Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 108, July 2018 | Page 4

F
or the last few years,
Modern Athlete has
been at the forefront of
the anti-litter campaign in road
running, using our #runclean
campaign to try educate
runners about the need to
stop dropping plastic sachets
and other litter on the road
during races. Happily, we have
managed to convince many
runners to stop littering, and
#runclean has become a widely
used term in the sport. Sadly,
there are still runners who litter,
and I just have to share this
conversation I had at a recent
race expo with yet another
Litterbug (LB) who seemed
determined to try justify his
ongoing littering…
LB: Surely there are bigger
problems in the world, and in
our sport, than litter!
ME: Well, I happen to believe
that the environment is more
important, given that it provides
our oxygen, water, food, etc.
Many of those sachets end up
staying in the environment for
thousands of years because
the clean-up crews can’t get
them all. And all runners have
to do is use the provided rubbish drums or boxes.
LB: But then race organisers should put out more bins, and position them further past the water
tables. There’s never a bin when you need one.
ME: You could just carry your empty sachets till you reach another bin. Stick them in a pocket or
your waistband, or just carry them in your hand for the next kay or two.
LB: No, that would weigh me down and affect my time! And besides, having extra weight in one
hand or in a pocket could affect my biomechanics and lead to injury.
ME: My friend, an empty sachet weighs practically nothing. It won’t weigh you down. And to
be perfectly frank, if an empty sachet affects your biomechanics that much, I reckon you’d best
consider retiring from running right now!
LB: Well, I paid to be there to race, and every second counts. I would lose too much time veering
to the side of the road to use a dustbin at each water table.
ME: You don’t get the sachets in the middle of the road, which means you’re prepared to veer to
the side to get the sachets, so what’s the difference?
LB: But veering to the side again to go to a dustbin would mean losing time twice.
ME: OK, then veer to the side to get a sachet, stay there while drinking, use the dustbin, then
veer back to the middle. One veer, no extra time lost, and no litter!
LB: Well, I’m creating work for people by leaving my sachets on the road.
ME: Actually, most sachets are picked up by the water table volunteers, who are often from a
sponsoring company or