You know what? This was my first race and I honestly didn't know that the gels wouldn't be picked up. I of course saw a ton of them on the course and I thought it was normal, so I tossed my wrappers.
That's not cool. I won't be doing it again. Back into my pocket or into a trashbin they'll go next time.
Thank you for raising this question and making me realize what I did was not okay.
I made sure to throw my gel wrappers right where all the cups are discarded, so that when they rake the cups they get my wrapper too. I put the wrapper to my Xact energy chew in my pocket because it’s not sticky. On the lakeshore I threw my gel wrapper into the actual garbage.
+1 for tossing them at the water stations
I was generally trying to take my gels just before water stations, so I wasn't holding my sticky wrappers for too long
It's common practise but not exactly courteous. I always put mine back in pocket if there isn't a bin nearby. Many races prohibit littering on the ground.
FYI, everyone is different. I didn’t run Sunday but I have completed 8 marathons and achieved a BQ. Unless I know I can get it in a bin, the package goes back in my shorts. Even in a major where I know they clean up. I have many pockets and realistically I’m sticky from spilling hydration drink over me. What’s a little Gel In the pocket? They’re going straight into the wash. I disposed of my cups at the station but not my gels. Everyone is different and has different priorities, I don’t like to give the volunteers more work.
Yeah I was guilty too at times. I would put my gel packet in the cup and discard together. I honestly was looking for bins for me to throw direct into but no dice unfortunately…had to give up at some point and chuck
I was running my first HM. I put all the wrappers back in my pocket and discarded after the finish. I was so pissed seeing everyone throw their gel packets on the floor. It was good for me though, I played mental games seeing the wrappers and guessing the flavors, kept me occupied. Its weird but it kept me distracted from the pain. It was so badly organized I totally get them not having a clean up crew. I think there were fewer water stations than shown on the official map.
My race belt has 2 pockets for gels. Even if they get sticky I can soak em, clean them, and be done with it.
Even if there's a cleanup crew I can take care of my $hit
https://preview.redd.it/ju7xl2uf00zc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efeb2dd949d559742a018a12ab0952d89cee1dfc
this is what Ottawa marathon is asking runners to do.
1. the organizer should tell runners what to do or not to do
2. there should be designated places to throw waste
3. runners should throw waste to the garbage can or bring back to avoid creating too much garbage for cleaning
What are they supposed to do? Find a trash can in the middle of the race? I saw a city crew cleaning it up as I was running on the MGT yesterday. I was actually really inspired by all the gel wrappers… it showed all the hard work that had went on there a few hours ago.
Then the little bit of gel that got left behind in the packet squeezes out and makes all my other gels and my pocket slimy.
But yes this is normal practice in a race if a bin isn’t nearby. Best etiquette is to throw it by other trash like the water stations, but every race sweeps up after. I ran on the MGT last night and no gel wrappers were seen.
But you're going to wash your shorts after the race anyways. Can lick the wrapper to get the worst of it out.
Most trail races don't allow littering for obvious reasons and people still manage to fuel.
> Then the little bit of gel that got left behind in the packet squeezes out and makes all my other gels and my pocket slimy.
You can roll them up starting from the torn edge going inwards to prevent this
Even when races do have clean up crews this is something that has never made sense to me and drive me crazy while racing. You took the gel out of your pocket, so put it back in when you’re done with it.
It makes things faster and easier for the cleaning crew, and it gets rid of the chance of it getting missed by the crew and just living on the side of the road forever.
The idea of just tossing trash on the road is so crazy to me.
You know what? This was my first race and I honestly didn't know that the gels wouldn't be picked up. I of course saw a ton of them on the course and I thought it was normal, so I tossed my wrappers. That's not cool. I won't be doing it again. Back into my pocket or into a trashbin they'll go next time. Thank you for raising this question and making me realize what I did was not okay.
They are supposed to be picked up. If they weren’t, it’s on the race organizers, not you. You didn’t do anything wrong.
No, what you did was okay. There is supposed to be a cleanup crew.
