[Running] Nike We Run KL 2012

I am boycotting all Hivelocity events in the future. This isn’t the first time they’ve made a mess of things (they also organised the PJ Half Marathon, which suffered mainly from messy registration and somewhat messy run) but this one seems to be quite the disaster. Here’s what I posted on G+:

The bad

  • Registration lasted mere hours and basically getting registered meant that you more or less hit the jackpot. Otherwise the Wind Goddess and Riyuna would have joined me as well. Turns out it might have been a good idea that they didn’t.
  • Run started at least 5 mins late. Apparently when the countdown was supposed to start, whoever managing the DJ console missed the cue, and the entire line was basically held up while the emcees “entertained” the crowd waiting for the music to play. (this one I’m not sure if it was noticed by people who were NOT in the front)
  • It’s not so much We Run KL as it was “We Run AKLEH” (the Ampang-KL Elevated Highway). While I can understand why this was done, I do wonder about the wisdom of holding a night run in KL on a Saturday. I hear a lot of people screaming. Oh, and a lot of people who were walking in the middle of the lane. Um… guys, did you not read the Runner’s Guide which says to keep to left if walking? I couldn’t make sprints at times when I wanted to.
  • This is the first time I’ve seen such a congested finishing line. We were all like “OMG THE FINISHING LINE IS UP AHEAD PUSSHHHHHHH” and then human jam. _” I got out of the queue because I felt fairly phobic being in there, pressed against all the other sweaty bodies. Also because I needed some fresh air and walking to cool my body down.
  • I’ve seen on my colleague’s FB that they decided NOT to run in and out of the baggage collection area to collect bags, which is what most other events do. Instead, they decided to bring ALL the bags out, and call out numbers randomly. It seems that anyone could claim a bag without them doing the right checks. My colleague was one of the earliest runners there, and yet she was almost the last one to get her bag.
  • Oh and whoever gave the emcees their scripts need to research better. WeRunKL is NOT the first night run to be held in Malaysia. However, if you’re talking about the first Nike Run in the series then yes.

The good stuff:
I did enjoy myself. My timing was far better than I expected and there were a lot of cheerleaders on the route. The water stations were also quite evenly spaced for a noob runner like me.

Stuff they couldn’t avoid:
It rained quite heavily earlier in the day, so the field was muddy. My poor shoes! I’ll need to wash them later.

And now, sleep. Time to move about and get ready for Sunday.