Suzhou Marathon Portable Toilets

In the 2025 Suzhou Marathon, the configuration of portable toilets was theoretically sufficient but performed poorly in actual use, as analyzed below:

Configuration Quantity and Distribution

The organizing committee set up a total of 128 portable toilets, with an average of one toilet every 2.5 kilometers. From the perspective of quantity and distribution density, this configuration theoretically meets the needs of 25,000 runners. A reasonable distribution interval ensures that runners can find a toilet relatively quickly when needed, avoiding inconvenience caused by excessive distance.

Actual Usage Issues

• Long Queues for Toilets: Despite the seemingly reasonable configuration quantity and distribution, long queues for toilets emerged in some areas during actual use. This may be due to runners arriving at certain sections of the course in large numbers during the race, resulting in excessive pressure on toilet usage in these areas. For example, near the starting point, finishing line, and some aid stations, where the number of runners is relatively concentrated, the demand for toilets is more urgent, and queues are likely to form.
• Insufficient Cleaning Frequency: Some runners reported that the cleaning frequency of the toilets was insufficient, which affects their usage experience and hygiene conditions. In large-scale events like marathons, with a large number of runners, the usage frequency of toilets is very high. If they are not cleaned in a timely manner, not only will unpleasant odors be produced, but bacteria may also breed, posing potential threats to the health of runners.

Reasons for Uncivilized Behavior

During the event, photos showed that several runners urinated in front of the signboard of Suzhou Experimental High School in Jiangsu Province, while the portable toilets were only 20 to 50 meters away from the incident site. The emergence of this phenomenon may be due to two reasons. On the one hand, some runners may lack civil awareness and have not developed good public hygiene habits. On the other hand, it may be because there were long queues in front of the toilets, and runners chose an uncivilized way to solve their physiological needs in order to save time or avoid missing the race.

To improve such situations, the organizing committee can optimize the toilet layout in subsequent events and make dynamic adjustments according to runner traffic; increase the number of cleaning staff and the cleaning frequency to ensure toilet hygiene; and strengthen publicity and guidance to raise runners' civil awareness.