Your run can do double duty: improving yourself and, through small gestures, helping to protect the planet.
- The European Green Deal might seem like something for politicians, but it affects us all directly.
- The goal is a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. It’s easy to think, “it’s not my problem” or “there’s nothing I can do.”
- But you can start with simple gestures: pick up a piece of trash during your run, for example.
- You can also make conscious choices: make your gear last longer or carpool to races.
- Treat sustainability like a workout: one habit at a time, with consistency.
Our hard work can improve the world (or at least the park where we run).
Let’s face it, the European Union often seems like that slightly weird, distant great-aunt. You hardly ever see her, you don’t really understand what she does for a living, but every now and then she makes bizarre requests that seem designed just to make your life difficult, like deciding the exact curvature of bananas (which, it’s worth noting, isn’t true). Every once in a while, though, this great-aunt has a brilliant idea. One of them is called the European Green Deal.
I know, the name itself sounds like something that belongs on a PowerPoint slide at a conference nobody wants to attend. And, in fact, the most common reaction is a collective shrug, an “oh, right, another one of those things.” Simply put, the Green Deal is Europe’s ambitious plan to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. A goal that seems as distant as our next marathon for someone who has just started running.
What is the Green Deal?
The Green Deal is the European Union’s grand strategy to transform the economy and society towards sustainability. It’s not just about “ecology”; it’s a plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, to have cleaner energy, more livable cities, less polluting transportation, and more environmentally friendly production. It’s a kind of collective “instruction manual” for changing our mindset: from the idea that economic growth and well-being must necessarily consume resources, to one where they can coexist with protecting the planet.
And here’s the interesting part: even though it seems like a plan too big to affect you personally, it actually enters your daily life much more than you think.
The Art of Thinking It’s Not Our Problem
Our minds are experts at making excuses. When faced with such a massive problem, three perfect defense mechanisms kick in:
- “It’s not my problem”: This is for politicians, big companies, and wild-haired scientists. I just need to focus on finishing a 5k in under 30 minutes; I can’t possibly worry about climate neutrality.
- “It’s a future thing”: 2050 is a long way off. There’s time. Today it’s windy, and the hill on the third kilometer is a much more immediate problem.
- “There’s nothing I can do”: Even if I wanted to, what difference does it make if I use a reusable water bottle instead of a plastic one? It’s trivial, a drop in the bucket.
These thoughts are convenient. They absolve us and allow us to keep doing what we’ve always done. The problem is, the air we breathe while trying not to die on that hill, the park we run in, and the rain that sometimes forces us to skip a workout are all pieces of the same puzzle. And whether we like it or not, we are also the ones putting that puzzle together (or taking it apart).
Let’s Start with the Easy Stuff
You don’t have to become an activist with a megaphone. Sometimes it’s enough to start with the basics, with gestures so small you barely notice them. You know when you see a piece of trash or a bottle along your route? Picking it up won’t make you Greta Thunberg, but it will make your “office” a better place for you and for those who come after. It’s called plogging, but you can also just call it “common sense.”
Or think about your gear. Do we really need the latest GPS watch model every year? Are our shoes truly worn out after 500 kilometers, or can we extend their life a bit longer? Choosing brands that show a real commitment to sustainability, and repairing instead of replacing, are small choices that, when multiplied by millions of runners, start to carry some weight.
Let’s Raise the Bar a Bit
Once you’ve taken the first step, you can think about something a little more structured. How do you get to that race on the other side of the region? If instead of ten separate cars, people used three by carpooling with teammates, the impact (and the cost) would be reduced. It seems trivial, but it requires a bit more organization than the usual “get in the car and go.”
And what about food? We don’t all have to become vegans overnight, but starting to ask where our food comes from, preferring local and seasonal products, or simply reducing our consumption of high-impact foods is another way to “train” our awareness.
How to Train a Habit
As runners, there’s one thing we know well: results don’t come overnight. No one wakes up one morning and runs a marathon. You start small, you stay consistent, you accept the struggle, and, one step at a time, you reach the finish line.
The same goes for these habits. Pick one, just one. The one that seems easiest or makes the most sense for you. Stick with it for a month. When it becomes automatic, almost a reflex, pick another one. You don’t have to do everything at once. You just have to start. Training for sustainability is like training for a race: you build it one piece at a time.
In the end, this is what it’s all about. Our effort, the sweat that costs us so much and gives us so much in return, can have a dual value. It can improve us, making us stronger and more resilient. And, at the same time, it can leave a better mark on the world we run through. Not to save it in some heroic way, but simply to continue having a beautiful place where we can do it.