【 Road to Shonan International Marathon 2022] VOL.1 The world's first "My Bottle Marathon" will finally be held!

After two cancellations, the event was finally held!

The Shonan International Marathon runs along the beautiful Shonan seaside. The marathon has become one of the most popular marathons among citizen runners in Japan because of its spectacular views and flat course, which makes it easy to set records. The 17th edition of the marathon will be held on December 4, 2022.

With the Corona disaster causing major events to be cancelled across the board, the Shonan International Marathon was no exception: the 15th marathon in February 2021 and the 16th marathon in February 2022 were cancelled in rapid succession. This year's marathon will be the first in three years, since the 14th marathon in December 2019.

Thoroughly environmentally friendly tournament management.

As has been announced for some time, this year's tournament will feature an unprecedented and groundbreaking initiative. The new rule is that participants must carry their own bottles.

Runners will start the race carrying their own water bottles (400㎖ or more) filled to the brim, and will be able to fill their own water bottles at more than 500 water supply points and 5,000 faucets provided on the course. Paper cups, which have been the norm for marathons in the past, will not be provided.

20L stainless steel jugs provided at water supply points for sports and fun drinks

12 L returnable bottles provided at water supply points

2-ton water tanks delivering drinking water throughout the course

In the previous Shonan International Marathon, 31,500 plastic bottles of water and sports drinks and 500,000 disposable cups were prepared. In addition to the total elimination of these items, cardboard boxes for packing and garbage bags have also been drastically reduced at the current marathon. The CO2 emissions reduction effect from the introduction of the new water supply system will amount to approximately 6 tons, which is equivalent to reducing the resources used for approximately 170,000 500㎖ plastic bottles.

In addition to reducing waste by requiring participants to carry their own bottles, this year's event will also feature environmentally friendly operations, such as the use of recycled materials for participation award T-shirts and staff wear, recycling of luggage bags after use, and a drastic reduction in the number of pages in the event program, which will also be digitized.

What is the aim of the "My Bottle Must Have" campaign?

Ms. Makiko Nakamura of GOLDWIN/The North Face, the special sponsor of this year's marathon, explains how and why the new "must carry your own bottle" rule was introduced, and her thoughts on the Shonan International Marathon, which was cancelled twice before finally being held.

I think there are some aspects of environmental issues that are difficult for people to grasp as their own business. There is a vague feeling that we need to take action for the future, but it is difficult to take a concrete step forward. That is why I would like to make running, a very simple activity, an opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues. I hope that choosing to participate in the Shonan International Marathon from among the many races available will be recognized as one such action.

HOUYHNHNM RUNNING CLUB♡ will also run in this competition!

The "My Bottle Marathon" is an unprecedented event and the first of its kind in the world. What kind of event will it be? Will "must carry my own bottle" become the new normal for marathons in the future? Or, rather, how do people carry their own bottles while running?

Members of HOUYHNHNM RUNNING CLUB♡, led by HOUYHNHNM's deputy editor, Hiroshi Yamamoto, and writer Issey Enomoto, are also scheduled to run in this year's Shonan International Marathon. Originally, preparations were made for the 15th event in February 2021, and the process was reported in HOUYHNHNM's, but unfortunately the event was cancelled. For the 17th event, we will use that frustration as a springboard to take on the challenge of the "My Bottle Marathon," the first attempt of its kind in the world.

And in this "Road to Shonan International Marathon 2022," we will report several times on everything from gear selection to comply with the new "must carry my own bottle" rule to race-day conditions. Please look forward to it!

Text_Issey Enomoto