Whither the Bottle?

[Ed]

 

[Ryan]

The stuff coming out of my dishwasher looks nasty as well, even though it's perfectly clean and sanitary. It's called hard water. That said, I don't imagine too many strangers would want to drink from my glasses that are so stained from the hard water that they look like they are frosted.

This is part of the problem I see with reusing. Yes, I could easily do 50 cups per diswasher load and go out for a run while the dishwasher is running. However, I don't think people at a race would feel comfortable using the cups when they see the hard water stains (an unidentified substance to them) on the cups.

Again, in the ideal world, I think reusable cups would be great. In a race director's real world, something that is recyclable or compostable is most likely going to be more practical, in fact not much more work than disposable cups.

[GTF]

"Nasty?"  Apparently Americans can afford to be even pickier than I had imagined.  

[Ryan]

Well, given the things people hear about on the news (referenced by Ed), I don't think it's an unnatural response to be a little concerned when you see some kind of unidentified film on something that holds food or drink.

Of course, we all know the news tends to sensationalize everything in order to get ratings but even that knowledge doesn't seem to change the reaction of a significant number of people.

[GTF]

I have clearly "missed" that reference and "news" completely! 

[rehammes]

I recall being so thirsty on a run that I scooped water out of a puddle.  I can't imagine grabbing a cup as I ran through an water-stop and even being aware that there is a hard water stain on the vessel.  They could fill it with mud and I probably wouldn't notice.   I think runners would appreciate the effort of the race director to lessen the races impact and keep entry fees low.

[Ryan]

Rob, much like you, I've taken water from some pretty crazy places. That said, I doubt we're representative of the average runner. Also, in a race like Ed's, I'd hazard a guess that most of the water was taken at the finish line, not on the course where you just grab and drink without thinking about what you're taking.

Honestly, I'm not sure how runners would react to reusable cups. That's where I see RDs being concerned. A lot of being a good RD is conveying a positive image of the race. While reusable cups could convey a positive image in terms of lessening the race's impact and keeping entry fees low, there is a potential for a negative image to form. The RD would need to consider the cost/benefit analysis on this. All I'm trying to express is that there could be an understandable concern from the RD's perspective that could make a recyclable/compostable alternative seem to carry less risk.

[Ed]

Another point - 

Don't most runners drop their cups on the ground after drinking?  Do we make the runners stand in a line to hand the cups back to volunteers in the middle of the race or do we risk a runner stepping on a metal cup on the road surface and really wiping out perhaps breaking an ankle?

GTF how would the cup collection in the middle of a race best be handled?

I have been able to get the paper cups donated so far and I can make a good shot at getting the compostable cups donated as well.

[sueruns]

I've volunteered at a triathlon that the water aid station that I was at, a sponser donated reusable water bottles.  they were filled with tap water and gatorade.  The bikers would toss their bottles into the ditch and we'd give them a new one.  Between gaps of exchanging bottles, i'd pick up some and toss them into boxes.  If they had a name written on the bottle, i tossed them into a different box so after the race if the person wanted their bottle back, they could rummage through that box.   Pretty soon, i no longer had to pick up bottles as some of the neighborhood kids were picking them up and keeping ones they liked.

for smaller scale races, I don't see why this can't happen.  people bring their own fuel or water mark their bottles, race picks them up and the people can rummage through a box for their bottles, heck you have a box a mile down the road from the aid station with a basketball hoop and encourage people to toss the bottle.  (I know i get excited when i make a water cup in the box) .

in mexico, some of the races I've done, (big ones) used water in bags, rather than cups or bottles.  You bite the plastic to open and drink.......much easier to carry an empty bag until the next aid that an empty bottle or cup and this could discourage people from tossing them anywhrere and everywhere.

[Ryan]

As far as tossing them anywhere and everywhere, I think it was Lakefront Marathon that had garbage cans placed after the aid stations. Personally, they seemed to be a little too close to the aid stations for me but this actually worked out very well. I'd think, for a relatively small event, a few boxes or bins of some kind placed after aid stations might help on that issue.

Of course, when talking about reusable cups, the problem is that it takes only one person to just drop the cup on the course and somebody goes for a ride. Also, something I didn't think of because I wouldn't be taking water on the course of a race like Ed's but I like to pinch the top of a paper cup (like the Pete Magill video recently posted by GTF) to drink on the run. I'd personally find it pretty hard to drink out of a metal or hard plastic cup on the run. Reusable bottles, though...that could make it even easier to drink on the run but, if they were fairly nice, could make it a bit challenging for the RD to get them back. I could imagine quite a few of them disappearing.

[Andrew A.]

HydraPouch, as mentioned earlier in this thread.  Perhaps even sell them at the expo or give them out instead of shirts.

[Ed]

Could you provide some links to the HydraPouch thing?  You can just send me a private message with the links.

Thanks -

[Andrew A.]

Check the second post on this thread.

The 'first cup-free road race' in the US: http://www.aclu-co.org/events/2007LR.htm

[Ed]

The issue I see with these is stopping and waiting in line to fill the thing.

[Andrew A.]

You must not have watched the videos on the site.