Belfast Half Marathon Faces Growing Pains

There were supposedly not enough “loos” for 4,000 runners.

The BBC has some dour news out of Northern Ireland. Apparently, the Belfast Half Marathon last Sunday didn’t go too well for runners.

Athletes said that there was a noticeable lack of water, toilets, and finisher medals.

Though 4,000 runners took part in the event, there were only six portable toilets at the race’s start, which was at Belfast City Hall. A large line formed at them before the gun sounded.

“I thought: ‘Somebody has misjudged this badly,'” said Gary Johnston, who contacted the BBC to air his complaints. “A friend of mine who was running got into the queue quite early and had to abandon it and start running.”

Johnston went on to state that there was a problem with the amount of water available for competitors.

“The first stop was after about three miles round,” he said. “The front runners got cups that were already filled, but when we came along they were filling the water as and when you came up. So a lot of people had to stop and then start again.”

For More: BBC