Trail left by runners

M. Vella

Mar 3rd 2010, 09:34

F Theuma & Laurence Schembri

Well said, prosit, couldn't agree more!

It is so easy for people to be armchair critics but when it comes down to pulling our sleeves and getting things done, these people settle or rather cower into their armchair and do nothing!

laurence schembri

Mar 2nd 2010, 17:30

Giovanni, nice to see your name again in print, missed you, honestly.
The Marathon Run is a yearly event, so it is not that bad and they do clean-up afterwards.
What gets me is, that every bit of green on our roads is littered with plastic bottles and cigarette packets, don`t this bother you, we just an uncaring nation, it`s a pity, but truth has to be told.

ftheuma

Mar 2nd 2010, 17:22

Plastic bottles on the side of the rode are part and parcel of any marathon event the world over. Of course it would be hard to understand this if you are just an armchair critic and not a runner. The organizers do more than a great job in clearing up promptly afterwards. Quit the pointless whinging, put on some running shoes and go out for a jogg instead.

M. Vella

Mar 2nd 2010, 15:08

@ J. Martinelli

What useless instructions? The instructions were clear

"Do not throw used bottles and sponges over boundary walls and into fields, throw them at the side of the road so they can be picked up after the race and disposed of appropriately."

Which part of that did you not understand?

Franco Farrugia

Mar 2nd 2010, 14:43

@ Giov. Demartino: Perhaps you should have joined the strategy of the marathon in question and perhaps offered your services to voluntarily pick up those battles behind the gracious and generous athletes who took part. I think these participants deserve the compliments of the whole nation.

J Martinelli

Mar 2nd 2010, 13:46

Irrespective of whether GiovDeMartino is/was a runner or not, the organizing committee seems to contradict your preceding sentence where you pointed out that it is "not possible for a runner, who is running against time, to keep on running with a bottle...."

Is the organizing committee in the habit of issuing useless instructions?

H Gatt

Mar 2nd 2010, 10:35

Let's not exaggerate things Mr. Demartino! I ran the half marathon and easily estimate that around 600/700 ran or walked in the same route I took and nowhere did I see hundreds of empty plastic bottles! Yes, of course there were a few lying around, but they were picked up by the helpers in due time. After all, as M. Vella correctly wrote, our instructions were the following:
"Do not throw used bottles and sponges over boundary walls and into fields, throw them at the side of the road so they can be picked up after the race and disposed of appropriately."

M. Vella

Mar 2nd 2010, 09:23

Obviously Mr. DeMartino is not a runner and has never taken part in such events as otherwise he would not have written this letter.

It is not possible for a runner, who is running against time, to keep on running with a bottle in their hand. However, the instructions to all runners by the organising committee was to discard bottles to the side of the road, as much as it was possible, so that they would be cleared up after the race.

In fact, as a runner myself, I saw helpers picking up bottles and sponges in the Attard area as I was passing by. Keep in mind that over 1,400 runners took part in an event that spanned a whole morning.

So before complaining about something like that check your facts....or else you could have stopped and gave the helpers a helping hand am sure it would have been more appreciated than you bland comments.