And A Special Badge Went To The Scout Who Retrieved Lance Armstrong’s Sweatpants

Pre-race clothes thoughtlessly cast off at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge approach on the day of the New York City Marathon go to charity thanks to a civic-minded Girl Scout troop:

The Girl Scouts of Troop 5140 spent the day of the New York City Marathon running — to and fro.

They ran with coats, they ran with scarves, they ran with hats and gloves and windbreakers.

They scurried around picking up athlete litter, and all told ended up with more than 75 bags of clothes for charity.

The articles had all been cast off at the start of the race on Staten Island by runners who didn’t want to be hampered by the weight.

The girls and their leader, Sue Tramm of Fort Wadsworth, collected all the leftovers and spent the next week sorting it, cleaning it, and folding it so it would be ready for donation.

“I folded 50 hundred blankets!” exclaimed 9-year-old Evelyn.

Now all the clothes are sitting inside an unused Coast Guard apartment in Fort Wadsworth, in clear plastic bags — a great improvement from being strewn on muddy grass and cold asphalt the day of the event.

It was the second year the Scouts has done this drive, the idea for which was born when one troop mother was lamenting the wasted clothes and wishing the girls could use the opportunity to earn their bronze badges.

. . .

[T]hey were not prepared for the opening shot, when jackets and sweatpants went flying over their heads like incoming bullets.

“Everyone started throwing water bottles!” exclaimed Emilee, 10. “My mom was like, ‘Watch out!'” Shortly thereafter, a piece of bagel whizzed by her ear.

The clothes are intended to go to the New York Cares coat drive.