Today I ran a half marathon--something I haven't done in about four years. It was rainy, hilly and tough but that's not what I want to complain about here. Instead, I want to climb up on my soapbox about litter bug runners.Why is it acceptable for people running in races (everything from 1-mile-family-fun-runs to marathons) to throw their water/Gatorade cups on the ground?
I'll admit, back when I first started doing races, I threw my cups on the ground. Why? Because everyone else was doing it. I figured it must be okay. And if they're going to pick up all those cups anyway, what's one more?
But I always felt weird about it. I mean, throwing cups on the ground is littering. And I don't litter any other time in my life. Plus, all those cups on the ground make it dangerous for the runners. Surely, there have been casualties that could have been avoided if people could just toss their cups in the available trash cans. And since when is "everyone else is doing it" an acceptable reason to do something?
I bet if I asked the runners around me today why they couldn't put their cups in the trash can I would hear lots of, "It would slow me down!!" I'd have to say, "Dude, you're running at the same pace as I am. You ain't gonna win. You ain't even gonna place in your age group." It's so absurd to see these people grab the water, chug it down really fast and then throw it on the ground like they're competing in the Olympics.
I mean, I can understand if someone like my sister-in-law Julie (who actually does win marathons) needs to throw her cup on the ground. The girl is sprinting through the race so slowing down to throw away a cup could kill her time.
But not the rest of us. In fact, some experts (like Jeff Galloway) recommend walking the water stops in order to achieve a faster time. Now this sounds like a good plan. Walk the water stops and while you're there, throw your cup in the trash can. You might even finish faster.
Oh, and just in case you care: you'll save all the volunteers hours of work cleaning up your mess. Come on, you're not a rock star. And even if you are (like P. Diddy who once ran the NYC marathon), you should still throw away your cup.
I'm proud to say I threw away every cup I used today. I even held on to one for two miles when I couldn't find a trash can.
Here I am, finishing the race...and thinking about how I can't wait to get home and start ranting on my blog!
3 comments:
Congratulations on your time after a long absence from this type of event! Perhaps the "misguided" people who threw their cups on the ground thought they were helping the economy by creating work for those who have to clean up the mess.
I totally agree! Luckily, in Vegas, they had people holding bags after the cup people so there was NO reason to toss it on the ground.
But people still did. Lazy.
If I were organizing a race I would would have tons of trash cans, and make it a point in the race rules to remind people to throw the cups away. Of course, like Jessi says, people will still be lazy!
People like Julie should have their own little entourage to pick up her cups! :-)
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