The Atayne Trash Runners

trash_runners.jpgWhat is trash running you ask? Only the hottest new sports activity! Trash running combines fresh air, physical activity, and litter collection.  It’s very simple and can be done just about anywhere.  Just grab a bag, move your feet, and pick up some trash. As unglamorous as it may sound, it is a trashy good time and an incredible work out. As an added bonus, you do something great for the environment.

Want to get in on the fun? Check out our local trash running groups:

Not a trash running group in your neck of the woods?  How about starting one.  Visit our Start a Trash Running Group page for more information.

Trash Talk

trash runners, trash running, will run 4 trashOne of the best things about trash running is developing new vocab for the emerging sport.  Here are some of the most widely used terms in trash running!
  • GU-dar: a trash runner’s internal beacon for finding GU packets. Having a great GU-dar is essential to being a great trash runner. It takes some time to naturally spot those shiny little packets and tabs, but once you develop a strong GU-dar, GU packets beware.
  • Buckner or Bucknered: the art of picking up a piece of trash without breaking stride is an invaluable skill to the trash runner. BUT, even the most experienced trash runner has a Buckner moment or is Bucknered on occasion. Basically, it’s when you reach for a piece of trash while running and miss it. This most often results from not committing your hand long enough to the pickup and pulling your hand up too soon – much like Bill Buckner did in the 1986 World Series. Sorry Bill.
  • Drafting or Drafter (or Tailgating, Tailgater): a true trash runner NEVER drafts or wants to be called a drafter…although it can happen easily if you’re not paying attention. It happens when one trash runner follows right behind another trash runner, drafting off his hard work and not having to pick up trash. Not only is this inefficient (less ground covered) but it’s dangerous (see next definition).
  • trash runner, trash runningRear-Ended: this is self explanatory, but occurs when someone is drafting or tailgating and the drafted trash runner stops quickly to pick up trash – not pretty – someone could get trashed (see definition below). The most skilled trash runner could employ a leapfrog move to avoid the collision, but it’s best to prevent it altogether by NOT DRAFTING.
  • Rubber Necking: missing trash due to taking in the scenery, watching other trash runners, or simply not paying attention. A drafting, rubber-necker is a recipe for disaster.
  • TIVO Moment: this happens to every good trash runner. It’s when a piece of trash is noticed at the last moment as you run by – maybe it’s slightly off the beaten path. Your good conscience requires you to backtrack and pick it up.
  • Sloppy Seconds: this is when someone misses a piece of trash and you pick it up. Nasty, but necessary.
  • Spell Check: even the best trash runner occasionally needs to be spell checked.  When someone is ahead of you and keeps missing pieces of trash, it is important to run behind them (but not too close) to pick up their mistakes. When you find yourself with little to pick up, the person being ‘spell checked’ is back on track and in the zone again – yup, you can get into a trash running zone.
  • Baited: while trash running along a body of salt water, you bend down to pick up that piece of trash. But alas, it is a natural gift from the sea. Old net? Nope-dried seaweed. Bit of hard plastic? Nope-crustacean shell.
  • trash running strollerTrashlek: much like its “cleaner” cousin the Fartlek, the Trashlek is a great aerobic training technique.  It involves a light jog to a piece of trash and then a hard-paced sprint to put the trash in the appropriate receptacle.  A moving retrofitted trash collecting jog stroller or stationary trashcan does the trick.  This is a great substitute for boring and less environmentally beneficial track workouts.
  • Dumpster Break: a bathroom break while trash running.  No explanation needed.
  • Getting Trashed: any injury that occurs while trash running, especially one that involves hand, arm or knee contact with the ground.  A very common one is clipping your foot on a guardrail and taking a digger while returning to the road or path after going deep for a piece of trash.
  • Going Mechanic: once you get into the zone, it is tough to pass even the hardest to reach piece of trash.  This includes those underneath a parked vehicle.  Hard core trash runners go mechanic and crawl under the vehicle.  WARNING:  DO NOT ATTEMPT ON A MOVING VEHICLE!!!
  • Trash-cavating: some pieces of trash have been on the ground for years and they often become part of the landscape.  Time to get dirty and do some trash-cavating by digging deep into the ground.
  • Trashole: formerly known as a litterbug, a trashole is someone who throws his or her trash on the ground for the rest of us to see and ultimately pick-up.
  • Butt Stroll: when you intend to go for a vigorous trash run, but find yourself in a stroll due to an over abundance of littered cigarette butts!