Where do ‘gently worn’ shoes go when they retire?

Posted January 22nd, 2008.

I ran 4 miles at an average pace today (total time 37:43; 9:26 min/mile). When I finished, my feet felt like they were inflated inside my shoe and I felt some discomfort. I wonder if it’s finally time to retire these shoes…

I ran 2 official marathons in these shoes (L.A. 2006, Phoenix 2008), not to mention a full marathon during training for the L.A. I’d like to run L.A. 2008 in them also, but not if it means damaging my feet in the process.

When you are as poetic about life, you personify the weirdest things. It’s like this pair of shoes has been with me for a while helping me attain my running goals. They have well over 500 miles of wear and tear, but have never let me down.

I have 3 other pairs of running shoes that I train in as well, but these are the ones I run most of my long runs in. They provide comfort and support from step 1 to the last one. So now that their career is coming to an end, I’m a little sad…

Well that brings me to a new topic:

Soles4Souls.org.

This is a wonderful organization that helps those in need (world wide), by providing footwear. They were in Asia after the Dec ‘04 tsunami, and they were there in New Orleans after Katrina. They accept donations of new and ‘gently worn’ shoes.

What are ‘gently worn’ shoes? Well my running shoes may have too much wear and tear on them to provide any benefit to someone. But I do have some boots and other casual shoes in my closet that I just don’t wear anymore. There’s nothing wrong with them. I just don’t wear them. They are ‘gently worn’ shoes.

So guess where they’re going to be shipped off to? Well, your guess is as good as mine. I’m gonna sent them to the good people at Soles4Souls.org and they’ll ship them of to someone who needs them.

So please, if you have some ‘gently worn’ shoes in your closet that rarely see the light of day, consider sending them to Soles4Souls.org. It will clear up some space in your closet and help someone with something that we take for granted.

If you feel extra helpful, you can always send brand spankin’ new shoes to them as well. They’ll get the same treatment that ‘gently worn’ shoes get. That is to say, they’ll be shipped to someone who will be grateful to have them.

Soles4Souls.org
The reason I run, is to celebrate the fact that I can. The legs and feet that God has given me still let function to provide to me this basic joy in life. Remember just running as a kid? Well a wise friend once advised me not to buy cheap shoes that end up hurting my feet. I can always replace shoes, but I can’t replace my feet. That’s how important shoes are. That advice has really stuck with me.So when I learned about Soles4Souls.org, it really made me want to support them and pass on their mission to you.