I’ve been to some smaller races where they tried to promote the re-usable cups and one race even gave them out for free. but they still had paper cups. maybe that will be the case here. they probably want to have a way for someone to get water who might have lost their reusable cup. I don’t like them, they get dirty and that can be kinda gross.
I agree completely with HRE and minong. Even though I'm now a slow old lady, when I enter a race I'm determined to run the best time I can and I'm not going to haul a cup around with me and wait for someone to fill it at the aid stations. (And I would not consider running with a phone, either.)
I agree that in a mountain ultra this makes some sense. The aid stations are in locations that aren't all that easy to access, and if a paper cup blows away or gets dropped some distance from the aid station, retrieving it could be quite a job for the volunteers. But in a normal road race I think picking up cups near the aid stations should reasonably be a job for the volunteers. Most of the races I run also provide one or more large trash cans after the aid stations and most runners try to hit the trash can with their cups, but don't always succeed.
The largest race producer in Seattle does this, Orca Running. They give out all kinds of crap (giant medals, you can buy race shirts, etc.) but no cups! It's super annoying as they've bought up some formerly great races in the Seattle area, like the Lake Sammamish Half. I've done the Lake Sammamish Half at least once since they took over, and even though I am not that fast - maybe 8:30 pace - it is so difficult and demoralizing to screech to a complete stop to fill the plastic cup they give you. And yeah, you basically have to get a new one every time, so I find it very hard to believe it is really an environmental win. Maybe? A lot of people do wear those water backpacks or whatever. Or maybe some people carry water. It's super annoying.
For a marathon, I think it's probably OK for people running 5+ hours, but even at 4 hours, it's a big deal to come to a complete stop.
Since they see the value in the event and want to continue it, it is the right thing to try to reduce waste within the event, and the hundreds of thousands of cups needed at 10-20 water stations for tens of thousands of runners are the largest source of waste. The question is just how to reduce the waste without making them carry cups throughout the race. One thing to do is to use reusable, washable cups.
Since they see the value in the event and want to continue it, it is the right thing to try to reduce waste within the event, and the hundreds of thousands of cups needed at 10-20 water stations for tens of thousands of runners are the largest source of waste. The question is just how to reduce the waste without making them carry cups throughout the race. One thing to do is to use reusable, washable cups.
Yes, this is the answer. The race should purchase reusable cups and wash them and reuse them year after year. It doesn't impact performance, good for the environment - everyone wins!
Can you imagine trying to stop to fill a cup as a 3 hour marathoner?
You don’t pour your own fluids. You hold out your collapsible cup and volunteers fill it from a pitcher. Then you tuck your cup into the waistband of your shorts until you need it again. Lots of MUT races have been doing this for years.
I can’t say whether the environmental impact is justified compared to all the other impacts a mega race has. But when done correctly by experienced people, it’s not really much slower than grabbing a cup off a table.
It seems slower if I have to stop and let someone fill up my cup.
Unless they are going to waste water and fill it up quickly. But which is worse wasting water or a disposable cup?
This really is the ultimate in virtual signalling.
I will likely be at the Knoxville Marathon that day. Great race, I ran it in 2019 and have been trying to get back. It's one of the best Marathons I have run, 100+ Marathons/Ultras. There will be none of this nonsense there. Plenty of cups being held by volunteers. America. Bonus - After the race if you want to explore the city, unlike paris, a "migrant" won't harass you and a pickpocket won't try to lift your wallet. Losers!
You don’t pour your own fluids. You hold out your collapsible cup and volunteers fill it from a pitcher. Then you tuck your cup into the waistband of your shorts until you need it again. Lots of MUT races have been doing this for years.
I can’t say whether the environmental impact is justified compared to all the other impacts a mega race has. But when done correctly by experienced people, it’s not really much slower than grabbing a cup off a table.
It seems slower if I have to stop and let someone fill up my cup.
Unless they are going to waste water and fill it up quickly. But which is worse wasting water or a disposable cup?
This really is the ultimate in virtual signalling.
I've done races that do this, and you can fill it quite quickly - the water flow is very fast. The problem is the energy required to come to a complete stop and then accelerate back to your pace. When I did it, I was stopped for like 2 seconds. But it was so energy draining to come to a full stop and then restart.
One. One Bernie Sanders private flight more than offsets the righteous bs you see here. Just skip one flight Bernie? Could probably use plastic cups for evey marathon for the next 20 years and wouldn't put a dent in that flight. PS paper straws suckass
This really is the ultimate in virtual signalling.
Big Dutch road race Seven Hills 15k (world records are run there by men and women) uses recyclable paper cups with a wafer thin 5% plastic coating. Over 90% of the cups are actually recycled for paper bags for e.g. animal food. There are many more initiatives for a sustainable event from them, like promoting shared or public transport, shirts and even medals from recycled materials etc.
Saving on cups is the wrong way to reduce impact of the race. If I had to decide from where to save it would easily be finisher medals. It was always annoying to me to receive a medal for merely finishing a race. It's silly. Medals (should be) are for podium places, possibly up to whatever place there's prize money. Also race t-shirts are a waste.
