Press Release - London Marathon - 6/25/21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

           London Marathon Events launches exclusive bottle belts 
                           to reduce touchpoints

London Marathon Events (LME) is encouraging all participants to run this 
year's Virgin Money London Marathon using one of its new exclusive bottle
belts to reduce the number of touchpoints for participants during the 
event.

The 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon will take place on Sunday 3 October 
and the introduction of bottle belts is one of a number of measures being 
planned to ensure the event is Covid-19 secure. Full details will be 
announced by the end of August. 

The bottle belts, which are made from more than 90 per cent recycled 
plastic by Manhattan Portage, were designed by LME and a trial at the 2019 
Virgin Money London Marathon showed that use of the bottle belts led to a 
45 per cent reduction in the number of bottles used by each participant, as 
the belts enabled participants to keep their bottles with them, rather than 
discarding them after a few mouthfuls of water.  

Use of the bottle belts on 3 October this year means that there will be a 
significant reduction in the number of times a participant needs to stop at 
a busy drinks station on the route. 

The belts are specially designed to carry both the Buxton Natural Mineral 
Water 250ml bottles provided at the Virgin Money London Marathon and 500ml 
bottles of Lucozade Sport, ideal for longer training runs and the virtual 
Virgin Money London Marathon.  

The bottle belts are available to purchase here with the option to buy a 
set that includes a pouch to carry a large mobile phone and other items 
such as a gel or keys. Prices range from £11.99, for a belt and single 
bottle holder, to £24.99 for the belt with two bottle holders and a pouch.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director at London Marathon Events, said: "The use of 
bottle belts means a potential huge reduction in touchpoints for runners, 
which is part of our planning to create a Covid-19 secure event, so we 
encourage every runner at this year's Virgin Money London Marathon to wear 
a bottle belt. It's also a very practical and useful training aid for all 
runners.  

"Our trial showed that wearing a bottle belt led to a 45 per cent reduction 
the numbers of bottles of water required by a participant and that will 
significantly reduce gathering around water stations and touchpoints on 3 
October.  

"In addition, use of the belts means we can ensure runners have the 
hydration they need to finish one of their greatest challenges while also 
reducing waste." 

Buxton Natural Mineral Water and Lucozade Sport bottles are made from 100 
per cent recycled plastic and are fully recyclable. The LME team will again 
create dedicated drop zones for used bottles to be collected during the 
event and returned to be recycled, in a bottle-to-bottle closed loop 
system. 

The bottle belts are also part of LME's long-term commitment to reduce its 
impact on the environment, set out in its annual report, Leaving the Right
Impression, and include: 

- Joining the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework 
- Switching to 100 per cent renewable energy  
- Joining other mass participation sports organisations to share knowledge, 
experience and set cross-industry standards 
- A carbon levy that was charged for international ballot participants in 
the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon 
- Donating more than 8,000 items of clothing to charitable causes 
- Electric lead vehicles at the Virgin Money London Marathon 
- Planting more than 1,000 trees to balance its carbon emissions

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