Here's an email sent by an irate marathoner following the Malaysian-Boleh-organisation of the International Marathon held last Sunday. Needless to say, it was far from the world class execution of the other Standard Chartered series of marathons in the other cities - Hong Kong, Singapore.
Have a read of the below... it's from the perspective of a serious runner... and if i was the organiser, i'd definitely appreciate the feedback from top class athletes if I was ever going to improve to international standards.
She did leave out the parts about how collection of race packs was a horror ala KL traffic jam style and how the 5km fun run got terribly truncated that I'm surprised participants are not asking for their money back.
Oh! and not to mention the results mix-up: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/7/1/central/4215135&sec=central.
Here's also a review of the organisation in The Star: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/7/1/central/4215135&sec=central
_____________________________________
To the Race Director and the Malaysian Sports Ministry:
Cc: Ministry of Tourism
Firstly, I think that we should all at least acknowledge and applaud Standard Chartered for taking over the sponsorship of the KL International Marathon. At the very least, we got proper running vests which I must say is welcome relief after years of 100% cotton baggy t-shirts from AMBank (the organisers were obviously not runners or any sort of athlete for that matter)
With a lot of fine tuning, stronger will to implement plans (rather than just thinking it) and some luck, perhaps, one day, the KL International Marathon can match up to Singapore and HK which runners (elite, amateurs and fun runners) mark on their calendar the year before and registration is filled months before the race day. Frankly, these races have a pretty substantial economic multiplier and perhaps the Ministry of Tourism might want to consider jumping on the bandwagon as well. In Singapore, hotels are booked up months in advance as overseas runners fly in for the occasion.
At the very minimum, the KLIM organiser should use the StanChart Singapore participation numbers as the minimum KPI that KLIM should achieve. Just in case you don’t have the data, Wan Yew Leong has kindly put in a nice little excel sheet for your easy reference (http://www.runnersmalaysia
It is embarrassing that we are so far behind in numbers given our population. Additionally, in Singapore, students (this cultivate athletes) of the appropriate age are encouraged to participate in all categories and, the events reputation is able to attract runners from all parts of the world.
Personally, I found the KLIM route to be far more interesting than the SG Mara run and therefore has far more potential to attract global runners should the coordination of the actual run actually improve.
I would like to breakdown my feedback into two parts:
1) The actual run:
- Simply, people who organise runs should themselves at least complete one full marathon (42kms) or at least a half marathon (21kms) to understand what it feels like and therefore the needs of the runners.
- Water stops: Such a simple but critical part of any run.
- Apparently, my position for the full marathon was #xx (or so your website says though am pretty sure that is wrong as well) and by the time I had reached the 38km water stop there was not a drop of water left (the ~1800 runners behind me did not stand a chance!). The volunteers (bless them for volunteering) could do nothing as full marathoners ran past disappointed. Mentally, it really affects your run as long distance runners plan water stops and fuel intake according to water stops. The volunteers however could have called in to the coordinator for delivery of more water/100+ which I know you had plenty to spare as, at the finish line, volunteers were giving whole bottles away randomly towards the end of the morning.
- According to a few runners behind me, earlier water stops (pre 38 km mark) had also run out of fluids and nothing was done which just shows pure laziness and a serious lack of initiative.
- Banana stops: Perhaps the monkeys got to it before any of the runners could?
- Pacesetters: If you are going to advertise it, at least try to make sure you have it; if not for all times, at least for most. Unless the pacesetters were carrying balloons too tiny for the human eye, I am pretty sure, there were none.
- Interval/race markings: Why so random? This is probably also the reason why many ended up running the wrong route. Where were the people to guide runners? I saw a 21km runner run the 42km route and have to turn back…imagine the frustration?
2) The website:
- Would just like to note that the website for the KLIM does not appear to have any of the same features of the SG Mara website. In fact, it’s pretty amateur for an international race. Some key differences which I have noticed:
1) Search functions - Requires bib numbers and you can't search by just your full name. Many of us can’t remember our bib numbers; either detail should be sufficient to pull out the data required.
2) Comparison function - There is no comparison chart to see where other people were relative to another runner during the run.
3) Time splits – No time splits available for the full marathon which is very disappointing and quite basic. Even the basic runs in Singapore/KL have time splits.
4) Full list of runners - Full list is usually provided in PDF form which makes it easier for people to find their friends, etc and allows them to log the information. (Yes, long distance runners keep logs and obsess over running time, etc)
5) Photos that were taken were not strategically taken (for e.g. take the photo of the runner when he/she is crossing the finish line, not some random spot which is meaningless). When compared to what you could get in the SG mara, it is extremely disappointing - - having the option for the sake of it is pointless if it’s not going to be executed professionally and thoughtfully. It definitely did not entice me to buy any photos (which I always do as a keepsake)
6) Timeliness – Why did it take so long for the posting of results? In the SG Mara, results were available by Monday with the full set of functions with photos to match, etc. You should capitalise on a “runners high” when they will buy more paraphernalia associated with their run, etc. This is of course on the proviso that they had a good experience during the run.
Well, as they say “Malaysia Boleh” so maybe we “Tidak Boleh” this year but will “Boleh” next year. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon where at the very least I know I will get water throughout the race. Perhaps, the Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Tourism and Race Organisers should make a “rombongan” (Malaysians are good at the “rombongans”) and participate in the race to see, feel and understand what a well executed run should resemble.
42 km Female Runner
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