MADISON, Wis. — Hydration is key when exercising outside, but it’s not always easy to find a drinking fountain or plan when the next one comes. That struggle could be gone thanks to a new online resource born out of one Madison runner’s thirst to help.
Call them what you wish: drinking fountains, bubblers, water fountains — they’re not always right there when you need that drink.
“I’ve been doing a lot of long runs and been needing to find them as I run,” Jason Berthiaume said.
That’s the exact problem Berthiaume had while marathon training last week, “and so I went searching for a map and didn’t find anything.”
Figuring others were thirsty for a solution, he created the Dane County Public Water Fountains Google Map.
Berthiaume has already mapped more than 40 exact bubbler locations, based on what people sent him on Reddit.
“My thought is that I’m really trying to track the outdoor ones that are open 24/7, I know a lot of people are waking up early or running late trying to beat the sun,” he said. “And I understand stuff is going to shut down in winter, but most people are running in the summer, the spring and the fall so we should be good there.”
People can pull up the map on their phones to see their location among all the bubblers and which are closest.
Berthiaume said he got the idea from a similar map he found in Milwaukee.
“There’s nothing like finishing your water bottle, planning to fill it back up, and then knowing you have to run another four miles before you fill it back up,” he said.
He’s already learning a lot about the distribution of drinking fountains across the county.
“From this water bubbler [at Olin Park] until around Olbrich Park, there’s like six or seven bubblers,” he said, “and then from Olbrich Park to here, there’s one.”
People are finding his idea refreshing, like Robbie Weber, a board member of Madison Bikes.
“You may not have a water bottle cage or you may not be thinking about carrying water,” Weber said, “and if you’re exerting yourself at all, even if it’s just going downtown or going for work or picking up groceries — you get thirsty, especially in the summer.”
Weber hopes it makes it a bit easier for people to get outside.
“We used to have a lot of bubblers around and they’ve become less and less easy to find, and I think having a map where you can pull up where you can get fresh water is just fantastic,” he said.
Since our furry friends also need fresh water, dog owners say the map can help plan their walks.
“Having a dog, sometimes we just go out, we don’t know how long we’re going to go out,” said Cassie Sanford while walking her dog Honey on Tuesday, “and if you don’t bring water, she gets quite hot in the summer time so it’d be really nice.”
The brains of the bubbler map, Berthiaume said, he’ll keep mapping as long as people keep posting locations — hoping it’s a resource that can keep flowing.
“Madison’s a pretty fit and active city. I figured there’s a lot of runners and bikers that are always looking to add another bubbler to their repertoire,” he said.
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