U-turn error extends Bangkok race by 6km for world's longest half-marathon
BUSABA SIVASOMBOON
Last updated 08:32, November 17 2015
An error by race organisers has made Bangkok home to the world's longest half-marathon.
Instead of the typical 21-kilometre run through Thailand's steamy capital, the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon on Sunday accidentally extended its annual half-marathon to nearly 28km.
Runners unleashed a tirade of complaints on social media after the event.
The Jogging Association of Thailand, one of two organisers of the race, admitted to the error late Monday (NZT Tuesday).
"The association apologises for the mistake," Songrakm Kraison, the association's vice president, said.
"It will not happen again in the future."
The Athletic Association of Thailand, which oversees athletic events in the country, said it discussed the mistake with the organisers, who "admitted that a technical error happened during the half-marathon event," Surapong Ariyamongkol, the association's secretary-general, said.
He said race officials responsible for pointing half-marathon runners in the right direction inadvertently directed them to make a U-turn at the wrong place.
"It added more than 3km to each lap, therefore more than 6km were added to the whole half marathon," Surapong said.
"We have rebuked the association, but we could not do anything else."
The marathon's Facebook page filled with comments from runners who called it "ridiculous," a "massive miscalculation" and "ncredibly dangerous" for runners who had trained to run just 21km.
Others joked that it should be renamed the "Super Half Marathon," or as one Facebook comment noted, the extra distance was a by-product of race inflation: "Hey, they increased the price this year, so you get more kilometers for your money."
- AP
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/o...longest-halfmarathon
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