Robyn Fennell spent many stressful months preparing to run her first half-marathon last Sunday, only for it to plummet into chaos.
But despite not having a half-marathon to compare it to, Fennell knew something was off the minute she left from Yonge and Sheppard last Sunday.
鈥淚t was all downhill in terms of organization,鈥 she said.
The 46th 海角社区官网Marathon on May 7 saw runners compete in a full marathon along a route from Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue West to BMO Field with shorter events 鈥 a half-marathon run and walk, a 10k run or a 5k run and walk 鈥 ending along the way.
Fennell is one of dozens of participants who are expressing concerns about the way the races played out, a lack of water and medical personnel available for runners, and a finish line that was, at best, disorganized, and at worst unsafe for volunteers and participants alike.
For a six-kilometre stretch of her run, Fennell said the water stations were out of cups, leaving her parched and unable to continue running until she reached another water station.
鈥淭here were some people really struggling on that (stretch of the) route鈥 while a lack of medical professionals were nearby to help them, leaving police to act as first-responders, Fennel said 鈥 鈥渨hich isn鈥檛 the goal of the police while they鈥檙e there for our safety (from cars).鈥
Cars drove on the left side of the road as only one direction of the lanes were blocked off to traffic, which Fennell and others have said 鈥渟eems like quite a safety concern鈥 for participants as cars attempted 鈥 and at times succeeded 鈥 to cut through the road, 鈥渟mall, orange cones鈥 being all that separated runners from oncoming traffic.
One person tweeted that a police officer told some runners to stop at the intersection of Yonge Street and Aylmer Avenue in order to let a car pass right through the race鈥檚 route.
鈥淭o fit all those runners into one half of the road was also just dangerous for how close we were running to each other,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 sure for more serious runners, that also impacted the quality of the race.鈥
When she finally made her way to the finish line, there was another hurdle 鈥 paramedics were treating people in need of care, blocking 鈥渙ne whole side of the finish line,鈥 resulting in traffic from runners. 鈥淥bviously, that was poorly set up,鈥 Fennell said, but it was only a precursor to what she would see once she entered the expo area to pick up her medal.
鈥淭hey just had little stations with no signage,鈥 said Fennell. 鈥淧eople were just picking up medals and yelling, 鈥榟alf marathon,鈥 鈥榤arathon,鈥 whatever, and handing them out to a crowd of people swarming them.鈥
And by the time she got there, they were, once again, out of water.
鈥淚t was a huge mess.鈥
How did things go wrong?
On the planning side of the race is Jay Glassman 鈥 a veteran race director who organized the 海角社区官网Marathon this year and in previous years 鈥 who mostly agrees with characterizations from participants about how chaos ensued during some aspects of the race, but disputed others, including reports of a lack of water.
Glassman said none of the water stations were empty and organizers collected probably 鈥60,000, 70,000鈥 unused cups after the race.
When asked about reports of people not receiving medical attention on time during the race, Glassman said it鈥檚 not true, and that there were medics all over the route 鈥渇rom top to bottom.鈥
There were two med-vans, two emergency service vehicles and two gators (similar to a golf cart) along the course, he said, for more than 10,000 people who participated in all races on offer ().
The City of 海角社区官网said they deployed 13 transportation officers to ensure the event鈥檚 traffic management plan was in place, and to ensure roads were safe before reopening. 鈥淎dditionally, event organizers provided Paid Duty Officers to support traffic management. Typically, 60-90 officers are deployed for marathons,鈥 they added.
Despite these officers, some runners and observers said , including one who said they had to bang on a car and 鈥渄o a weird side step when they were too impatient鈥 leaving their apartment on Yonge Street. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 leave a single kid or person to guard cars,鈥 . 鈥淥ther runners were quite visibly upset and rightfully so, as they were close too.鈥
Glassman said there were barricades erected along the course to prevent runners clashing with vehicles, and that the race has operated a similar route since 1995.
Mayhem at the finish line
For Glassman, that scene in the expo was 鈥渢raumatizing鈥 for himself, the volunteers, vendors and sponsors he said, while agreeing with runners it was 鈥渢errible.鈥 He said he saw people grabbing boxes of items from behind protected areas which prevented all runners from receiving the water and post-run snacks they should have at the end of the race.
鈥淚t was just pure greed 鈥 that mob mentality,鈥 Glassman said. Still, he said it鈥檚 not the fault of organizers when asked if the situation could have been prevented by having more volunteers or security at the finish line to handle the crowds, and grew emotional when speaking of the events that transpired.
In one instance, Glassman said older women working for him were told to 鈥淕et out of my way you f鈥斺攇 c鈥攖,鈥 adding that high school students working the event for volunteer hours were subject to racial slurs.
鈥淚 have never been more disgusted in my life.鈥
Runners in 2019 said the race was longer than it should have been
Outside of these events, the marathon still had 鈥済reat runner turnout,鈥 Glassman said, citing great memories made and personal records broken for most runners.
But it isn鈥檛 the first time the marathon has been under fire from past participants who were left to wonder what went wrong, or the first time the race鈥檚 director has been forced to defend the event.
In 2019, , which could affect their performance. Glassman said it was measured and certified by Athletics Canada, but there may have been 鈥渟ome confusion鈥 with the 10-km race.
Still, some full marathon runners鈥 watches clocked in distances more than 1-km longer than advertised, which impacted their times and therefore their eligibilities for other races, .
When asked if things that went wrong this year could serve to inform how things are run next, Glassman said he 鈥渃ertainly hopes鈥 there is a next year, but that鈥檚 a discussion he has to have the event鈥檚 sponsors.
鈥淥ur sponsors didn鈥檛 sign up with this either, and they were just as disgusted and disappointed as I was with the behaviour.鈥
Preparations for Sporting Life 10K this Sunday
Exactly a week after the 海角社区官网Marathon, the Sporting Life 10K is set to take over the city on Sunday with more than 16,000 participants.
Cory Freedman, who has been running that race for the past few years, said organizers should be prepared beyond the minimum requirements the city sets out to receive a permit for events like these.
Freedman鈥檚 co-director, Charlotte Brookes, said event notices have been sent out to inform people of it, and are working with the city to confirm the road closures have been added to Waze and Google Maps to inform drivers of potential detours. Forty-five medical staff will be on bikes across the route, along with 76 paid duty police officers, 50 security guards and 120 course marshals and ambulances stationed at the 4k and 7k water station, and at the finish line.
Yonge Street will again be closed 鈥 both lanes 鈥 and the race will finish on Lakeshore Boulevard.
鈥淲e know (drivers) are going to complain,鈥 Freedman said. 鈥淲hat we do is try our best to help minimize and mitigate all that.鈥
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