Twin Cities Marathon Giving Away Clothes Off Marathon Runners’ Backs

This is a great thing to do.  Having run many half marathons myself, I've discarded clothing on the side of the road that I never see again.  You don't see as much of this during Grandmas Marathon, but it does happen.  The Twin Cities Marathon, being held today, has a lot more clothes dumping and they don't let it go to waste.

The 12,000 runners in Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon likely will shed about two tons of weight.

No, it's not the calories they'll burn, but the amount of clothing they will jettison along the way. Long-sleeve T-shirts and warm-up pants are the most-discarded items, along with sweatshirts, hats, gloves, socks -- worn by many runners in lieu of gloves -- and even the occasional jacket. All wind up in recycling trucks that trail the runners.

This massive clothes dump is a result of Minnesota's mercurial fall weather.

"The temperature changes so fast as the sun rises," said Elizabeth Schoenknecht of the St. Paul running club Team Salubrious. "It can be in the 30s or 40s when you start but quickly reach the mid-50s." That's not an issue at summer races, like Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, because runners don't need extra clothing to stay warm before the race. And at winter runs, including the Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run in International Falls, participants keep their protective gear on the entire way.

Some runners buy their stuff at charitable clothing stores with the intention of wearing it only a brief time. Others rifle through their clothes looking for well-worn things they won't mind discarding.

Not everyone is as frugal, however. In running five marathons, Schoenknecht has come across "brand-new, name-brand stuff -- sweatshirts and tech shirts [made from synthetic fabrics that pull sweat away from the skin] -- that must have cost $60 or more," she said. "I've actually thought about picking up some of it."

But that would have meant carrying it another 20 miles or more, which is why it got tossed aside in the first place.

Marathoners can assuage their sense of loss by reminding themselves that the clothes are going to a good cause. This is the fourth year that the marathon has arranged with USAgain (pronounced "use again") to gather the discarded clothing and recycle it.

"Knowing that the clothing is going to go to someone who can wear it makes it a little easier for the runners to toss it aside," said John Long, owner of Marathon Sports in Minneapolis.

via Giving away clothes off marathon runners' backs | StarTribune.com.