Running Times, Online

by Katie Wolpert

The local movement is catching on everywhere, especially where our food is concerned - eat local, seasonal, sustainable; even Whole Foods is trying to support more local producers than they have in the past. Grow your own food, go to your local farmer’s market, support your local restaurants and businesses.

Its a sensible way to live in this time of rising energy costs, e.coli scares and food security insecurity. Creating a local food web is good for the consumer, the producer and the local economy. The money you spend on vegetables from that local farmer’s market is going no farther than 30 miles away and is bound to come back around to you in one form or another. Spending money locally is a way of investing in yourself.

Likewise for running - using your local roads and paths, buying shoes from your local store and participating in your local races are some of the ways that you can invest in the physical and economic health of your community.

Don’t underestimate the impact of your dollars. Now I’m not one to advocate unrestrained spending but there are a couple things that a runner just needs. Shoes and (for most of us) socks come to mind. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a local running shoe store, do your duty and shop there. In many malls and shopping centers the small running specialty store is the only truly local business left. The handful of dollars that you would save purchasing the same pair of shoes online will collectively go a long way towards supporting the events, clubs and people with whom you share the running paths.

I am often tempted to look for races farther afield in search of more competitive racers and more appealing terrain. I have found though, that I rarely come close to equalling my expectations when I do this. Perhaps this is due to the travel - getting up earlier than usual or sleeping in an unfamiliar place. It makes sense though, that one might run better on home turf. The terrain and weather, hilly or humid as it may be, is what you train on day in and day out and you know the names and talents of your fellow racers. Think about it: how many of your road PR’s are from races in your own town? There is something to be said for traveling around to races in other areas but don’t automatically overlook the nearby options.

Major marathons happily publicize how many thousands of dollars they help raise for well meaning charities like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or the Organization for Autism Research. Local races can’t compete with the overall dollar amount earned, but the $500 that a local race earns for a local high school cross country team or homeless shelter can have as much or more of an impact and more importantly, an impact that makes a difference in the lives of the runners who raised that money.

There are not many runners in the area where I live. In fact, there is a noticable dearth of people with any sort of physical fitness at all. This area is a prime example of America’s expanding waistline and the trend, well established in all generations, is especially bothersome in the youngest generation. Four year olds should not be noticeably overweight. As the kids grow up they have no active siblings or parents as role models. We can try to start clubs and after school programs to get kids outside and running around, playing games and being active. We can and we will, but this takes time, energy and funding that can all be hard to come by. At an even more basic level, I can continue running on the roads. The kids I pass almost always wave and say “Hi”. I can try to be some sort of example for them, on a daily or weekly basis.

My power as one individual is not particularly impressive on a nationwide, statewide or even countywide scale. But in my town, and on my street a single runner can make a difference, and a handful of single runners are even more powerful. In larger running communities, attending your local events and running your local paths shows the event directors and path-maintainers where the interest and demand is located.

Run your local road races, attend your local high school or college track meets, volunteer for a race once a year - become an active member of your local running community. Save your gas money and impact your community. Run locally, seasonally(all year) and sustainably(in whatever capacity you are able. See: Bill Rodgers).