Student marathon shopping list
A student marathon needs more than drinks and race numbers. You’ll need supplies for registration, route marking, volunteers, timing, first aid and a workable finish area. Plan food and drinks for runners, volunteers and staff separately, because the people working the course may be away from the catering table for several hours. Use the list below to check what must be bought, hired or brought along before race day.
What to bring
Grouped the way you'd shop for it, with quantities.
Furniture
- Party tentsqty 4
- Tablesqty 12
- Chairsqty 30
- High tablesqty 6
- Coat racksqty 3
Sports equipment
- Bib numbersqty 180
- Safety pinsqty 400
- Finish medalsqty 180
- Directional signsqty 45
- Kilometer markersqty 22
- Crowd control barriersqty 20
- Traffic conesqty 40
- Ribbonsqty 6
- Finish arch
- Start Line
- Clipboardsqty 12
- Stopwatchesqty 8
- Conesqty 30
- Sports bagsqty 20
- Thermal blanketsqty 30
Equipment
- PA system
- Wireless microphonesqty 2
- Speakersqty 2
- Extension cordsqty 6
- Power stripsqty 6
- Power banksqty 8
- Timekeeping devicesqty 3
- Walkie-talkiesqty 12
Lighting
- Work lightsqty 8
- String lightsqty 4
Tableware
- Reusable cupsqty 250
- Reusable platesqty 220
- Cutlery setsqty 220
- Coffee cupsqty 120
- Water jugsqty 24
Kitchen
- Coffee machinesqty 3
- Kettlesqty 3
- Coolersqty 8
- Cutting boardsqty 4
- Knivesqty 6
- Serving spoonsqty 8
- Thermos flasksqty 8
- Jerry cansqty 12
- Measuring cupsqty 4
Cleaning
- Waste binsqty 12
- Hand broomsqty 4
- Dustpan and brushqty 4
- Mopsqty 4
- Bucketsqty 6
- Cleaning glovesqty 12
- Sanitizer pumpsqty 8
- Toilet paper holdersqty 4
Catering
- Groceries
- Spa Blauw - 240 bottles
- Spa Red - 60 bottles
- Sports drink - 120 bottles
- Cola - 24 bottles
- Coke Zero - 24 bottles
- Orange soda - 12 bottles
- Apple juice - 12 cartons
- Coffee - 8 packs
- Decaffeinated coffee - 2 packs
- Tea - 4 boxes
- Herbal tea - 2 boxes
- Sugar - 2 kilograms
- Milk - 12 liters
- Oat milk - 6 liters
- Lemons - 3 kilogram
- Bananas - 15 kilograms
- Apples - 12 kilograms
- Oranges - 10 kilograms
- Grapes - 8 kilograms
- Dates - 5 kilograms
- Raisin buns - 180 pieces
- Whole wheat bread - 12 loaves
- White rolls - 180 pieces
- Whole wheat bread rolls - 120 pieces
- Young cheese - 5 kilogram
- Hummus - 3 kilograms
- Peanut butter - 3 jars
- Jam - 3 jars
- Butter - 2 kilograms
- Boiled eggs - 120 pieces
- Vegetarian wraps - 80 pieces
- Chicken breast slices - 3 kilograms
- Paprika chips - 12 bags
- Plain chips - 12 bags
- Pretzels - 8 bags
- Muesli bars - 240 pieces
- Energy bars - 180 pieces
- Gels - 180 pieces
- Raisins - 4 kilograms
- Salt - 1 kilogram
- Pepper - 250 gram
- Ketchup - 3 bottles
- Mayonnaise - 3 bottles
- Mustard - 2 bottles
- Paper napkins - 1000 pieces
- Paper towels - 12 rolls
- Toilet paper - 48 rolls
- Trash bags - 150 pieces
- Dishwasher tablets - 40 pieces
- Dish soap - 4 bottles
- All-purpose cleaner - 4 bottles
- Disinfectant wipes - 12 packs
- Hand soap - 8 bottles
- Paper towels - 12 packs
Tips
- Prepare one race pack per participant: a bib number, at least four safety pins and any participant information you need to hand out. Buy a small surplus so last-minute registrations or damaged bibs do not stop check-in.
- For each water station, provide clearly labelled drinks, cups and waste bags, then add one separate supply for volunteers. Keep spare drinks chilled before the event and move them to the stations early enough for setup.
- Allow at least one clipboard, pen and working stopwatch for every registration, timing or course team that needs to record information. Bring power banks as backup if timing devices, phones or radios will be used for several hours.
- Mark the route with directional signs, kilometre markers, cones and barriers before participants arrive. Pack the signs in route order and load them together, so volunteers are not searching through unrelated equipment at each point.
- Set aside a finish-area kit containing medals, thermal blankets, tables, chairs and a working PA system. Check extension cords, power strips, microphones and speakers before race morning; missing cables are harder to replace once the route is staffed.
Frequently asked questions
- How many safety pins do I need for a student marathon?
- Plan on 4 safety pins per runner, plus at least 10% extra for lost or bent pins. For 100 runners, that means buying or packing at least 440 pins.
- How much water should I buy for a student marathon?
- Use 500–750 ml per runner as a starting point for the full event, then add water for volunteers and staff. For 100 runners, that is 50–75 litres before adding a separate volunteer reserve.
- How many finish medals should I order?
- Order one medal for every registered finisher you expect, plus 5–10% spare. Close the participant list before placing the final order so the quantity is based on confirmed registrations rather than guesses.
- When should I prepare the marathon route signs and equipment?
- Pack and check signs, kilometre markers, cones, radios and timing equipment at least 1 day before the race. Load them in route order, and complete the final route check several hours before the first start.
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