Over on my fitness blog (which is even more neglected than this one, if that was possible), I recounted how, when I first began running as a hobby and as a way to use up the energy I had after stopping smoking, I foolishly didn’t buy a sports bra.
I also mentioned I didn’t buy any proper running shoes either, and simply went into town and bought a pair of cheap trainers for £10 that weren’t even comfy enough to walk to the local shop in, let alone suitable for running a few laps around my local park (my lungs weren’t up to the job either and I shuffled off home to the comfort of the hammock in my garden, but that’s another story).
All the gear, no idea
Once I decided to take running more seriously, I rectified both these sartorial errors and bought not only a couple of sports bras but also a pair of proper running shoes from a proper running shop.
Unsurprisingly, neither my new supportive sports bra or my expensive pair of running shoes made me a better runner, but at least I didn’t look quite as much of a twat as I had been up until then.
But considering I made sure everything I ate or drank was vegetarian and I never wore leather boots (I didn’t wear shoes full stop. Shoes are hideous things), when it came to my running shoes, I just bought whichever was comfiest in the running shop and didn’t give any thought as to what they were made of.
However, there came a time when it occurred to me my running shoes might be made from dead cows and that just wouldn’t do. I wouldn’t wear leather boots, so why would I wear leather running shoes?
Quite.
Vegan running shoes
Luckily, vegan running shoes exist, such as the beautiful pink and black ones from Brooks you can see in the photo above (it’s not just these ones that are vegan – Brooks’ whole range of running shoes are vegan), so there’s no need to run in dead cows.
Hurrah.
2 comments
Good call on the Brooks Cathy – there’s also a few other brands making fully vegan running shoes (including being free from collagen in the glues).
It’s good to see vegan running shoes being widely available now!