Marathon Participants Had To Run An Extra 6.4KM After Accidental Extension By Organisers
The runners got more than what they bargained for.
By John Lim — 17 Nov 2015, 06:33 PM
Bangkok is now home to the word's longest half-marathon, but how that feat was achieved isn't exactly something to be proud of
Instead of a 21km run through the capital of Thailand, the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon held last Sunday extended to 27.4km - an extra 6.4km - due to a big blunder by the organisers
An error by race organisers has turned Bangkok into the home of the world’s longest half-marathon. Instead of a 13-mile (21km) run through Thailand’s capital, the Standard Chartered Bangkok marathon on Sunday accidentally extended its annual half-marathon to almost 17 miles (27.4km)
theguardian.com
According to the National Jogging Association of Thailand (NJAT), one of two organisers, officials directed runners to the wrong direction which resulted in the mistake
"Our staff mistakenly marked a U-turn onto the course which added around six kilometers to the route," said Songkram Kraisonthi of co-organizers the National Jogging Association of Thailand (NJAT) and Amazing Field.
"We admit our mistake and have apologized. Our staff worked hard but they were confused," he said.
ibnlive.com
NJAT has apologised and by way of compensation, announced on its Facebook page that runners will receive a special finisher shirt in recognition of the extra distance they ran
The announcement was first in Thai, with an English version (the one you see above) released later on.
However, the offer was not enough to dampen the runners who expressed their anger and frustration on the page
