<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Fun tunnel run marred by cramming in 5k runners, starting delay, and pity the suffering senior citizens
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I PARTICIPATED in the Swing KPE Tunnel Run on Sunday morning, and I found that on the whole, the run was well organised. For instance, the shuttle buses arranged to ferry the runners to and from the venue really went very smoothly. There were enough buses and the personnel assigned to guide the runners onto the buses maintained order well.
=> Need to praise the Papaya dogs first or the letter would be thrown into the paper basket?
However, I would like to raise a few issues which I would like the organisers to note.
The 10km runners were told to gather near the mouth of the tunnel, while the 5km runners were herded into a tight pack some 50m away from the 10km runners. It was very uncomfortable for the 5km runners as we had standing-room only. By contrast, the 10km runners were allowed to walk around as they wished.
Worse, the organisers conducted a warm-up session which the 5km runners could not take part in. We were standing cheek by jowl - it was not possible to have even an arm's length space between one person and the next. How were we expected to do any warm-up exercises? They tried to compensate for this by holding another warm-up session just before the 5km flag-off, but this only delayed the flag-off time further, adding to our frustration.
The flag-off time was also a source of unhappiness to many of us. We were told that it would be at 7.30am. Most of us reached the place at 7am or slightly before that. We were all raring to go, and expected flag-off to start punctually, or at the very latest, at 8am. We were kept waiting till 8.45am and told that the delay was because the guest of honour, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, had not arrived yet.
=> Serangoon Gdn chor boh lan Papaya bitch again!
I especially would like to highlight the fact that in the 5km crowd, there were a large number of senior citizens. They wore stickers identifying them as members of Geylang Serai Community Club. They were there because they wanted to contribute to the organisers' bid to break the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of lanterns in a tunnel at one time.
=> Staunch Papaya supporters?
These elderly citizens had to stand in a tight pack for 75 minutes, to help break a record, with very little regard being shown for their welfare. I saw one of them, who had her left arm in a cast, shuffle to the side at about 8am because she needed to sit down.
It is tiring for working adults like myself to stand for such a long time - all the more so for people in their 60s. The only merciful thing was that the sky was overcast and there was no sunshine while we were waiting.
Yan Jinren (Ms)
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I PARTICIPATED in the Swing KPE Tunnel Run on Sunday morning, and I found that on the whole, the run was well organised. For instance, the shuttle buses arranged to ferry the runners to and from the venue really went very smoothly. There were enough buses and the personnel assigned to guide the runners onto the buses maintained order well.
=> Need to praise the Papaya dogs first or the letter would be thrown into the paper basket?
However, I would like to raise a few issues which I would like the organisers to note.
The 10km runners were told to gather near the mouth of the tunnel, while the 5km runners were herded into a tight pack some 50m away from the 10km runners. It was very uncomfortable for the 5km runners as we had standing-room only. By contrast, the 10km runners were allowed to walk around as they wished.
Worse, the organisers conducted a warm-up session which the 5km runners could not take part in. We were standing cheek by jowl - it was not possible to have even an arm's length space between one person and the next. How were we expected to do any warm-up exercises? They tried to compensate for this by holding another warm-up session just before the 5km flag-off, but this only delayed the flag-off time further, adding to our frustration.
The flag-off time was also a source of unhappiness to many of us. We were told that it would be at 7.30am. Most of us reached the place at 7am or slightly before that. We were all raring to go, and expected flag-off to start punctually, or at the very latest, at 8am. We were kept waiting till 8.45am and told that the delay was because the guest of honour, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, had not arrived yet.
=> Serangoon Gdn chor boh lan Papaya bitch again!
I especially would like to highlight the fact that in the 5km crowd, there were a large number of senior citizens. They wore stickers identifying them as members of Geylang Serai Community Club. They were there because they wanted to contribute to the organisers' bid to break the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of lanterns in a tunnel at one time.
=> Staunch Papaya supporters?
These elderly citizens had to stand in a tight pack for 75 minutes, to help break a record, with very little regard being shown for their welfare. I saw one of them, who had her left arm in a cast, shuffle to the side at about 8am because she needed to sit down.
It is tiring for working adults like myself to stand for such a long time - all the more so for people in their 60s. The only merciful thing was that the sky was overcast and there was no sunshine while we were waiting.
Yan Jinren (Ms)
