Start-line, finish-line and trailside portable toilets for road races and trail events on the greenway and park routes.
Fastest: call (888) 351-0294. Or send this and we call you back.
Race restrooms are portable toilets placed at the start, the finish and at intervals along the course, where a route has no fixed plumbing. The count follows the field size and the expected finishing window. A local technician places the units on firm ground and services them until the last finisher is through.
A road race or trail race takes over a route for a few hours, and most of that route has no restroom at all. A marathon in Columbus can run through city streets, along the riverside paths and into the park system, while a 5K may start at a school or park lot and finish where it began. Runners arrive early, wait in a crowd for the start and leave in a rush at the finish, so the restrooms have to be where people are standing, not only where the course runs. The Columbus Marathon is one of the events on the city calendar, and the smaller trail and greenway races are planned on the same principle at a smaller scale.
The routes that carry many of these races include the Olentangy, Alum Creek and Blacklick Creek greenway trails and the Metro Parks, where a course can run a long way from any building. A technician walks the planned route with the organizer's map, marks the start and finish, and looks for the places where runners will stop, such as a trailhead, a bridge approach or a turnaround. Units placed at those points get used. Units set well off the route often do not. Trail surfaces, boardwalks and wet ground also limit where a service truck can go, so the truck route is checked as carefully as the placement.
Race restrooms run on a different clock from event restrooms. Demand peaks before the start, when the waves line up, and again at the finish, when slower runners come in over a long stretch of time. A technician asks for the start times and the wave layout, the cutoff time and the finish-area plan, then sets service runs for the gap between the last wave leaving and the first finishers coming in. The schedule is confirmed in writing with the organizer, and any change to the race day can be raised by phone at any hour.
The count depends on the field size, how the start waves are spaced and how long the finish area stays busy. No set count is given here, because the number is worked out with the organizer for each event.
Field size is the starting point, but the spacing of the waves matters as much. A field that starts in several waves a few minutes apart uses the start units in a steadier way than a single mass start, and the count reflects that.
The finish area is often the busiest spot on the course. Units placed there need the most frequent service, and the technician plans the run so the finish is emptied during the slower stretch of the race.
A few steps off the route at trailheads and reachable parking lots, facing away from the course, on firm ground a truck can reach.
A unit placed right on the trail narrows the path and invites a collision with a runner or a cyclist. Setting the unit a short distance off the trail keeps the path clear and still puts the unit where people stop.
The truck has to be able to reach the spot without driving on the trail. If it cannot, the unit moves to a lot the truck can use, even if that puts it farther from the course.
No price is published on this page, because the figure depends on the event. The price is explained and approved before any work starts.
The main factors are the number of units, the number of service runs, how far the truck drives between stops, and whether the placement needs a pad or a hard surface. Units that are standard, accessible or trailers are priced differently, and a trail with no truck access adds planning time to the job.
The local provider quotes the race after the route is walked and the count is agreed. Every part of the quote is explained before the order is confirmed.
Federal event guidance says at least 5 percent of clustered single-user units should be accessible, with at least one per cluster. For a start area with a cluster of units, the guidance applies.
The Justice Department letter and the Access Board guide both put the figure in terms of clustered units, so a single unit set alone is handled differently from a cluster. The technician counts the clusters on the walk and plans the accessible share from that.
The construction-site exemption does not apply to a race, because the runners and spectators are members of the public. The accessible unit needs a route the truck and the runners can both use.
A closed road or trail changes the route for the truck and sometimes the placement. The service plan is rechecked on race morning.
A closure can leave a unit on the wrong side of a barrier, which means it cannot be reached for the whole morning. The technician asks the organizer for the closure plan in advance and moves any unit the closure cuts off.
If a race is delayed or stopped partway through, the units stay in place and the crew is told where each one is. Service runs are rescheduled to the new timing, and the count is revised if the field changes.
Keep units off trail shoulders where a runner, a cyclist or a service truck could strike them. Do not let a truck back up on a trail while runners are still on it, and do not drive onto soft or flooded ground to reach a unit. Do not drain or move units in the crowd. If a race is stopped, keep the unit area clear and call the provider to check the placement before the units are used again.
