RUNNING WITH PASSION

Last 5 km?

Not long later I saw there super-charged Kenyan marathoners sizzled down the road on the opposite side. What? I was not even half way through and they were already making their way back? One of the things that make you go Hmmmm….

Saw some of my friends cheering for me at the finished line. Someone shouted that the medal was finished. I thought he was kidding. To my dismay, he was not. The medals were finished. Zero! Habis! Boh Liao! Yeelek! I saw some “auntie” banging the medal collection counter table and made a fuss about not given a finisher medal. Apparently, they have messed up big time with the medals. All the medals for ½ marathons were given away indiscriminately to the 5km and 10km categories.

I demanded to see the person in charge but the people at medal collection counter just didn’t give a sh*t. They just gave a blank look and said that they do not know. At least make some apologies and ask runners who didn’t get the medal to write down their names so that they can be contacted later. I was deeply annoyed by how things were handled and I think I was not alone. I left the table banging to the auntie. Heheh!

What a run, eh? It started with a black out, rain in the middle and end with no medal. (Insert Hmmmmmmm here!).

Anyway, if not for the medal boo-boo, SRHM could have been a splendid running event.

Overall, it was a good effort by Saberkas for organizing this event. For a first timer, Saberkas sure put certain local marathon organizer who had been organizing marathons for umpteen years to shame in terms of FREEbies, goodies bag, event T-shirt, running kit, free transport and entertainment (yes..They have flown in Siti Nurhaliza I was told but I was too pissed to be hanging around the event after the medal collection snag.)

Good Job SABERKAS!

Some improvements were needed in the toilet facilities (4 toilets are not enough to cater for thousands of runners!), distance markers (almost non-existent and confusing) and direction signage and marshals (some marshals either not present or gave wrong direction – I heard horror story by a Singaporean marathoner who missed her turning and ran an extra 5km to her 42km. She won 24th place but denied the prize because she passed the 6 hours qualification mark. She could have made it if not for the poor direction signage. Pity her!)