Running News Daily

HydraPak will bring its premium reusable hydration to Support Cupless Racing at Big Sur Marathon

With over a decade of uninterrupted designation as a zero-waste event organization, the Big Sur Marathon Foundation (BSMF) is excited to announce a partnership with HydraPak as their official reusable hydration gear partner. HydraPak will bring its premium reusable hydration product line and sustainability mission to participants and visitors of the 35th Annual Big Sur International Marathon this April. 

Crafted in Northern California, HydraPak designs and produces flexible performance hydration systems aimed at reducing single-use waste and supporting athletes and adventure-seekers in the pursuit of personal goals.

BSMF prioritizes the development of ecologically and environmentally-sustainable practices and is always looking for new ways to conserve resources. The marathon’s budding partnership with HydraPak is the first step in the organization’s quest to eliminate all single-use cups on course at BSMF events. 

Participants in the 2020 Big Sur Marathon and related race weekend events will be invited to opt-in to a cupless experience during their race. The Big Sur Marathon Foundation and HydraPak are aiming for a 33% opt-in rate for participants across all race weekend events, eliminating tens of thousands of single-use cups on course.

The first 4,000 participants to take the cupless pledge will receive a complimentary Big Sur Marathon branded SpeedCup™, courtesy of HydraPak. It is hoped these participants will use this cup during their race, and after crossing the finish line in the recovery zone and finish village. With 11 aid stations on course, each marathon participant who takes the cupless pledge will potentially reduce their individual disposable footprint by 22-33 cups. Custom branded hydration offerings will also be available for sale online and at the Health & Fitness Expo, held the two days before the marathon.

Starting this year, the Big Sur 12K, the only distance to run through the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, will be a cupless race.  All participants will receive a HydraPak SpeedCup™ to use at the refill-only fluid station inside the park, saving over 1,500 disposable cups from being distributed on course and avoiding any cup waste in the sensitive area.

"Finding ways to reduce our footprint is always top of mind," said Doug Thurston, race director and executive director of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation. "We’ve made several important shifts to more sustainable practices and the decision to bring HydraPak on board to help us reduce single-use cups on course is a natural progression. We are very pleased to partner with HydraPak on this program.”

HydraPak’s collapsible and reusable SpeedCup was designed specifically for runners, and offers an alternative to single-use cups at race events. Made of ultra-light TPU, a 100% BPA and PVC-free material, the SpeedCup’s flexible design allows runners to collapse the cup and stuff it in their pocket or use the integrated finger loop, making for easy transport from start to finish.

“We’re eager to add value to the sustainability efforts of the BSMF by adopting the use of reusable hydration solutions with their road race events,” said Morgan Makowski, Director of Marketing at HydraPak. “Not only are we reducing waste with reusable cups, but we’re helping educate runners and other event hosts about different environmental impacts.”

The Big Sur International Marathon will celebrate its 35th presentation on April 26th, 2020, with 15,000 total entrants expected in seven different races. The full marathon and all other Sunday race distances are sold out with limited spots still available in the innovative Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge and Saturday’s 3K event in Pacific Grove.