London Marathon 2023
Delivering Pee-Equality at One of the World’s Biggest Sporting Events.
THE FULL STORY
THE STORY SNAPSHOT
- Event: London Marathon
- Location & year: London, 2023
- Audience size / footfall: 49,000
PEEQUAL units installed:
- 30
Key outcomes:
- Fast, accessible toileting for women at a mass participation sporting event
- Successful first deployment of PEEQUAL’s new sustainable design
- Improved build speed and ease compared to earlier installations
- Clear appetite for wider rollout across the event
THE PROBLEM:
At a global running event like the London Marathon, access to toilets must be fast, reliable, and stress-free. Participants are operating to tight schedules, managing physical exertion, and often have limited windows to stop without disrupting their race experience.
For women and AFAB runners, conventional temporary toilets frequently create bottlenecks, resulting in delays, discomfort, and unnecessary anxiety at a critical point in the day. These challenges are amplified at scale, where thousands of participants require access within short timeframes.
Alongside this, the London Marathon places strong emphasis on environmental responsibility, increasing the need for infrastructure solutions that reduce material impact while remaining operationally efficient.
WHY PEEQUAL?
London Marathon 2023 marked a significant milestone for PEEQUAL, introducing the system to a new setting and audience.
Mass participation sporting events create a unique toileting challenge. Sports medicine research shows that pre-competition anxiety activates the body’s stress response, increases urinary urgency and frequency, often referred to as “nervous bladder”. At a marathon line, where thousands of participants are managing hydration, timing and performance pressure, this natural response significantly increases pressure on facilities in a short window.
Conventional cubicle-only provisions result in preventable wait times for women and AFAB participants, particularly in time-critical environments like a marathon.
PEEQUAL was selected because it:
- Provides high-throughput access designed specifically for women and AFAB people
- Supports fast flow in time-sensitive environments
- Offers a waterless, chemical-free alternative aligned with sustainability goals
- Introduced a new generation of units built using innovative, lower-impact materials
This event also represented PEEQUAL’s first deployment at a running event, demonstrating the flexibility of the system beyond festival environments.
THE SOLUTION
PEEQUAL installed 30 women’s urinal units at the London Marathon 2023, using a newly developed design for the first time.
The updated units featured:
- Panels made from a mix of recycled ocean plastics, recycled PET and sugarcane-based biopolymer, supported by a durable metal frame
- A lighter, modular construction that reduced build time
- Improved structural design, offering users a more private and secure experience
Compared to earlier installations, the updated units were quicker to assemble and easier to integrate into the marathon’s complex operational environment.
The success of the 2023 deployment led to significant year-on-year growth. Provision increased from 32 units across 2 locations in 2023, to 96 units across 6 locations in 2025, representing a 200% increase in units since the first rollout.
THE IMPACT & RESULTS
Operational performance
- Faster build and setup compared to previous PEEQUAL deployments
- Smooth integration into a large-scale, time-critical sporting event
- Demonstrated suitability of PEEQUAL for endurance and participation sports
Participant response
The response from women taking part in the marathon was clear and vocal, with many actively calling for expanded provision:
The feedback reinforced both the immediate value of the solution and its potential for broader deployment across future sporting events.
Regarding your PEEQUAL units, they were a big success. A lot of women felt the need to shout out you guys specifically and wanted them across the event as a whole, which is a great result for both of us.
Tom McGlynn, A London Marathon Organiser
DELIVERING A MAJOR SPORTING OR MASS PARTICIPATION EVENT?
Speak to us about how PEEQUAL can provide fast, inclusive and sustainable toileting infrastructure designed for performance environments.
