---
title: "Be an environmentally friendly runner!"
published: 2016-02-05
updated: 2026-08-04
source: "https://dev-abp.massivoai.com/en/articles/sea-un-corredor-amigable-con-el-ambiente"
---

# Be an environmentally friendly runner!

**A pair of running shoes takes approximately 1000 years to decompose. Most runners buy two or more pairs every year. Just with that, we already owe quite a lot to Mother Nature.**

If we add to that the fact that almost 100% of the running clothes and accessories we buy in CR are imported (meaning they need to be transported here, which translates into fuel burning and greenhouse gas emissions) and that we go back and forth to races, the gym, or where we train by car, in the end we realize that our sport is not as ecological as we would have thought.

But all is not lost, here are some ideas we can apply to reduce our ecological footprint as runners:

- Buy shoes and accessories with ecological trends, for example, made with recycled materials, or Brooks shoes with BioMoGo technology that degrade in 20 years instead of 1000. It's increasingly common to see "green" items in running stores, ask for them.
- When you go to train, to a race, or to the gym, try to go by public transportation, share a car with someone you know, or better yet, go by bike or running.
- Don't throw the plastic water bags they give out at races into the street. Keep them in your shorts and throw them in the trash at the end. Better yet, bring your own hydration so you don't use plastic bags at all.
- Buy a reusable bottle, instead of bottles that you use only once and then throw away. Imagine the amount of water and fuel required to build that bottle, and the amount of years it will take to degrade, and all so you or I can drink its contents in five minutes and then throw it away. Better to buy one that lasts you 3, 5, or 10 months and then you can recycle it.
- Buy hydration powder. With one container (recyclable, by the way) of 500g of powder, you can make the equivalent of 13 plastic bottles of 600mL.
- Use your shoes and in general all your gear for as long as possible. If you don't like them anymore, try to give them to someone who needs them. When you buy the new item, choose the most ecological one.
- Recycle all the hydration and water bottles you buy, as well as the plastic containers of hydration powder and everything else that is recyclable.
- Consume less meat, because it requires much more fuel and water in its production than other sources of protein. Livestock is the main source of CO2 emissions from all human activities, even above transportation. If you eat meat every day, just by deciding [not to eat it on Mondays,](http://www.lunessincarne.net/campana/) for example, you're already helping the planet.
- If you want to take your pro-environment actions to a higher level, commit to picking up a couple of plastic containers you find lying on the street while you train, and deposit them in a nearby trash can, or better yet, recycle them.

Hey, it's not like running is bad for the environment! Practically all activities of human beings have an ecological cost (working, studying, cooking, walking… all of them, in one way or another, leave a footprint), simply, running is no exception. Let's take note and enjoy our sport in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

A Buen Paso uses [Massivo](https://massivoai.com), the event-registration platform that powers this article.