SINGAPORE: Having trained for at least three months, Ms Sara Haghani was running well up to the 30km mark of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) on Dec 1.
But things unravelled quickly after that point, with much of the remainder of the 42.2km race run on the wide open and shelterless West Coast Highway - in blistering heat.
“It was around 10.15am when I reached it, so the sun was already up,” said the 26-year-old bioinformatics specialist. “I saw many participants lying down on the side (of the road), most likely due to heat exhaustion.”
Ms Haghani herself slowed to a walk, fearing she might pass out or worse. “The sun was just too strong,” she said.
Such harsh conditions, faced by the majority of SCSM runners, was just the latest in a string of incidents at races this year which have frustrated thousands.
These included hours-long waits for dropped bags, massive congestion at start lines and even runners being led down the wrong routes.
Complaints have streamed in on social media from recreational runners and elite athletes alike - prompting several race organisers to apologise either publicly or privately.
The organisation of a race can also have implications for participant safety, as Ms Haghani's experience demonstrated.
Mr Eugene Beh, who was on the marathon course taking photos of runners, told CNA he assisted three runners who had collapsed from heat exhaustion along West Coast Highway.
The 50-year-old said there could have been more heed paid to how runners would fare on such an exposed stretch.
“Probably organisers planned in such a way because it’s a nice view, maybe they can see Sentosa, but they forgot there is no shelter, nothing at all, and they are basically exposed to the elements,” said Mr Beh, who's the founder of Singapore Runner’s Club, the largest running group here.
Responding to queries from CNA, SCSM organiser IRONMAN Group's general manager Santoz Kumar said this year's race featured a "significant increase in the overall participation numbers compared to previous years, which led to a slight increase in the number of runners requiring medical assistance during the event".
About 55,000 took part in the 2024 SCSM compared with 44,000 last year.
Mr Santoz added that heat mitigation strategies were put in place, such as increasing the number of aid stations providing water, isotonic gels and food from 30km onwards. On-site medical support such as medical tents and beds was also available.
Participants racing at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024. (Photo: Facebook/Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon)
During the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run in September, hundreds of runners were unable to make it to the start line in time.
Many had taken shuttle buses provided by race organisers, but ended up caught in standstill traffic along Loyang Avenue and were either late or had to start their races midway through the route.
“No more Yellow Ribbon run for me, stuck for one hour for nothing,” one runner vented on Facebook.
“Runners take the official transport with the expectation that they will not be late for the race,” commented another participant.
Organisers Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRS) said the frequency of shuttle buses had already been increased in a bid to reduce participants’ waiting time.
Others also complained about heavy congestion at entrances and exit points of a carnival at the end of the race.
“Volunteers were redeployed to guide participants to the baggage collection point and helped to expedite the distribution of medals and easing of the crowd," the organisers said, adding that they would work to better manage traffic and review the carnival layout to prevent congestion in future.
Participants faced similar frustrations at the inaugural Garmin Run in October, with many waiting hours after their races to collect bags they dropped off at the event venue.
“First time having to queue for bags and medals - totalling more than two hours,” read a comment on Garmin Singapore’s Instagram page.
“Don’t host another run again if it’s going to be so bad,” read another comment.
Garmin Singapore posted an apology on its Instagram account for the “inconvenience and frustration caused".
CNA has reached out to event planner OrangeRoom Asia, who was appointed by Garmin to organise the race.
Elite runners here have also suffered from lacklustre race organisation.
National athlete Keane Ko was among seven runners leading the Running Lab 10km race in September when the entire pack was led off course by a race marshal.
In the end the seven of them, including a Kenyan runner who was a favourite to win, ran about 1.4km more. None of them attained a podium spot.
“After the race, I went to the race organisers and gave feedback to them,” said 24-year-old Ko. “However there was no follow-up, and no compensation was offered.”
Four elite athletes at the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) in October were victims of a similar kerfuffle after being misdirected by marshals.
In their case, they ran about 600m short of the intended route; it was later decided none of them would be included in final rankings for the race.
In an email sent to the affected runners and seen by CNA, race organisers acknowledged they “fell short of delivering the best possible experience”.
“Moving forward, we are committed to providing a better experience for all our elite runners,” they wrote.
CNA has reached out to Running Lab as well as Esprimo Events, the organiser of GEWR.
Then there's the issue of inaccurate race distances.
Running coach Anna Helowicz, who leads the run club Singapore Shufflers, is also behind a website Run Singapore Rankings which has since 2023 been tracking and ranking the performance of hundreds of top runners here.
Their GPS data has reflected that many races in Singapore fall short of their advertised lengths by a few hundred metres.
“You want to be able to compare yourself (to a past timing), and although it doesn’t sound like much, when you get into running a bit more, you realise those margins are significant, and if they are not accurately measured, you don’t have any idea if you’ve actually improved,” said Ms Helowicz.