You cannot force people to ruin their race by making taking liquids harder and a hassle. This is plain stupid and possibly dangerous. A lot of determined runners will just skip the water stations and can suffer from dehydratation, also some will employ their personal friend to hand them a bottle which if done on mass will be a disaster.
Saving on cups is the wrong way to reduce impact of the race. If I had to decide from where to save it would easily be finisher medals. It was always annoying to me to receive a medal for merely finishing a race. It's silly. Medals (should be) are for podium places, possibly up to whatever place there's prize money. Also race t-shirts are a waste.
You cannot force people to ruin their race by making taking liquids harder and a hassle. This is plain stupid and possibly dangerous. A lot of determined runners will just skip the water stations and can suffer from dehydratation, also some will employ their personal friend to hand them a bottle which if done on mass will be a disaster.
One. One Bernie Sanders private flight more than offsets the righteous bs you see here. Just skip one flight Bernie? Could probably use plastic cups and medals for every marathon for the next 20 years and wouldn't put a dent in that flight. PS paper straws suckass
A lot of comments (and upvotes) suggesting that if it can't be perfect then there's no point trying to be better. Preventing a ton of plastic waste seems like a good thing to aim for.
It will likely take a few seconds off an average finishing time, but not as much as weaving through the masses at a congested start. People will end up with a reusable cup that they can, ahem, reuse. Some people will fly to France - so what?
I despair at the kneejerk reaction against anything that could be perceived to align with the policy of political opponents - the environment and climate change should be of concern to everyone regardless of their position on the political spectrum.
A lot of comments (and upvotes) suggesting that if it can't be perfect then there's no point trying to be better. Preventing a ton of plastic waste seems like a good thing to aim for.
It will likely take a few seconds off an average finishing time, but not as much as weaving through the masses at a congested start. People will end up with a reusable cup that they can, ahem, reuse. Some people will fly to France - so what?
I despair at the kneejerk reaction against anything that could be perceived to align with the policy of political opponents - the environment and climate change should be of concern to everyone regardless of their position on the political spectrum.
It will be much more than a couple of seconds lost time. At a Marathon with 56000 people, a lot of runners are hitting the early aid stations even with a staggered start.
It will be interesting to see how this will work out but I wouldn't want to be part of that test. When I ran Marathons for a fast time, I made sure to sign up for well organized races with a smooth aid station setup. You are not training for 6 month just to run a 5 minute slower Marathon because of some "sustainable water concept".
A lot of comments (and upvotes) suggesting that if it can't be perfect then there's no point trying to be better. Preventing a ton of plastic waste seems like a good thing to aim for.
It will likely take a few seconds off an average finishing time, but not as much as weaving through the masses at a congested start. People will end up with a reusable cup that they can, ahem, reuse. Some people will fly to France - so what?
I despair at the kneejerk reaction against anything that could be perceived to align with the policy of political opponents - the environment and climate change should be of concern to everyone regardless of their position on the political spectrum.
Let's settle there: I agree that we should strive to be better, of course. And there's a lot of hypothetical talk, we don't actually know for sure what will happen. But such drastic deas should be tried on a small scale first, to see potential weak points, what could be tweaked, or even if it's feasable at all. By any measure forcing thousands of people to stop and refill water bottles on a huge marathon is drastic change with uknown consequences. Striving to be better and saving the environment isn't excuse to do whatever comes to mind and implement it haphazardly.
Let's settle there: I agree that we should strive to be better, of course. And there's a lot of hypothetical talk, we don't actually know for sure what will happen. But such drastic deas should be tried on a small scale first, to see potential weak points, what could be tweaked, or even if it's feasable at all. By any measure forcing thousands of people to stop and refill water bottles on a huge marathon is drastic change with uknown consequences. Striving to be better and saving the environment isn't excuse to do whatever comes to mind and implement it haphazardly.
This is exactly what I mean. Instead of a quick google to confirm that reusable cups have been tested in loads of races (including large marathons) you dash of a quick negative post. If you really agree that we should strive to be better this is a strange way of demonstrating it.
Let's settle there: I agree that we should strive to be better, of course. And there's a lot of hypothetical talk, we don't actually know for sure what will happen. But such drastic deas should be tried on a small scale first, to see potential weak points, what could be tweaked, or even if it's feasable at all. By any measure forcing thousands of people to stop and refill water bottles on a huge marathon is drastic change with uknown consequences. Striving to be better and saving the environment isn't excuse to do whatever comes to mind and implement it haphazardly.
To be fair, this is what they have done, according to the website:
Before its full rollout on the streets of Paris, the new water supply system will be tested during the Lyon Marathon on October 5, giving ASO a large-scale opportunity to fine-tune the logistics.
So, has anybody run Lyon this year? I've checked the yootoobz but couldn't find any aid station footage in the 5 minutes I could be arsed to search.
That said, it's still an immensely stupid idea and 100% done for virtue-signalling brownie points. With the added hallmark of all of this ESG bullsh!t: forcing it down your throat to show you who's in power.
They could virtue signal in so many ways on an event like this, but they make YOU feel the consequences, if you want to particiapte in the race. And that is by design.