Last week I went to a MRF (Materials recovery facility....or yes, a recycling center), and wowwwweeeee it was the most overstimulating experience I have ever had in my life. There were so many loud and different noises and all kinds of smells, and my eyes felt like they were darting out of my head as I tried to process what I was seeing.

There were dozens of convconveyor beltseyorbelts moving at various speeds with unique innovations to separate out the waste. There were people concentrating and moving waste off the belts at a speed I couldn't comprehend. And there was so much going on, after coming out of there, I felt like I needed to stare at a wall for a while to bring my body back down to a normal level.

I recognize that many people do not have that ability to leave, that is where they spend their workdays and I can only imagine how exhausted they are when they come out of work each day.

And yet, I took it in as best I could. I had always wondered how recycling was sorted, it was really fascinating to see it make its way through the center, coming out the other side mostly sorted....

I say mostly, because deep down you know it like I knew it, it isn't perfect, there were items that snuck through every stage, making it into the bundles at the end (or bails as they are known), primarily plastic bags. They were EVERYWHERE. In every sorted material, in every conveyor belt, and they often get caught in the machinery, causing it to break down. When it breaks down, someone who works there has to literally climb into the machine to get it out....that part makes me stressed even thinking about it.

I know they are convenient, but we have to do better here.

Beyond that, I just felt disbelief on what items I saw in recycling; rain boots, hangers, brooms, and much much more. No wonder only 5% of plastic was recycled last year...contamination in a bail means it can go right to the incinerator.

I also asked about two common confusions I come across:

1. Should we be putting lids back on bottles ect? No.
2. Should we be cleaning out our recycling with soap? Yes.

I encourage you to go to your local city recycling website to confirm what materials are being picked up and in what way they want them. Yes, I understand you may already be doing your part, doing the right thing, but this is a good example of how we can help our community learn too. Often with waste sorting, all it takes is one item in the wrong place, and the entire bag is thrown in the landfill or incinerator. We can all do our part to support our community and those people who don't have the privilege to be able to focus on sorting their recycling.

If we are just trying to survive or cover our basic needs, that is never going to be the first thing we pay attention to. If we have the ability to do more, we need to.

This week on the Running For Real podcast...

No new podcast episode this week as I was in San Diego doing work for the World Championships, but I did release a short update.

Listen: Bailey is obsessed with Karma's World on Netflix, and it is such a cute show with really good situations that kids come across and how to handle it imperfectly (but then make it right). The music is really really good, and this one is my favorite, as a 35 year old woman ​I find this song helpful too.​​

​Listen: This podcast episode between James Corden and Jay Shetty was one of the best conversations I have heard in a long time. What an introspective and rich conversation. It had me reflecting on my own use of time with work and kids.

Watch : Well, if you have kids, Karma's World!

Read: I recently finished The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

You often ask me what are a few things you can do to support my work and do your part environmentally, well here is one:

Email your race directors/race organizers and tell them sustainability matters to you as one of their participants. It doesn't have to be a long email, and I am making it easy for you. Our Sustainable Races Event is live and ready for April 2 and 4, and your race director can join and get all the tools they need to make a few small changes for big impacts. You know me by now, and I have literally done the work for them. This is ideal for any race wanting to dip their toes in the water of being a sustainable race, but wanting to do it without a big budget or lots of resources.

Especially if they mostly have summer and fall races, now is the time to implement these changes.

Can you do that for me?

Need me to write you an email?

I can do that too. Now it's just copy, paste, and change the bold parts to match you:

Hi INSERT RACE ORGANIZER/DIRECTOR NAME HERE,

As a INSERT YOUR LOCATION resident who believes in the power of supporting local race organizers like you, I have run in many of your events and intend to participate in many more in the years to come. Your races are INSERT YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THE RACES THEY PUT ON. I believe in always striving to become the best version of myself, and I know that is important to you with giving your participants the best experience you can give them too. Sustainability and reducing our environmental impact is on my mind, especially with the crazy weather over the last few years, and I would love to see you take steps towards becoming a more sustainable race.

Tina Muir, author of Becoming a Sustainable Runner is putting on a Sustainable Race Series for smaller and medium races that do not have massive budgets and resources to allocate. She is going to make it really easy for you to implement some changes without much effort at all. You can find out more here. I don't get paid to send this to you, I just really care about this and want to do my part.

If you need any support with this, I would be happy to help.

Appreciate all you do for our community.

INSERT YOUR NAME.

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obviously feel free to take out any Tina-isms or parts you are not comfortable with.

Running the United Airlines NYC Half in New York Next Month? Come join Kayleigh, Sandy, and I for a plogging event on Saturday! You can sign up here.​

"While recycling is great in a lot of ways, the ultimate goal is to get people to prevent waste in the first place."

- McKenzie Jones

Thanks to our partner, Tracksmith

While I am not in the stage of my life where I can put a PR chasing endeavor down (with surgery more than likely in my future), I absolutely love that Tracksmith are so committed to their mission of getting runners to do their best, that they are offering a $100 gift card to any runner who runs a PR before April 30th. Notice I said any runner, any PR, because that for them is what it is all about. It is not about how fast you go, but that you commit, that you give it your best, that you put yourself out there and try. Committing to being the best you can be takes courage and vulnerability, and I admire that about Tracksmith that they really wanna support runners through that. You can learn more under the PR bonus heading/tab from this link.​

Then go ahead and use that bonus to get yourself my fave, the Brighton Base long sleeve, or some session speed shorts for what is likely to be a long summer ahead (I also love Lane 5 shorts if you are gonna be racing). Their products are durable, long lasting, and extremely comfortable. The same items they sent me in 2019 are in my rotation as comfortable as ever today in 2024.

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Be kind to one another, yourself, and this beautiful planet of ours.

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Enjoying these? Why not forward to a friend who may enjoy. Encourage them to sign up and get these emails on a Monday too.

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