First plogging and barefoot run of 2026

April 11, 2026 by Joshua
in Doof, Habits

Longtime readers know I switched from running to plogging, which led to a bunch of media doing stories on me. I can’t help sharing the stories. The earliest I found was 2018:

Joshua Spodek Plogging Fox5
dr and diva

Then no posts on plogging for almost five years. I didn’t run for a while because somewhere around there I tore the meniscus in my left knee and the insurance company made me do a year of physical therapy before allowing an MRI to confirm. I took a while to recover after the surgery.

Then a few things conspired. Walking along the river yesterday made me think of running.

Today is beautiful, after an unusually cold winter.

My volunteer food delivery today left me with an abundance of unclaimed fruits and vegetables, so I’ll probably eat more than usual.

Last month a bunch of people forwarded a story the NY Post did on plogging: ‘Plogging’ fitness trend is taking over New York City’s dirty streets — and keeping people in shape.

So I went out plogging. Longtime readers may also know my podcast guest and bestselling author Nir Eyal inspired me to run barefoot, as I wrote about in Learning to walk barefoot again.

So I plogged in shoes through regular Manhattan streets and avenues, then took of my shoes and plogged along the river, where there aren’t any intersections.

I was pleasantly surprised that not many people passed me. A larger fraction of runners are younger than me than ever. C’est la vie.

I didn’t see anyone else plogging, as best I could tell, or picking up litter while walking, for that matter, but I saw plenty of people with disposable packaging and trash cans overflowing with food and doof packaging. I didn’t see anyone eating unpackaged produce.

Tragic.

Read my weekly newsletter

On initiative, leadership, the environment, and burpees

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for my weekly newsletter