Take care of the environment and exercise. This is the formula on which the “rip” is based.
A few years ago, in 2016, Swedish runner Erik Ahlstrom, who was tired of stumbling around in garbage in parks, squares and sidewalks, decided to create this strange sport.
It is a contraction of the Swedish plocka upp (plural) and the English jogging (walking at a slow pace).
The concept consists of taking advantage of the weekly run to collect the rubbish found along the way. The formula quickly gained success in Sweden and the rest of the world, thanks to social media.
“I am amazed at how much trash there is in nature,” Ahlstrom explained in several interviews when he launched the sport.
“Wrecks can sit on the road for weeks without being picked up, so I started doing it myself. It’s nice to do it, even if it’s a small gesture.”
From Are, a popular alpine ski resort in Sweden, pubg has spread to Stockholm and quickly around the world, including Latin America, where it broke records in 2019.
“Actually, the world record is in Mexico City, 4,000 people are running in one day… But I think about 10,000 people are doing it regularly in India. In India, the biggest running trend now is jogging,” Ahlstrom told the Reuters news agency. At an event in Stockholm in 2019.
On TikTok, the series’ videos currently have over 11 million views, and people are converging on Facebook to play them as a group.
In the races in which he participates, the Swedish runner motivates people by remembering such facts as, for example, 3 million cigarette butts are discarded every day in Sweden and the amount of plastic in the oceans.
“Most of this plastic comes from the Earth, so when we run, let’s run with a purpose,” he often tells participants right at the start of the race.
Ahlstrom says he wasn’t surprised by the global interest in the sport.
“It’s very easy, and the struggle burns more calories than regular running – you have to bend down and squat, it’s good for your legs and you get a better body,” he told Reuters.
It is no coincidence that the idea of \u200b\u200b”running around the planet” appeared in Sweden. Swedes are known for their love of nature and environmental awareness. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg gained worldwide fame after her school strike outside government buildings in Stockholm sparked a global movement.
How it works
It’s very simple. The first thing you should do before you start is make sure you have the right equipment, such as a pair of rubber gloves, a clear trash bag and, if you’re a member of a prospecting club, a corresponding T-shirt, which also serves as information so pedestrians know what’s going on.
Some also choose a hooked pole to pick up litter from the floor, but this is not recommended because you get more exercise by bending over.
Puberty is as good for the planet as it is for your body, as you can train all your muscles thanks to flexing your abs and glutes every time you touch or bend down to pick something up off the floor.
Also, running, stopping, and running again is what professionals call “interval training,” which increases caloric expenditure.
Finally, you also work out your arm muscles while carrying the junk piled up from the floor.
According to fitness apps, which allow users to enter and log calories burned while jogging, this eco-friendly workout is far more efficient than running.
Specifically, a half hour of catharsis burns 288 calories on average, compared to 235 calories in a regular run. And this can be done in the city, in the mountains, in the countryside … There is no specific place to run and collect garbage.
“I feel like I’m doing something good for the environment,” one British sports fan told the BBC.
Another athlete says: “It’s great when people come together and clean up the environment to make it a better place.” And another athlete adds: “You go for a run and even if you collect only five items, that’s five items that don’t end in the sea.”
Passion for the sport led an Indian student to visit 30 cities in the UK in 30 days during this month of December to fight against climate change.
During his stay in Bristol, western England, where he arrived last year for a master’s degree in environmental policy and management, Vivek Gaurav collected 5,000kg of rubbish during his tours of that British city.
“I want to create a lace community all over the UK, like I did in India,” explains the 26-year-old to the BBC, who aims to inspire others to create ‘their own groups’.
Gaurav even launched a smash campaign in his hometown of Pune, India.
Known as the “Pune Bloggers,” there are more than 10,000 volunteers who “help make the world a better place,” he says.
Over the past four years, Gaurav has covered 675 kilometers and collected more than 1,000 tons of rubbish on 120 “dig missions” and in November he speaks at COY17, the youth version of COP27, the climate summit.
He hopes to join environmental professionals, environmental advocates, and other runners as he visits every city on public transportation picking up trash around the country.
The young man who was invited to Downing Street by the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October tells the BBC.
“Societies can trigger a shift in mindset, and this is crucial for a collective awakening to climate change and for governments around the world to act now.”
Gaurav added that he is trying to counter people’s “negative mentality” towards littering, which he described as “careless” and “irresponsible”.
He said he also hopes the community project will have a “positive impact” on mental health, which is a “key aspect” of the blogger community that originated in India.
“I want to provide a safe space where people can talk about their problems in life, a place to share their worries and fears,” he says.
To encourage people to exercise on a regular basis, Gurav launches challenges and turns trash collection into a “treasure hunt”, with groups “competing” for the highest amount of trash collected.
He concludes, “This type of approach encourages people to pick up trash, increases motivation, and keeps them coming back for more sessions.”
– This text was published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-64095043
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