Plogging crew by the Prospect Park lake.

I went on my first plogging run today! Plogging is an activity that started in Sweden, a combination of jogging and picking up trash. It’s a nice complement to regular runs because a whole lot of squatting, twisting, and stretching is involved. It feels especially good for me right now when I need to just do a lot of easy running. My goal for all runs for at least the next month is to keep my heart rate below 144; during today’s run it averaged 137. Perfect.

My buddy Alex started the Plogging NYC Meetup group a while ago, and they’ve plogged in all five boroughs already. I got involved when he asked me a while ago to help lead today’s run in Prospect Park since I’m familiar with the trails. I love introducing people to the trails and was excited to plog, so that was an easy yes. We did a reconnaissance run a few weeks ago to figure out a 4-mile route, and the actual group run was this morning. The weather was good, the ploggers were enthusiastic . . . and we finished the run at Smorgasburg, a huge open-air food fair. It was fun.

Plogging isn’t going to solve the problem of plastic/trash dumping alone, but it feels good to do and does make a difference on the local level. A lot of people in the park stopped to talk to us, ask us what we were doing, and say thank you. That felt good.

If you’re interested in trying this out, you can get connected via Meetup, Instagram, or Facebook.