Podcast: Episode 145: Trees not Tees: Scotland leads with a brilliant environmental initiative for all runners

You need to hear this inspiring story!  Jim Mann, a top ultrarunner from Scotland, had this brilliant idea: ask race directors to give runners the option of having a tree planted in their name instead of being given still another t-shirt that won't get used.

"The reason for starting this was 2 fold - I had loads of race t-shirts and kept getting more (I couldn't wear them all and they don't wear out). We wanted to plant more trees and it seemed like a great way to solve a bad problem whilst creating something good."

The amount of water it takes to produce a single cotton t-shirt is the same water as a person drinks in 2 1/2 years. Polyester is worse.  Why pollute our environment when we can plant a tree instead?

"We've planted hundreds of thousands of trees this year alone - our goal is 50 million trees in the ground in the next few years."

This is for real. They purchase the land the trees are planted on so they will not get cut down. Each runner receives a Certificate for what they've done, which lists the race name and sponsors (so no one gets left out).  And it's all optional.

There are 30,000 races in the US alone, and this program is now coming to America.  There are 621 million runners in world - we can make a big difference.

YOU make this happen: please reach out to all the races you enter, and tell the director this is what you want.  That's how this works - you request it.

Suggested by Mick Jones, co-Regional Editor for the United Kingdom.