Kudos to Chestnut Hill resident Sandra Folzer for being chosen as one of the New York Times (3/1/26) “50 Climate Fixes” contributors out of 3,200 entries. Sandra, a longtime runner, is the world record-holder for women ages 85-90 in the indoor mile.

Sandra is also an environmentalist who is advocating for the use of paper cups for water at races instead of plastic water bottles. While Sandra has been successful in convincing the organizers of some smaller races, her challenge is our Philadelphia Broad Street Run.

During the run, 750,000 paper cups are used but at the end of the race, 80,000 plastic bottles are distributed. While plastic water bottles are marked with a #1 and are recyclable, only a small percentage, 6-9%, actually get recycled. The other 90-plus percent end up in landfills, lakes, rivers and oceans where they degrade, causing microplastics to be shed into the water, harming fish and other sea animals.

Microplastics in the water come from the plastic bottles as well as from twisting the caps on and off. Scientists are now finding microplastics throughout our bodies.

For runners, I hope you will join Sandra in advocating paper cups for water at the end of the Broad Street Run and/or any other races you enter. You’re helping your body when running. Why not also help by limiting microplastics in your body?

Helene Dow

Mt. Airy