Deffo bottles.  At Windsor they have plastic cups of water at every station and Lucozade Sport bottles at some.  I only ever take the Lucozade now, mainly for convenience.

Nostalgia alert! 20 years ago we used to be provided with water in paper cups which were easy to crush slightly and sip out of while on the move. The plastic ones break if you try this so are very hard to drink from. Water bottles are easy i agree but not so keen on the enviromental impact of all that waste.

As a cost compromise, small, screw top bottles, with the tops OFF. You spill less (and get less up your nose) than with a cup, there's no confusion as to whether the top is loosened or not, and there are no hard tops to stand on, and importantly they're cheaper than push tops.

Once you've had a couple of swigs it's easy enough to hold a bottle without major sloppage.

Def small ones with tops, i know cups are cheaper but it just goes everywhere and is difficult, I am normally somewhere near the back and on cooler days its then slippy through the stations too where cups have spilt etc

I agree with James regarding the other races items and like James have run around 20+ pay races this year and the balance of acceptability for a 10k race is around £10 for affiliated and you may just get away with £12 if UKA certified because of performance and handicap recording of serious athletes who usually are not too concerned on goody bag size or content.

However the casual runner who equally likes racing, and may I add in some cases more talented than the serious athletes tend to like a full goody bag with a decent momento, good quality running wear and some munchies as it's a sense of occassion. That is the way I see it as I have made the transition from the casual to the serious and when the legs wear out probably go back the other way.

So really what I am saying is look at what type of runners you would like to attract the most for the event, shape the event around that i.e. challenging, fast paced PB potential or a family event i.e. kiddy pre event and fun run, that will then leave you to decide if you want to go down the UKA certifed route or not. Then looking at the cost of organising and how much you can get off sponsors, and finally the entry fee, it's a fine balance where you at least want to break even.

Good luck on the organising of it.

Having run many races over the last 3 yrs, only one had push top bottles (which was so refreshing!!!). Drinking water from a cup whilst on the move is pretty much impossible, ok for the non elite runners or anyone else who doesn't mind stopping to consume but, I am a person who likes to keep moving.  Having a bottle with a push top allows you to run with it over longer distance rather than trying to consume at the water station then droping the cup.  Also with bottles people can just grab from a table or person without the contents going everywhere / may also help with congestion if loads of people arrive at a water station at the same time. All i would add is that you get some people to follow the race at the back and pick up any waste bottles.

Sorry but, this then raises the issue of cost and is tied into the goody bag debate and if the race is aiming to raise money for something. Are you planning to wow the runners with a great end of run gift & medal or keep it simple. As water in a bottle will clearly change your margins. Personally, I dont care much for medals and gifts. T-shirts are nice but, i would rather pay a lower entry price. However, for some people its a big thing entering a run and they love the gifts that finishing brings. 

James

I'm with Derek. I never take plastic cups as I find it impossible to only drink a tiny amount, then get stomach ache. However I imagine bottles are much more costly.

Bottle push top all the time, smallest bottles as well cos 50% gets wasted in normal bottles, cups are a nuisance as most of the contents gets inhaled.

I am organising my first road race next year (comer crawley Diss 10KM - Sun 17 Jun 12) and was having an interesting chat about water stations about the way water is provided at race water stations the other day.  Just wondered what peoples preferences are in the way water is provided - cups of water or a sealed water bottle (screw top or push top)?