Guest blog by Amy Rusiecki

Do you have old running shoes that you don’t run in but still haven’t thrown away? How about that pair of shoes that you tried once but didn’t fit your feet right? Or, do you have any shoes that still have life in them, but are ‘so last season’? Recycle them at the Jones 10 Mile race on Sunday!

The Western Mass Distance Project is organizing a used shoe collection drive at this weekend’s USATF-NE Grand Prix opener. WMDP is partnering with a local company, ReRun Shoes, with the goal of collecting 2000 pairs of used shoes – and any type of shoe is useful. ReRun Shoes takes these shoes, cleans and sorts them, and then sends them to Africa to help prevent the spread of malaria. Information on what shoes they will and won’t take, as well as further information on this program, is available at rerunshoes.com. If every athlete racing brings a few pairs of shoes, the USATF-NE can make a big difference!

We are offering a few incentives to those who donate. Through partnering with Atayne, the first 50 folks to donate shoes will receive a $10 off gift certificate for an Atayne athletic shirt purchase. Further, Atayne will have 5 shirts that will be raffled off, anyone who donates shoes is eligible for the raffle. Also, for every pair of shoes that is donated, ReRun Shoes is making a $0.50 donation to the Kristin S. Tetrault Scholarship Fund, which is a scholarship that helps to send local western Mass runners to college – so your shoe donation is helping to send an aspiring runner to college. Of course, maybe getting a pair of old running shoes out of the house and on some feet in Africa rather than in a landfill is enough of an incentive.

Look for a table at the Jones 10 Mile Race on Sunday to donate your shoes, learn more about this program, and help us make a difference. Any questions about this can be directed to Amy Rusiecki at [email protected].