Clothing race. 38 tons of clothes are thrown away every year during the New York City Marathon

As it has every year since 1970, New York City has welcomed thousands of runners from around the world to start the Staten Island Marathon. On this occasion, M Magazine of the World investigated the ‘dark side’ of the legendary race for 50,000 participants on Sunday 5 November.

Some runners, obsessed with their time and overheated by the effort, don’t hesitate to shed their clothes mid-race, according to the weekly. This remarkable indicator proves it. during the last four editions, an average of 38 tons of clothing was found per year (ie 760 grams per participant). In 2014, that figure even reached 90 tons, thanks to an edition marked by icy winds.

Redistribution to Associations

Based on this observation, the organization now provides special bins for storing clothes. “However, as with toilets, the watch-obsessed would rather not miss their starting point than toss their old jogging pants in the designated bin,” the article notes. world. 200 of the 10,000 New York Marathon volunteers are mobilized with the help of six trucks to collect the various textile layers that the runners shed. The items are then redistributed to charities.

In addition to this clothing-related pollution, 50,000 cups of coffee and 6,000 cups of tea are thrown during the marathon’s 42,195 kilometers. This creates other important environmental challenges.