(Originally published May 12) The Sporting Life 10K race in Toronto this past weekend had a few fails -- undermanned water stations -- but the worst was at the end, where mass congestion hit the finish line. I ran this race and have been updating this post since. So far, the race sponsor, the charity have given a response -- Canadian Running has interviewed the race director.
The response here has been tremendous, especially on my original post. You can read or posts comments at the bottom of the original post.
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| Photo from MySportsShooter |
UPDATE, May 28:
It's two weeks, two days since Sporting Life 10K, and Get Out There published a statement from the race organizer. First things first, there is a "solution" to the finish line issue. So, good, they're conceding that there was an issue on their end as opposed to pointing at runners. Those solutions include staggering the start and opening up access to the park post finish (which was a massive contributor to the congestion.)
Here's the full statement from Get Out There (h/t to Andrea for pointing it out)
We recognize that there was an issue at our finish line this year that made it difficult for many of our participants to cross due to overcrowding. We are working on a solution so that next year, all our participants will easily and freely be able to cross our finish line without encountering a wall of runners.
In anticipation of an increased field in 2014, more time will be allocated between the waves; these times will be increased to 15 to 20 minutes. We will work with the city to close Lakeshore Blvd. between Bathurst and Strachan Ave. to allow our participants easier access to Coronation Park without having to stop for traffic. We will continue to work with the city on our course and road closure plan so that we can better accommodate both our participants, supporters, and Toronto residents.
The Sporting Life 10k and its sponsors are committed to providing our participants with a premium running experience that will elevate and inspire all.I'll look on to see how they address other issues -- specifically the water stations and volunteer recruitment and course marshals. In the meantime, I have passed along names to Sporting Life who asked for runners to potentially join an advisory board, with transparency -- no response from them on that.
Other posts on the Sporting Life 10K 2013
- Jay Glassman on inexperienced runners and race etiquette
- Behind Sporting Life 10K's white ribbons and why we're so mad
- Runners tell Toronto why races matter and what needs fixing
- Runners on what they would change about Toronto races
