Another day of forced rest due to my illness today, so I took the opportunity to sort out my old running shoes.  I found a total of six pairs of ‘retired’ running shoes.  Each pair of them were Asics Gel Kayano.   

There are some great memories in those shoes.  None more so than that blue/orange pair in the front row of the photo.  That is the pair of shoes, that I wore from Hopkinton to Boston on Patriot’s Day in April 2018.  They got very cold and wet that day, but they were there for my favorite marathon race ever.

If you look closely at the shoes, they are in pretty good condition.  I tend to retire my running shoes at the first signs of leg fatigue after a run in them. This is usually after somewhere between 300 and 400 miles of running.  The upside to this early retirement program, is the fact the shoes are in good enough condition to donate them. 

I donate my shoes via our local running store, Pro Bike+Run, who in turn, donates them to local charities.  The most recent donation from the store went to an organization called PUMPed to Run.  This is a Pittsburgh charity, that mentors a running program for people at local homeless shelters.  

It’s good to know that my older shoes can get a ‘new life’ with someone who needs them.  I strongly encourage you all to seek out a place to donate your ‘old friends’, so that they can make ‘new friends and grow the love for running.