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  Straits Times Forum Online 9 Dec 05
Large amounts of water wasted at marathon
 Letter from Felix Ang Kok Hou

I was a participant in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last Sunday. The event was generally well organised and the volunteers were exemplary. My only concern was the amount of water wasted that day.

After the first 4km, there were drinking stations located every 2km apart, where 500ml bottles of Ice Mountain drinking water were available. Hardly any runner could finish a full bottle at one go as it was difficult to run on a bloated stomach.

Many runners picked up a full bottle, took a couple of sips of water and threw away the rest. This caused the areas around the drinking stations to be wet and slippery, posing a danger to runners.

Assuming 5,000 out of the estimated 18,000 participants ran the full marathon of 42km, and if a runner picks up a 500ml bottle of water every 4km, he would have taken 10 bottles for the entire race.

If he drinks half a bottle each time, the total wastage would be 2.5 litres per runner. That translates into a total wastage of 12,500 litres of water just for those running the full marathon.

Add the wastage for participants of the half-marathon and the 10km run and the numbers would be mind-boggling.

The organisers should explore using smaller bottles or paper cups next year. They may also consider placing large bins around the drinking stations so the bottles can be disposed of properly.

Felix Ang Kok Hou
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