If you haven’t guessed it by now, I am running a marathon. If you remember, in 2017 I ran a marathon and I didn’t want to say I would never run another marathon because, like Justin Beiber said, “Never say never!” But let me tell you a little more about why this marathon is meaning a lot to me.
My First Marathon
In March 2005 I ran the LA Marathon. As I was going, I got to mile 17 and they provided sponges where you could do whatever you needed with them: sip out the water, squeeze it over your head to cool down, or wipe off your face/anything you want. Once you were done with the sponge you tossed it. Think of this, over 25,000 people getting a sponge, then after using that for about 10 seconds it’s tossed.
I still remember when I got that and I thought, “What a waste! What is going to happen with all these?” They are tossed. That’s 25,000 plastic sponges tossed instantly. In the US alone, approximately 400 million sponges are tossed away every year, the majority of which will take centuries to break down. Many of us aren’t even aware that natural cellulose sponges are a more effective and sustainable alternative to ordinary plastic sponges. They break down naturally over time, ultimately reducing the amount of plastic waste. Why not use something that would reduce the waste, right?
Full Circle will be participating in the TCS New York City Marathon by including 45,000 cellulose, cool-down sponges on the course. Not only will the sponges be helpful to the runners, it will be a huge step in making this iconic event more environmentally friendly. Do you get it? It’s coming around full circle!
Coming Around Full Circle
For me this all came full circle (literally) when I saw that Full Circle was doing this. Making a difference one race at a time really made me want to run this race and remember how I was shocked about the sponge waste from my first marathon to switching to a sponge that naturally breaks down for this race.
Never have I been more excited about a race than when this happened. I think it’s the fact that I will never forget my feelings when I threw that sponge in my first race to LA to running a race across the country and knowing that I will not be part of the waste that happens.
Next Steps
Now it’s all about getting that training in. Every single week it’s all about training, getting myself ready for that time when I will get to mile 17 (and of course the finish line too) when they had that sponge and to think I am here for this!
It’s time to make a difference and start with the small steps. For me, running a marathon doesn’t come easy. It’s take one step at a time. Once I got a mile done, I added another mile. Then I just kept going and follow a schedule to make finishing happen.
Really though, how cool is that? For a moment that I remember from 2005 to come around full circle and to be working with Full Circle on this really makes me push harder and try everything I can to make this happen.
