What do you do with your old running shoes?

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ZenInTexas
ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
I'm rapidly accumulating a pile of shoes that are no longer good for running but aren't garbage either, I would feel guilty throwing them out. Give them to charity? What do you do?

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  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
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    My local running store has a bin for them. I think they refurb and send overseas
  • eating4me
    eating4me Posts: 239 Member
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    Lots of the running stores will take them, and donate them to people who need shoes. Otherwise, I donate them to Salvation Army or Purple Heart. (After rotating them, of course...using my oldest ones for regular shoes, or garden shoes.)
  • WebbyShoo
    WebbyShoo Posts: 115
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    I donate them if they are worthy of another person wearing, if they are far gone, I recycle them.
  • TriLifter
    TriLifter Posts: 1,283 Member
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    I wear mine for mud runs.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I keep a couple of pairs around the house for walking etc but the rest get donated. My tri club supports a couple of charities (one is a running program for homeless people and the other ships gently used shoes to 3rd world countries)
  • DavidMartinez2
    DavidMartinez2 Posts: 840 Member
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    I've got a couple of pair I have stashed until I find a donation bin, I refuse to just throw them away.
  • watermstry
    watermstry Posts: 41 Member
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    Check with your St. Vincent de Paul or Salvation Army before dumping shoes on them, because they may have to pay to get rid of stuff that they can't sell. My city has a shoe recycling program. You might call your community's waste management office to see if they have one. If not, Nike has their own program. http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/better-world/stories/2013/05/reuse-a-shoe
  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
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    Just using mine for general daily wear........after that, they make their way to the bins for "recycling"
  • jaxCarrie
    jaxCarrie Posts: 214 Member
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    I keep a back up pair for mudruns and another for garden work.....the rest go to my running store, they either fix them up or recycle them.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    I try to find a place to donate them -- most running stores will accept them, or lately there have been folks in my running group collecting shoes.
  • beeblebrox82
    beeblebrox82 Posts: 578 Member
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    More normal looking shoes generally become daily wear, and yes, of course, I use them for mud runs.