Never Can Say Goodbye...A Woman and her Running Shoes

 OK, so I'm going to admit it before Traxee and the world...I am one of those people that gets really emotionally attached to inanimate objects.  I once told Julie that as a child I used to burst into tears in the toy store - not because I couldn't get the toy I wanted, but because I felt so sorry for all the other stuffed animals left behind without loving homes.

Over the years, this problem of mine has taken on new and more interesting forms.  Clothes, cars, computers...things that have outlived their usefulness in every sense of the word, but somehow I just can't seem to let go.  As a runner, this has become really problematic.  Yes, you guessed it, I can't get rid of my old running shoes.

Let me be clear about this.  When I buy a new pair of running shoes, I very meticulously mark the first day of wear right on the box.  That way, I always know when it's time to buy a new pair.  Let's see...I've got boxes dating back at least 5 years.  (The only reason I don't have more is because I was forced to get rid of the boxes of shoes I had accumulated over 10 years living on the east coast before I left for California (some crazy overweight limit problem with the moving van!)

I read about a guy in Runners World that has a collection of hundreds of pairs of running shoes, including vintage pairs--but that doesn't really count, does it, since of them weren't actually his shoes.

Each pair in my personal collection holds a special place in my heart.  I tend to buy new shoes in the early spring and fall so my "summer" pairs hold fond memories of sunset runs and early morning sunrises on gorgeous mornings.  My "winter" pairs remind me of pre-dawn, painful, impossible-to-get-up-in-the-morning runs and slogs through driving rain.  Oh, the memories these cardboard boxes hold!

There are some wonderful organizations that collect used running shoes for worthy causes.  There's celebrity endorsed Shoe4Africa and nikereuseashoe that recycles old running shoes into playground surfaces, and Canadian Sole Responsibility that donates shoes overseas for running and walking.  Lots of local running clubs take gently used running shoes and even my local Road Runner Sports has a collection bin at the front entrance. 

Nonetheless, I can't let go.  I know it's crazy, but I can't stand the thought of my most precious memories of the road being ground up into asphalt fodder.  Maybe I can build a second story in my closet.  Waddayathink?

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