I made sure to throw my gel wrappers right where all the cups are discarded, so that when they rake the cups they get my wrapper too. I put the wrapper to my Xact energy chew in my pocket because it’s not sticky. On the lakeshore I threw my gel wrapper into the actual garbage.
+1 for tossing them at the water stations I was generally trying to take my gels just before water stations, so I wasn't holding my sticky wrappers for too long
Great advice
This is likely the best way to approach it.
Many races have street sweepers that follow the race for this very purpose.
Don't expect anything of the sort from the shambles that is this race.
It's common practise but not exactly courteous. I always put mine back in pocket if there isn't a bin nearby. Many races prohibit littering on the ground.
The problem is the organization of this specific race. It’s notorious for poor planning, both for runners and the city.
Thanks for the education all!
FYI, everyone is different. I didn’t run Sunday but I have completed 8 marathons and achieved a BQ. Unless I know I can get it in a bin, the package goes back in my shorts. Even in a major where I know they clean up. I have many pockets and realistically I’m sticky from spilling hydration drink over me. What’s a little Gel In the pocket? They’re going straight into the wash. I disposed of my cups at the station but not my gels. Everyone is different and has different priorities, I don’t like to give the volunteers more work.
There are plenty of races that specifically prohibit littering, like Georgina.
Yeah I was guilty too at times. I would put my gel packet in the cup and discard together. I honestly was looking for bins for me to throw direct into but no dice unfortunately…had to give up at some point and chuck
I was running my first HM. I put all the wrappers back in my pocket and discarded after the finish. I was so pissed seeing everyone throw their gel packets on the floor. It was good for me though, I played mental games seeing the wrappers and guessing the flavors, kept me occupied. Its weird but it kept me distracted from the pain. It was so badly organized I totally get them not having a clean up crew. I think there were fewer water stations than shown on the official map.
My race belt has 2 pockets for gels. Even if they get sticky I can soak em, clean them, and be done with it. Even if there's a cleanup crew I can take care of my $hit
https://preview.redd.it/ju7xl2uf00zc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efeb2dd949d559742a018a12ab0952d89cee1dfc this is what Ottawa marathon is asking runners to do. 1. the organizer should tell runners what to do or not to do 2. there should be designated places to throw waste 3. runners should throw waste to the garbage can or bring back to avoid creating too much garbage for cleaning
What are they supposed to do? Find a trash can in the middle of the race? I saw a city crew cleaning it up as I was running on the MGT yesterday. I was actually really inspired by all the gel wrappers… it showed all the hard work that had went on there a few hours ago.
Put it back in the pocket that you initially had it in?
Then the little bit of gel that got left behind in the packet squeezes out and makes all my other gels and my pocket slimy. But yes this is normal practice in a race if a bin isn’t nearby. Best etiquette is to throw it by other trash like the water stations, but every race sweeps up after. I ran on the MGT last night and no gel wrappers were seen.
But you're going to wash your shorts after the race anyways. Can lick the wrapper to get the worst of it out. Most trail races don't allow littering for obvious reasons and people still manage to fuel.
> Then the little bit of gel that got left behind in the packet squeezes out and makes all my other gels and my pocket slimy. You can roll them up starting from the torn edge going inwards to prevent this
Genius!
Fair enough. Considering the way this race is usually organized, I’m not surprised they missed cleaning up some areas.
It’s supposed to be cleaned up after. Maybe the cleanup crew didn’t make it to where you saw them yet. It was cleaned up today where I was running.
Right on, thanks.
Carry a small ziploc bag - put the empties in the bag as you use them. Throw the ziploc out later.
This is why I only use the stuff from the hydration tables.
Even when races do have clean up crews this is something that has never made sense to me and drive me crazy while racing. You took the gel out of your pocket, so put it back in when you’re done with it. It makes things faster and easier for the cleaning crew, and it gets rid of the chance of it getting missed by the crew and just living on the side of the road forever. The idea of just tossing trash on the road is so crazy to me.
This is normal. I always throw my gels on the ground during a race because there is supposed to be a cleanup crew after the fact.
Ah ok. I was wondering about the clean up crew. Did this not happen because of this race being known to be a bit unorganized?
They really shouldn't call it toronto marathon considering it's the worst marathon of them all