A technician walks the course, or the parts of it a vehicle can reach, using the organizer's map. The walk marks the start, the finish, the turnarounds and any trail section where no truck can follow. It also records which trailheads and gates are open on race day, since a closed gate changes the whole service plan.
The count is worked out from the expected field size, the number of start waves and how long the finish area stays busy. More units usually go near the start and the finish than along the course, because most stops happen at those two points. The count is written into the order and can be changed if the entries change.
Units go on firm ground a few steps off the course, with the doors facing away from the route, so runners do not have to cross the course to reach them. Each unit is checked for level ground and for overhead branches and signs. Where a trail has no truck access, the unit is moved to the nearest spot the truck can reach.
Service runs are timed for the gap between the last wave and the first finishers, when the start area is quiet and the finish has not yet filled. The truck route and the open gates are agreed with the organizer before the race. A run that cannot reach a unit leaves that unit out of service for the day, which is why the route is walked in advance.
Units are removed once the course and the finish area close. The crew empties and removes them and leaves the ground as it was found. Pickup timing is confirmed in the booking, since a late finish or a closed trail can hold the truck on site.
Groups of single units placed at the start and the finish, where waves stack up and runners arrive in bunches. These are the units most often used on race day, so the count is heaviest here. A cluster with one accessible unit fits a larger start area, under federal event guidance.
Single units set at trailheads, parking lots and park shelters along the route. The access is usually a gravel or paved lot where the service truck has to be able to turn. These units need the most planning around trail closures, locked gates and wet ground, and the technician checks each one on the walk.
Units placed at timing points and exchanges for events that run over a longer route or several legs. The count follows the number of stops rather than the field size alone. A service run is planned for each stop that will see heavy use, and the stops are listed in the order.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent marathon, 5k and trail race restrooms, send the form and we'll call you back.
Columbus races use a mix of city streets, riverside paths and park trails, and the restroom plan changes from one stretch to the next. A downtown start needs units on paved ground the truck can reach between street closures, while a greenway start needs a paved or gravel lot with room to turn.
Races in Columbus parks run under the city's event rules. A Special Event Permit is required when a park event is expected to draw more than 100 people, and smaller gatherings use a park permit. Those filings are part of the planning, but a permit does not settle the restroom plan, which is a question for the city and the provider.
Trail races in the suburbs and the Metro Parks are arranged with the property owner or the city that runs the trail. Dublin, Westerville, Gahanna and the other suburbs run their own event permits, so a race that crosses a city line needs each permit, and each city's conditions are checked separately.
Portable toilets for park gatherings, ball-field tournaments and community events, sized to the permit and the crowd.
Portable restroom blocks for festivals and street fairs on closed streets and park ground.
Portable toilets and trailers for golf tournaments, tented parking fields and large indoor sporting events in the region.
How a unit is delivered, leveled and placed in Columbus and Franklin County so the service truck can reach it for every pump-out.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Units are set at the finish because that is where waiting runners gather. Ask the organizer which area is the finish and when the finish window opens, so the units are placed in the right spot before the first finisher arrives.
Units are placed at points where people stop, not at every mile, because a unit set far from the route goes unused. The placement is agreed on the walk and checked again on race morning.
No set arrival time is promised. Units are delivered in a window that is confirmed in the booking, and a race-day change can move it. Calls are answered around the clock, so a question about the window can be raised at any time.
Units are kept off the running surface and out of the lane kept clear for emergency vehicles. A technician sets them beside the course and checks with the organizer about closures before any unit is placed.
The provider's crew empties and removes the units. Under Ohio's portable toilet rules only a registered hauler may pump the contents, and the booking should state who does the pumping and when.
Book once the race date and start times are known. Park permits can be filed 14 to 365 days ahead, and a Special Event Permit is due 60 days before the event, so the restroom plan follows those dates. Ordering early leaves more room for the placement walk.