Reusable bibSNAPS® reduce race-day reliance on disposable safety pins while eliminating pin pokes, rust concerns, nickel exposure from metal pins, and holes in performance apparel.
Traditional race bibs are commonly attached with four safety pins — one at each corner. That means a 10,000-person race can put roughly 40,000 small metal pins into circulation in a single morning. At major marathons with 59,000 runners, like the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, this number becomes more striking at 236,000 safety pins if every finisher used the standard four-pin setup.
The most sustainable race-day fastener is not the one that has to be thrown away or sorted after every event. It is the one runners and events can use again. The EPA ranks source reduction and reuse above recycling in its waste-management hierarchy, reusable bib fasteners such as bibSNAPS® offer a more waste-conscious model than repeatedly distributing disposable safety pins. BibBoards, Inc., the creator of bibSNAPS® are manufactured primarily with a plant-based polymer blend which is fully reusable, customizable, and recyclable in specialized facilities.
Safety pins also carry a physical risk that reusable fasteners avoid: a puncture. Any object that breaks the skin — including a pin that slips while being fastened, or one that works loose mid-race — creates an entry point for bacteria. The CDC notes that puncture wounds and wounds contaminated with dirt or debris carry elevated infection risk, including tetanus. It’s a small risk with a single pin, but multiplied across tens of thousands of runners fumbling with sharp metal at 5 a.m., it’s not zero.
Metal pins also corrode. Standard steel safety pins are prone to rusting with repeated exposure to sweat, rain, and washing — leaving reddish-brown residue that can transfer to fabric. bibSNAPS®, made without an exposed metal pin, sidestep that failure mode entirely.
For runners with nickel sensitivity, metal fasteners can be more than an annoyance. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates that more than 18% of people in North America are allergic to nickel. Because many common safety pins are nickel-plated steel, bibSNAPS® plastic bib fastener avoids direct nickel exposure.
And then there’s the gear itself. A safety pin, by design, is a sharp point driven through fabric — it doesn’t fasten without puncturing. For runners in $80–150 technical shirts, that’s a small but permanent hole every time a bib goes on, not to mention ripping the fabric if the bib gets pulled. bibSNAPS® fasten without piercing the fabric, leaving performance apparel intact race after race.
“I started BibBoards because I was tired of watching runners fumble with pins in the dark at 5 a.m., and pin holes in shirts that cost more than the entry fee,” said Brian Goodell, Founder of BibBoards, Inc. “Now bibSNAPS® are trusted by more than 5 million athletes and 500 brands and race organizations. That tells me we didn’t just fix an annoyance, we fixed something the whole sport had quietly accepted for too long.”
ABOUT BIBBOARDS, INC.
BibBoards, Inc. is the creator of bibSNAPS®, a patented, pin-free race bib fastening system designed to eliminate the safety risks, material waste, and apparel damage associated with traditional safety pins. Built with a plant-based polymer blend, bibSNAPS® are reusable across events and recyclable in specialized facilities. They are also reusable, can snap onto gear post race, and fully customizable with brand logos, art designs, and colors. BibBoards also produces meSNAPS®, LiDGiT® magnetic sunglass clips, Hydra Band water bottle holder, and other snap-and-lock accessories for the run specialty and endurance sports markets. For more information about BibBoards, visit the website at www.bibboards.com