Baltimore marathon this weekend is cupless and has "self serve refill stations" - should i carry water?

Whatever Johnson brother lives in Baltimore better get on this.

Interesting.

This reminds me of the hotels. Now they don't have to pay housekeepers and they can blame it on Covid.

I don't doubt it's hard to get volunteers during Covid. And we have a huge trash problem here in Baltimmore, but I doubt many of the cups end up in the Bay But I can't imagine myself stopping in a marathon to fill up my water bottle. I guess it would inspire me to have friends and family be a certain points on the course. Will they have tables for elites?

But for the average John or Jane Doe, losing 20 seconds her and there may not be a big deal.

But wouldn't this be bad from a Covid standpoint? You have to stand still next to someone breathing heavily and fill up yoru bottle? How many spouts do they have per table?

I am boycotting all cupless races for years.

What a stupid idea.

The whole reason why I pay for a race is, having timing, a race course and aid stations.

Idiotic theater.

Does absolutely nothing to slow Covid. Might make it worse if there are people breathing heavily waiting in line. And just generally seems less hygienic to have dozens of hands touching a cooler to get water rather than one or two volunteers filling up cups.

Worse, is it just encourages people to make unsafe decisions about hydration in order to avoid lines/losing time.

rojo wrote:

And we have a huge trash problem here in Baltimmore

Lol can say that again.

yeah, it's definitely cost cutting and using covid + environmentally friendly as an excuse

i ran with the collapsible cup in my pocket on my run today and forgot it was there so i'll probably go with that over carrying a bottle... and as Erik said, potentially make an unwise decision when i'm thirsty and see a line for water :)

i don't recall if the race was announced as cupless when i signed up. i wouldn't sign up for a future cupless race.

my time goal is extreeeeeeemely soft for what i've done in shorter distances so my assumption is i have a few minutes to spare and as i mentioned, won't be too upset about losing 20 seconds 2x or something

I've ended up in a few cupless races here in Taiwan waaaayyyyy before covid. The 'scuse was "saving the Earth." Lame to the nth degree.

If I'm training for a PR, I wouldn't sign up for a cupless race. Pretty much if you make people stop to pour their own water it'a no longer a "road race;" it's more like a "road activity."

HOW DO I GET WATER ON THE COURSE?

There will be several self-serve fluid stations on the course–depending on the event you are running—offering numerous valves allowing you to fill a 20-ounce water bottle in just seconds. Participants will be responsible for bringing and carrying their own container with them during the event. Handheld containers can include a bike bottle, a hand-held running bottle, Camel-bak, a Hydra-Pouch, or any type of non-glass water bottle of your choosing.

IDGAF if I can fill my water bottle in seconds if I have to come to a complete stop in order to do so.

If it's those foot pump operated refill stations, they are time consuming. With those things and a collapsible cup in a marathon, I think you will either loose a lot of time or end up dehydrated. I would rather run with a handheld bottle and maybe refill once.

erik wrote:

Idiotic theater.

Does absolutely nothing to slow Covid. Might make it worse if there are people breathing heavily waiting in line. And just generally seems less hygienic to have dozens of hands touching a cooler to get water rather than one or two volunteers filling up cups.

Worse, is it just encourages people to make unsafe decisions about hydration in order to avoid lines/losing time.

My thoughts exactly. I'd rather have a volunteer, probably wearing gloves, touch my cup one time than touch a refill button or handle on a cooler that's been touched by hundreds of runners.

Critical thinking is a lost art in our society today.

They should just have volunteers hand out unopened bottles of water. The tiny ones that are less than 12 ounces. 🤔

Anyone dumb enough to run a marathon in that sh*thole of a city needs to worry more about being shot than being properly hydrated.

I thought London did the same thing this year? No water/ aid stations or I heard that was their plan.

This is very popular in Seattle. The biggest road racing group here, Orca Running, has switched to cupless running under the guise of saving the environment. They're still happy to hand out gaudy medals and T-shirts, and they distribute bottled water at the finish. If they were really serious about the environment, they'd use compostable or reusable cups at the aid stations.

Orca Running only does races up to half marathon. I don't care about drinks for a 5K or 10K, but it's a serious problem for half marathons, and they operate a huge percentage of half marathons in this area. They took over the fastest half in the area (Lake Sammamish Half), and it's now cupless.

Aid stations are now unmanned or have one or two people. I'm sure it saves them money and effort.

I'm old and not particularly fast, so my race pace for a half marathon is about 8:00 mpm. I ran the Lake Sammamish half, no cups, chasing a PR. Filling the cup is actually quite quick and carrying the cup is NBD, but coming to a screeching half every 2 miles to get a drink is incredibly demoralizing. Even at 8:00 pace, it's really hard coming to a complete stop every couple miles.

OP - I don't know what to recommend. I have tried a variety of hydration packs and they all suck, plus the weight will slow you down. But stopping sucks, too. The only real solution is to vote with your wallet and not run cupless races.

The foot pump at the ones I've done is super fast. The problem is that you have to come to a complete stop and then get up to race speed again. It takes a huge amount of energy, more than you'd imagine.

thsjdjdjdjd wrote:

I thought London did the same thing this year? No water/ aid stations or I heard that was their plan.

Nope. However, they are planning to try and recyle plastic bottles.

runner2014 wrote:

I am boycotting all cupless races for years.

What a stupid idea.

The whole reason why I pay for a race is, having timing, a race course and aid stations.

Yes, this exactly. Aid stations are a huge part of the attraction of doing a race.

At least the weather forecast predicts showers during the race. The rain would provide much needed cooling, so fluid needs would not be as high as if it was not raining.

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Baltimore+MD?canonicalCityId=97ee60ad2fa1394922f97788b2d2dfe435f20295a5d38940a32e042a73f2d8c6

Let's hope the this time the rain actually comes. 63°F-73°F with 80% humidity with no precipitation is yucky marathon running weather. The high humidity would increase fluid needs, so expect the need for more frequent water stops and potentially long lines(depending on the number of fluid refill stations.

I’m only running the half, going to roll the dice and not rehydrate until after the race. Screw stopping during a race!