I can’t check my phone and I get to experience the seasons instead of being cooped up on a train. I work in an air-conditioned office, so run commuting gives me a chance to feel the outdoors every day. It’s an easy and time-effective way to fit in training, it saves money and I arrive at work in a better mood.’