Amidst the happy posts of completions, PBs, etc I saw many other complaints as well regarding this years organization. Personally since Im a slow finisher and I took part in the FM, AND did not take the public transport I was okay. Here are some thoughts (from my perspective): - Arrived at 1245am and plenty of time to spare. Was afraid we were getting there late as left town only at 1215am but it was okay. As we were dropped off, no rush to find parking or take buses and the jam at that time was not too bad. - There were no signs but we managed to find our way to the baggage drop-off using intuition or rather just follow the crowd method. - Starting FM at 130am is good as it prevents too much mix-up with the slower fun run & 10k participants. At least in theory. But not sure why they want to penalize the women and veterans by making them start later. By the time the women came out, we slow FM Men Open runners were blocking their way. Shouldve just let ALL Elites start at the same time. - Was afraid of the boredom of doing 42k on one long bridge with nothing to observe at the sides. But funny thing is this didnt impact me at all. Just concentrated on putting one foot in front of another and trying not to over-speed at the start. - Plenty of water and isotonic at drink stations for FM runners. Extra bun and banana stations so enough for all. Saw some comments about the drinks tables not being long enough and causing congestion. I guess since FM not that many participants, this was not a problem for us. - Toilets on the bridge - one of my main concerns prior to the race but luckily this year my stomach cooperated and did not need to use. The number of toilets were not enough and there were long lines, even for the relatively fewer FM participants. For other categories, would definitely suffer. The problem was the way these mobile toilets were arranged. The queues stretched across whole lanes and runners were squeezing into the far right lanes to avoid those in the lines. Definitely have to position differently next time... - Towards the end, merged with 10k runners. No major impact for me as Im not that fast and was hobbling along by then. But those who still wanted to run wouldve found their way blocked. This is a perennial issue, thus no way to avoid especially with limited lanes on the bridge. Theres just no way to prevent people from stopping to take in the view and doing selfies, etc. Water station after merge was crowded so skipped the last few (lucky carrying own bottles and refilled earlier as I already expected something like this to happen). - Noticed that 10k runners they started with ladies first. So all the men got stuck behind the walking girls later... - Did not notice many markers on the bridge itself so relied on my gps. For those who dont have GPS, may be problematic to estimate their time/pace/distance. - Medal collection was quite messy, as there was no clear demarcation for lines. Saw many people knowingly (shame on you) and unknowingly cutting their way through the snaking queues. - Quite packed at the finishing area, so decided to skip the food and move along to take part in the Fun Run. Started late but since it was for fun, no issues with that. - No major complaints about Fun Run side, though surprised so many 10k runners still on the bridge. Apparently they arrived late due to their bus transport issues. - Skipped water stations as even more people there now fighting for their drinks. It was really hot then and the sun was scorching. More long queues seen at mobile toilets. - By the time came back, informed that no more certificates available for fun run. 10k runners also were not guided to their finishing point and came to the fun run finishing line. No biggie for me, as I wasnt going to take it anyway (too many certificates to keep at home, and I dont even bother printing out the online certs these days) but for many who value them this was a major disappointment. General comments: - When I first read about the organizers going for record number of participants I knew this would not turn out well. Quantity without Quality will never get you anywhere or anything except brickbats and complaints. Decided to support anyway since this is my hometown event and Ive not missed this for many years. - 60,000 participants on a new bridge, with new start/end areas is a recipe for disaster. For your first time trying this, dont go for so many participants. Make sure your resources and infrastructure are ready and able to support. The start/end point is too small compared with Queensbay and there are not enough parking spots or transport to this industrial area. - Simple mathematics... If one bus can carry 40 people, just 40,000 people taking buses would need 1000 buses or 500 buses taking two trips or 333 buses taking 3 trips. Do you have enough buses or time to get the participants there? Did you advise participants to come early enough to ensure they got onto the buses? Most big marathons (KL, Singapore, HK) have better public transport such as trains, MRT or at least hotels near the starting point. - Starting 10km at 730am is a bit late. It should be at latest 7am otherwise weather will be too hot. Does Fun run need to be 7km or maybe 5km is enough? Or let them start earlier. Not enough drinks stations or over-packed stations at such hot time is dangerous especially with those not used to these conditions. - Better controls at finishing area with clearly marked instructions or locations of tents, medal areas, etc is a MUST. Or have more volunteers there helping out. - The biggest issue is with the number of participants. Transportation and infrastructure may be good enough with half the number or even 20k participants. 60k is way too many to cope. There is a reason why major marathon events who could easily fill up 100k quotas dont do so. They know their limits. PBIM, please know yours. - Having said that, some participants are also causing problems for themselves and others. If you dont qualify, dont go and snatch finisher medals and t-shirts. Whats the point of getting a FM finisher-t if you dont deserve it? Will you dare wear it outside? If not, then take for what? You are depriving others and cheating the organizers. Similarly, if you take the sweeper bus, dont run the last km to the finish line and take the stuff. - Some complainers think it is an entitlement to get finisher medals and t-shirts. It is NOT an entitlement. If you finish within time, you get. If not, dont complain. There is a reason why a time limit is given. IF you meet the time limit, you get. IF not, then organizer has a right to distribute if they want to, or keep it back. Comments, anyone? What were your experiences like in HM/10k/Fun run?
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 06:27:20 +0000
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