The 51-year-old said a key reason for such discrepancies is that only one race in Singapore - SCSM - is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, or AIMS.
AIMS certification ensures race courses are accurately measured, and involves hiring a certified course measurer to independently measure the route.
National marathoner Gordon Lim said that as more people take up running in Singapore - and get better at it - it comes as a waste that they only have one opportunity a year to test themselves on a certified course.
The 31-year-old physiotherapist pointed out that other jurisdictions, including in the region, boast many more certified races.
Densely populated Hong Kong has nine of these, Indonesia has 12, Malaysia 18, Vietnam 25 and Thailand 33.
“It becomes a thing where only people who are willing to pay to go overseas get to enjoy a certified race,” said Lim.
He added it was not unreasonable to expect more certified races in Singapore, given that runners typically pay close to S$100 (US$74) or more to join a running event here.
“If they can charge that kind of race fees, I suppose they can spare a few more dollars to make it a certified race.”
Mr Santoz from SCSM organiser IRONMAN Group pointed however to the exorbitant costs associated with organising a certified race in Singapore.
For SCSM to attain a Gold Label race certification, it also had to put up a prize pool of nearly S$250,000, which is “a level of prize money that few races can offer”.
The label indicates that the World Athletics body has designated it as a leading global road race. Gold Label races have the next strictest criteria after Platinum ones.
The application fees and associated costs for a Gold Label application amount to around S$80,000. Further expenses such as broadcast arrangements and flights and accommodation for elite athletes can bring the total price tag for organising a Gold Label race to up to S$1.5 million.
“These are substantial costs that many local race organisers struggle to support,” said Mr Santoz.
Singapore Athletics (SA) acknowledged that the country has fewer certified races compared with its neighbours.
Additional factors like road closures in a dense urban environment make organising high-quality road races more complex, a spokesperson for the national sport association told CNA.
“That said, with proper planning and collaboration with relevant authorities, these challenges can be managed.”
Ms Helowicz also noted that unlike other countries, Singapore also has no governing body overseeing the organisation of running races. This could have contributed to slipping standards, she said.
The SA spokesperson said most road running events are independently organised and not directly managed by it.
Still, it is “committed to supporting and collaborating with organisers to improve race standards where possible”.
“Our focus is always on fair competition, athlete safety, and operational excellence for the events we’re associated with,” the spokesperson said.
Continue reading...
But things unravelled quickly after that point, with much of the remainder of the 42.2km race run on the wide open and shelterless West Coast Highway - in blistering heat.
“It was around 10.15am when I reached it, so the sun was already up,” said the 26-year-old bioinformatics specialist. “I saw many participants lying down on the side (of the road), most likely due to heat exhaustion.”
Ms Haghani herself slowed to a walk, fearing she might pass out or worse. “The sun was just too strong,” she said.
Such harsh conditions, faced by the majority of SCSM runners, was just the latest in a string of incidents at races this year which have frustrated thousands.
These included hours-long waits for dropped bags, massive congestion at start lines and even runners being led down the wrong routes.
Complaints have streamed in on social media from recreational runners and elite athletes alike - prompting several race organisers to apologise either publicly or privately.
The organisation of a race can also have implications for participant safety, as Ms Haghani's experience demonstrated.
Mr Eugene Beh, who was on the marathon course taking photos of runners, told CNA he assisted three runners who had collapsed from heat exhaustion along West Coast Highway.
The 50-year-old said there could have been more heed paid to how runners would fare on such an exposed stretch.
“Probably organisers planned in such a way because it’s a nice view, maybe they can see Sentosa, but they forgot there is no shelter, nothing at all, and they are basically exposed to the elements,” said Mr Beh, who's the founder of Singapore Runner’s Club, the largest running group here.
Responding to queries from CNA, SCSM organiser IRONMAN Group's general manager Santoz Kumar said this year's race featured a "significant increase in the overall participation numbers compared to previous years, which led to a slight increase in the number of runners requiring medical assistance during the event".
About 55,000 took part in the 2024 SCSM compared with 44,000 last year.
Mr Santoz added that heat mitigation strategies were put in place, such as increasing the number of aid stations providing water, isotonic gels and food from 30km onwards. On-site medical support such as medical tents and beds was also available.
Participants racing at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024. (Photo: Facebook/Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon)
"STUCK FOR ONE HOUR FOR NOTHING"
During the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run in September, hundreds of runners were unable to make it to the start line in time.
Many had taken shuttle buses provided by race organisers, but ended up caught in standstill traffic along Loyang Avenue and were either late or had to start their races midway through the route.
“No more Yellow Ribbon run for me, stuck for one hour for nothing,” one runner vented on Facebook.
“Runners take the official transport with the expectation that they will not be late for the race,” commented another participant.
Organisers Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRS) said the frequency of shuttle buses had already been increased in a bid to reduce participants’ waiting time.
