Ugh finally we’re back with more Hot Bones. Been a while. Last week was all about … potatoes, so let’s just dive into this week.

Exercising in your thirties is this funky combo of heaving breathing, replaying in your head the embarrassing things that happened at work today, and Icy Hot. Stretching is advised but not abided. 

For example, my typical run these days goes something like this:

Mile 1: Pure bliss. It’s elementary school recess again, my feet are jet packs, I am the gazelle who will maintain this hands-down sprint for the next 30 to 40 minutes. 

Mile 2: Gravity is stronger now? And it’s colder out. I wonder why I like running and not going to the new donut shop literally across the street from m.e r.i.g.ht n.o.w. 

Mile 3: Pray for me. I’m too far from home and shouldn’t have eaten a huge sandwich for lunch. Wouldn’t it be nice if an oncoming car hit me (but gently!) and I got to lie down on the ambulance stretcher for a minute. Stupid Salley family tradition of not stopping midway through a run, you made a commitment, Charlotte!

Thankfully, by knowing beforehand that Mile 3 is typically where my soul leaves my body, I’ve devised a running route that keeps me motivated. I turn onto the UVA Lawn, which is swarming with thousands of college students who believe all hangovers have a 90 minute runtime and Chipotle is a good idea before an international flight.

Some automatic pride button buried deep inside my psyche says I cannot collapse in front of a dozen crop top girlies or boys wearing heather Patagonia vests. I would rather vomit directly on the spangle of cowboy boots in front of me than show them I’ve stopped my run.

Mile 4: There is no mile 4. There’s just getting beyond 3. Usually I clock in at 3.91 and then shuffle in circles around the driveway to end on an even note. 

I think the evidence above sufficiently proves that I’m too slow to get hurt. And yet, like accidentally opening a singalong Hallmark card at CVS, as soon as I stopped moving this past Monday, my knees sang in resounding chorus: Paiiiin!

All of which is to say, as a middle-age runner who refuses to give up the neighborhood jog that feels good briefly and bad longly, it’s time for some new shoes.

**But, say it with me now, how can I do that sustainably (and preferably cheaply)?

Big numbers alert: 23 billion pairs of shoes are made annually, and 22 billion pairs are tossed into landfills every year. Kinda feels like we could all get together and just make the 1 billion that won’t end up in the trash?

Another solution is to lean into the “circular economy” rather than the “one and done” way we normally do things. Circular services are things like buying and selling secondhand clothing from places like Poshmark, recycling your old tech (and coffeemaker) at places like Staples, and regifting that unopened popcorn maker your direct report got you last Christmas. 

All are great solutions for keeping things out of landfills, where they molder, become part of the “garbage lasagna,” and, among other problematic behavior, release the potent greenhouse gas methane into the air, where it does way worse things than carbon dioxide.

Fortunately, when it comes to the sport where you literally run in circles around a track, the circular economy has been really on brand. Most major running companies have recently started their own “like new” stores online where you can

1) get basically brand new shoes

2) for half price

3) all while keeping sneaks out of landfills or being incinerated

Unfortunately, they will not save you from Mile 3. 

Since my knees are still on fire from Monday, I’m in the market for a new/not new pair. Here are the places I’m looking:

🍋 Lululemon Like New: First of all, yes Lulu makes running shoes. I can confirm they’re great because I bought a pair from the Like New store last year. Unfortunately, the two shoes I really like aren’t available in a 7.5 right now. (I guess in a way it’s good that these shoes are selling out fast? Good for the planet at least, not for my running fit.) 

If you wear a women’s 8, this is a great grab: Originally $158, now $91. The “gently used” option says no visible signs of wear, and I can confirm the last time I bought a pair they were literally brand new.

🥾 REI Re/Supply: Tons of road and trail running options, with hundreds more available when you’re also looking for hiking boots, climbing shoes, and Blundstones. The Altra trail running shoes I have my eye on are nearly 50% off, with a note that there’s “minor discoloration on the outsoles.”

☁️ Onward by On: Ok this is where the naming really starts to get me. Can none of these stores get a grip on marketing the word “secondhand”? Now is not the time for cutesy puns drummed up by the summer interns — let’s just go “new” and “pretty much new.” Anyway, On has a great selection of running shoes and clothing that because of very minor dings are now super cheap and not being thrown away. Big win for us consumers.

🏁 Brooks ReStart: Hey look more perfectly good shoes at half price.

🛣️ Also check out Asics Road Tested (gotta love Asics for going strong with a website design from 2010) and New Balance Reconsidered (the dad shoes are surprisingly the most expensive option of this whole bunch).

Gotta do something to reduce that 22 billion. The good news is most of these ^ “pretty much new” programs also accept trade-ins, either mailed in or dropped off at a store.

For really stinky, sticky, or arthritis-inducing pairs, I also recommend sending them out to be recycled responsibly via Trashie (you get rewarded in credits) or GotSneakers (esp great for collecting as a group, like for a school drive).

And if you don’t want to part with your favorite running shoes but your spouse won’t allow them in the house anymore, keeping them on the back porch for lawn mowing is always a great option.