"Tossing Trash While Running a Marathon"... Is This Standard Practice? A Look at Rules in Paris and Japan

Trash Strewn Across Roads After Marathon; Residents Pitch In to Clean Up
Unavoidable for Fast Times? Paris and Japan Even Impose Disqualification

"At any marathon in the world, don't runners normally throw the cups they get at water stations onto the ground while running?"

Water bottles discarded at the marathon. Getty Images

After the 2026 JTBC Seoul Marathon, held in Seoul on November 1, paper cups and other trash piled up along roads in several areas, sparking an online debate over what is being called "marathon trash." Some runners argue that they have no choice but to discard cups from water stations immediately in order to maintain their times. However, major overseas races are taking steps to manage the problem, such as eliminating disposable cups or imposing disqualification rules for littering outside designated areas.

No time to find a trash can vs. runners should clean up after themselves

A total of 35,000 people took part in the race, including about 30,000 runners and about 5,000 staff members. After the event, social media posts showed paper cups, snack wrappers, beverage containers, plastic bags, and other trash strewn across roads near Jamsil Station and Jongno 5-ga Station.

One resident described the situation on social media, saying that even apartment security guards and residents near Jamsil had come out to clean up the trash. This prompted criticism from online users, including comments such as, "The runners are the ones running, so why should residents have to clean up the trash?" and "Shouldn't the organizers be responsible for cleaning up the surrounding area after the event?"

A street scene after the JTBC Marathon held on the 1st. Screenshot from social media.

Others among the running community argue that the nature of large-scale marathons should be taken into account. Because participants running along the course crowd around water stations, they say, trying to throw a cup into a trash can could slow them down or cause them to collide with other runners. One runner said, "I wish the areas for disposing of trash and getting water had been a little wider." Another participant explained that since setting a personal record takes priority, "you end up throwing it on the ground, thinking someone will clean it up."

It is understood that major domestic races, including the Chuncheon Marathon, Dong-A Marathon, and JTBC Seoul Marathon, do not have rules imposing a separate penalty simply for dropping a cup on the ground at a water station. For this reason, some runners argue that throwing water cups on the ground is standard practice at marathons.

Paris disqualifies runners for littering outside designated areas; in Japan, runners start with water bottles

Participants in the April 2026 Paris Marathon hydrate using personal water bottles and flasks. The Paris Marathon eliminated disposable cups and introduced a hydration system centered on personal containers. Hydra Pak

But the situation is different overseas. Starting this year, the Paris Marathon in France, one of the world's major marathons, is no longer providing disposable cups or water bottles to general participants along the course. Instead, it has introduced a system in which participants bring their own reusable cups, flasks, hydration packs, or other personal containers and fill them with water at stations.

Dedicated water bottles are provided as an exception for participants aiming for fast times. However, the organizers specify that used bottles must be discarded in designated collection areas about 150 meters from the water stations, and that failure to comply may result in disqualification.

Japan's Shonan International Marathon runs what is known as a "My Cup, My Bottle Marathon," eliminating disposable cups and plastic bottles along the course. Full-marathon participants must start with a personal water bottle containing at least 200 mL of water, and bringing a personal cup is also encouraged.

To reduce inconvenience for participants, the organizers have set up 200 water stations along the course at intervals of about 200 meters. Runners can fill their own cups or bottles with water or sports drinks while running. The organizers say that by introducing this system, they eliminated the 31,500 plastic bottles and approximately 500,000 paper and plastic cups used at previous races.

Seoul is also tightening marathon oversight; littering should not be accepted as standard practice

A sanitation worker cleaning up trash strewn across the road after the event (left), and a water station set up at the marathon venue (right). Screenshots from social media.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government also considers waste generated at marathons a matter requiring management. Earlier this year, it established "marathon guidelines" and reduced the number of races it sponsors from 15 last year to 7 this year. It also tightened management standards, including moving start times to before 7:30 a.m. and setting caps on the number of participants at each location.

However, marathons do not require local government permits, and the police have authority over road closures, limiting the Seoul Metropolitan Government's ability to manage races on its own. So even if it is difficult to completely prevent marathons from generating waste, whether this should simply be accepted as an "unavoidable practice of throwing things away while running" is a separate issue.

There are also growing calls to improve the placement of water stations, collection areas, and post-race cleanup systems, while creating conditions that allow runners to focus on their times and ensuring that the burden of handling waste after races does not fall on residents and sanitation workers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.