Others also complained about heavy congestion at entrances and exit points of a carnival at the end of the race.
“Volunteers were redeployed to guide participants to the baggage collection point and helped to expedite the distribution of medals and easing of the crowd," the organisers said, adding that they would work to better manage traffic and review the carnival layout to prevent congestion in future.
Participants faced similar frustrations at the inaugural Garmin Run in October, with many waiting hours after their races to collect bags they dropped off at the event venue.
“First time having to queue for bags and medals - totalling more than two hours,” read a comment on Garmin Singapore’s Instagram page.
“Don’t host another run again if it’s going to be so bad,” read another comment.
Garmin Singapore posted an apology on its Instagram account for the “inconvenience and frustration caused".
CNA has reached out to event planner OrangeRoom Asia, who was appointed by Garmin to organise the race.
RUNNERS LED THE WRONG WAY
Elite runners here have also suffered from lacklustre race organisation.
National athlete Keane Ko was among seven runners leading the Running Lab 10km race in September when the entire pack was led off course by a race marshal.
In the end the seven of them, including a Kenyan runner who was a favourite to win, ran about 1.4km more. None of them attained a podium spot.
“After the race, I went to the race organisers and gave feedback to them,” said 24-year-old Ko. “However there was no follow-up, and no compensation was offered.”
Four elite athletes at the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) in October were victims of a similar kerfuffle after being misdirected by marshals.
In their case, they ran about 600m short of the intended route; it was later decided none of them would be included in final rankings for the race.
In an email sent to the affected runners and seen by CNA, race organisers acknowledged they “fell short of delivering the best possible experience”.
“Moving forward, we are committed to providing a better experience for all our elite runners,” they wrote.
CNA has reached out to Running Lab as well as Esprimo Events, the organiser of GEWR.
Related:
Then there's the issue of inaccurate race distances.
Running coach Anna Helowicz, who leads the run club Singapore Shufflers, is also behind a website Run Singapore Rankings which has since 2023 been tracking and ranking the performance of hundreds of top runners here.
Their GPS data has reflected that many races in Singapore fall short of their advertised lengths by a few hundred metres.
“You want to be able to compare yourself (to a past timing), and although it doesn’t sound like much, when you get into running a bit more, you realise those margins are significant, and if they are not accurately measured, you don’t have any idea if you’ve actually improved,” said Ms Helowicz.
The 51-year-old said a key reason for such discrepancies is that only one race in Singapore - SCSM - is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, or AIMS.
AIMS certification ensures race courses are accurately measured, and involves hiring a certified course measurer to independently measure the route.
National marathoner Gordon Lim said that as more people take up running in Singapore - and get better at it - it comes as a waste that they only have one opportunity a year to test themselves on a certified course.
The 31-year-old physiotherapist pointed out that other jurisdictions, including in the region, boast many more certified races.
Densely populated Hong Kong has nine of these, Indonesia has 12, Malaysia 18, Vietnam 25 and Thailand 33.
“It becomes a thing where only people who are willing to pay to go overseas get to enjoy a certified race,” said Lim.
He added it was not unreasonable to expect more certified races in Singapore, given that runners typically pay close to S$100 (US$74) or more to join a running event here.
“If they can charge that kind of race fees, I suppose they can spare a few more dollars to make it a certified race.”
Related:
WHY SO HARD TO ORGANISE A CERTIFIED RACE?
Mr Santoz from SCSM organiser IRONMAN Group pointed however to the exorbitant costs associated with organising a certified race in Singapore.
For SCSM to attain a Gold Label race certification, it also had to put up a prize pool of nearly S$250,000, which is “a level of prize money that few races can offer”.
The label indicates that the World Athletics body has designated it as a leading global road race. Gold Label races have the next strictest criteria after Platinum ones.
The application fees and associated costs for a Gold Label application amount to around S$80,000. Further expenses such as broadcast arrangements and flights and accommodation for elite athletes can bring the total price tag for organising a Gold Label race to up to S$1.5 million.
“These are substantial costs that many local race organisers struggle to support,” said Mr Santoz.
Singapore Athletics (SA) acknowledged that the country has fewer certified races compared with its neighbours.
Additional factors like road closures in a dense urban environment make organising high-quality road races more complex, a spokesperson for the national sport association told CNA.
“That said, with proper planning and collaboration with relevant authorities, these challenges can be managed.”
Ms Helowicz also noted that unlike other countries, Singapore also has no governing body overseeing the organisation of running races. This could have contributed to slipping standards, she said.
The SA spokesperson said most road running events are independently organised and not directly managed by it.
Still, it is “committed to supporting and collaborating with organisers to improve race standards where possible”.
“Our focus is always on fair competition, athlete safety, and operational excellence for the events we’re associated with,” the spokesperson said.
Continue reading...