Make your shoes last longer and become a greener runner 

For many years, Hall flew around Europe running some of the world’s toughest and most spectacular races. He’d regularly find himself in the Alps in France, Italy or Switzerland; indeed, when I contacted him one afternoon, he replied from the top of a mountain, saying he’d have to get back to me as he was halfway through a 100-mile (161km) race.  

He is truly dedicated to running. And now, while that dedication is as strong as ever, he has turned much of his passion to something that we are all becoming increasingly aware of: climate change. 

He has seen how runners can play an active role in the battle to save the environment. “Running is well brill,” says Hall. “It brings real happiness, health benefits, meaning and Strava kudos to millions. It has a relatively low impact compared with some sports and activities. But it could definitely be better.”  

Thinking about your travel when it comes to running is a good starting point to do your bit to battle climate change, says Hall. “Running itself is a carbon-neutral transport, of course, but I’ve found I can get to races I used to fly to by using the train. However, now that I know more about the environmental cost of travel, I simply don’t want to race abroad so often anymore,” he continues. 

The numbers associated with travel and carbon emissions don’t make for good reading, but Hall says, “in most cases, a train journey will create around a quarter to a third of the CO2 emissions of a flight. Fossil fuel-powered cars aren’t much better than flights; the bigger they are and the fewer passengers they transport, the worse the greenhouse gas and they have wiped out all gains made by electric and hybrid vehicles. However, four in a car can produce similar emissions to a train journey, so lift-sharing and car-pooling for races is a genuine carbon saver.” 

Again, using Hall’s calculations, the clothing industry looks like it needs to make some changes. And while brands are making headway in this area, Hall’s own research suggests that “69% of our clothes are made from fossil fuel”. 

Hall is understandably passionate about all of this, and he’s not asking you to be an eco–warrior and glue yourself to the road. No, his goal is all about awareness and encouraging us as runners to look at how we can do our own bit to help. 

For instance, he’s keen to draw our attention to his research, which he says shows that the running shoe industry produces 23 million shoes a day with a huge carbon footprint, thanks to a manufacturing process that involves 360 different steps. As a result, carbon footprints of running shoes range between the equivalent of 18 and 41 kg of CO2 per pair. “That’s worth saying again out loud. Those shoes are almost all made from plastic [fossil fuels], almost all are non-recyclable.” 

It’s worth pointing out that Hall is a vegan and, as a result, has looked at the meat industry, which he’ll tell you is not an environmentally friendly setup. “Meat and dairy alone are responsible for 18% of global carbon emissions, more than travel. Beef is by far the worst offender, costing the planet 99kg (218lb 4oz) of CO2 just to produce 1kg (2lb 3oz) of meat, which is crazily inefficient,” he says, explaining why he has embraced a vegan life. A quarter of our footprint comes from food, and it can be reduced by more than 70% by cutting out animal flesh. “Yes, there’s far too much plastic packaging in the world, but it’s the food in the packaging that’s the most important thing – with almost all meat and dairy being worse for the planet than plants.” 

“To me, it’s fairly simple: do your best with the Big Three of travel, kit and diet,” says Hall. “No one is or can be perfect. We’re just seeking progress. But above that, we need to push for systemic change and be a little bit activist. Talk to anyone who’ll listen, but especially friends and family, and join The Green Runners.” 

• “Brands tell us we should bin our shoes after 300 miles (482.8km) in case they injure us, which no studies conclusively prove.” 
• “The most sustainable kit is the stuff we’re already wearing. We need to buy less and make it last longer.” 
• “A quarter of our footprint comes from food, and it can be reduced by over 70% by cutting out animal flesh and juices.” 
• “Brands: Make less. Make things that will last. Help us extend the life of kit.” 

• “Almost none of this stuff is our fault.” 

Claire Maxted, a runner and co-founder of Trail Running magazine, agrees with everything Hall is doing. “Amplifying our voices is one of the most important things we can do, but there are also practical, personal tips that Damian has inspired me to incorporate into my daily life at a time when I was becoming jaded. 

“Do the tiny little things we each do even matter when large industries are pumping out fumes, chopping down the rainforest and polluting the water? The answer is yes, so I continue to do the following and encourage others to do what they can too. Every little helps.”