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Sundown Marathoners Complained About How The Organisers Didn’t Give Them Water During The Run; Organisers Has Responded

Victoria Lee

2019-06-04 , 8:00 pm

Looks like someone’s in serious trouble.

By someone, I mean the organisers of this year’s Sundown Marathon.

Participants were left very unhappy after the entire event ended.

The organisers, Infinitus Productions, apologised on Facebook via the official Sundown Marathon Facebook page.

So, why were people triggered?

Late Flag Down

For a start, both marathons were delayed on Saturday. They were supposed to be flagged off in waves at the F1 Pit Building from 11:30 pm but were delayed for an hour.

Which means, the run had begun at 12:30 am instead.

The organisers explained that the delay in the flag-off was due to an unforeseen obstruction on the route which had to be cleared.

Once they had cleared it, they flagged off the race. They also provided additional post-race shuttle services to cater to the delay.

This was not the only problem, though.

Insufficient Water at Hydration Points

There were supposed to be seven hydration points throughout the 21.1km half-marathon route and 14 throughout the 42.195km full-marathon route.

Unfortunately, not every hydration point has water.

Now, this is one serious issue because no water = dangerous.

Logistic Issues

Quoted from their Facebook post, they said:

“The shortage was due to some logistical issues of the deployment of the water. Upon being alerted of the issue, we dispatched additional supplies of water immediately to the affected hydration stations. Unfortunately, the new supplies did not reach the hydration stations and runners in time.”

The situation was so bad that some runners even resorted to queueing at public water coolers just to stay hydrated throughout the run.

No, this is not the queue for the toilet.

This water cooler in the photo is situated at Gardens By The Bay east.

According to the user who uploaded this photo, he says that hydration points at the 11km and 14km marks had run out of isotonic and water.

Volunteers shouted that there was no water, and they had to proceed to the next hydration point that was 4km away.

Why Water Is Important

It’s extremely important to stay hydrated during a long run. Here’s a primary school science lesson in case you’ve forgotten why it’s important.

The more you sweat while running, the more your blood volume decreases. The more it decreases, your heart has to work even harder to deliver oxygen to the rest of the muscles in your body.

TLDR: No water = Heart has to work harder.

It may sound scary and serious, but it’s not that bad. I think. According to Podium Runner, runners almost never experience dehydration levels that are so bad that it leads to major health consequences.

However, water is still important because normal levels of dehydration will make runners feel uncomfortable. When they’re uncomfortable, they’ll slow down gradually.

So it’s important for runners to drink while they run to limit the negative effects of dehydration on their body.

Unimpressed and Unhappy

Although some people took the apology well, some did not.

One user wrote under the post, “Well, again at the end of the day, this apology is cheap and worthless. The organisers are behind laughing and celebrating the profits they garner from this. Congratulations!”

Another user posted a whole rant about her experience but ended off her comment with, “This year Sundown Marathon has been a disappointing experience. It made my worst FM timing as I was very dehydrated and tired halfway thru the run. Good luck to the organiser for future improvements and to the potential participants, perhaps think twice before signing up and be prepared for the worst!”

Guess we’re not seeing some people again at the next Sundown Marathon.