Kristina Smithe's company, Hiccup Earth, has taken the cups to 137 races and spared more than 902,000 disposable ones from hitting a landfill.

This runner was bothered by blizzard of disposable cups at races. She invented something better The reusable cups is just one of many ways that innovators are looking to cut down on waste.

WASHINGTON — Kristina Smithe was running the California International Marathon in 2019, grabbing cups of water to stay hydrated, when she started to think about how much waste such events ...

On Kristina Smithe's flight home from the California International Marathon, she did the math: 9,000 runners, 17 aid stations and something like 150,000 cups used once and thrown away.

Kristina Smithe was running the California International Marathon in 2019, grabbing cups of water to stay hydrated, when she started to think about how much waste such events produce. On the ...

Runners pass a table with reusable silicone cups from Hiccup during the PNC Women Run the Cities race on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Author: ALEXA ST. JOHN (Associated Press) ...

Water is available to runners in Hiccup, reusable silicone cups, during the PNC Women Run the Cities race on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt) ...

Water is available to runners in Hiccup, reusable silicone cups, during the PNC Women Run the Cities race on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt) ...