Over the weekend on 26th November, Penang had its annual Penang Bridge International Marathon, which was attended by more than 35,000 participants from Malaysia and other parts of the world.
Source: Run Society
However, this year’s marathon garnered a lot of flak from its attendees, who complained that it was not well-organised and unprofessional. In case you weren’t caught up with what went on during that marathon, here are the key issues highlighted by the participants;
1. Expired chocolates were given out
Source: Facebook
Perhaps one of the more disturbing things discovered at this marathon was that out of the 35,000 chocolate bars given out to participants, about 200 of them were expired!
State executive councillor in charge of the event, Law Heng Kiang addressed this alarming issue and stated that the sponsors who provided the expired chocolate bars will issue a statement soon.
Penang Gerakan vice chairman Oh Tong Keong was also concerned about the expired food, asking, “Who will be held responsible if something were to happen to the participants who ate the expired food?”
2. Young participants who won weren’t presented medals on the podium
According to FMT, a 17-year-old girl reportedly won second prize in the under-17 girls’ junior 10km category during the marathon, but sadly, she was not given the prize on stage, and was instead forced to collect her prize at a booth. Heartbroken and embarrassed, she began to cry.
“They ran the same route as the adults, and they deserve to get their medals and cash prizes on stage like others,” one parent said according to Free Malaysia Today.
Source: The Star
“For all the international events, you see prizes given out on stage and those who came out in fourth to 10th placings had to claim from a counter. I saw the first to third place winners claim their prizes from a booth.”
“Why bother giving foreigners winning the main marathon the spotlight when our young children can use some motivation as well? They will be running for us in the future.”
3. Participants were given the wrong T-shirt sizes
Source: Facebook
Despite each participant paying RM80 to register for the run, many of them were not given the correct-sized T-shirts along with their race kits, which was understandably frustrating for many.
“When we did get our T-shirts, most of them were not of the right size. They gave me XS when I wanted S. When I declined, they told me they could only offer me previous years’ T-shirts,” one participant told The Star, who added that he had to wait for 45 minutes at Queensbay Mall’s parking lot to collect his race kit.
4. Most participants did not get water after finishing
Source: FinanceTwitter
Usually, when participants finish their marathon, they are provided with bottled water or isotonic drinks to rehydrate themselves after a long run. However, not all of the participants from the Penang Bridge International Marathon had the chance to get this basic necessity!
“We were all tired and thirsty when we reached the finish line but there was no water for us. All we saw were empty boxes for mineral water and 100PLUS,” a participant told The Star.
5. Organisers collected an estimated RM3 million this year
Source: The Malay Mail
Many people have also questioned where all the money participants used for registration went, especially since the marathon was not up to par for many attendees this year.
“This international event attracted more than 35,000 runners from all over and even though this is an annual event, each year there are issues with the event including this year,” Penang Gerakan vice chairman Oh Tong Keong said at a press conference, according to the Malay Mail.
Gerakan Batu Uban constituency coordinator Dr Kiew Hen Chong, who was also at the press conference, stated that organisers had also collected around RM3 million since each participant had to pay RM80 for registration. Citing this estimate, he then asked, “But where has the money gone if not to make the event better?”
Well, now you know what’s been going on! Hopefully, next year’s marathon will be much better organised. Thanks to the power of the internet and social media, at least this issue was brought to attention and some action can be taken to ensure this never happens again!
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