SINGAPORE: What should have been an energising Saturday morning for thousands of runners instead turned into a frustrating experience for many at this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) Half Marathon. A Reddit post by user bobbledog10 on /askSingapore has gone viral after detailing a long list of organisational problems, from shuttle bus issues to dangerously congested running paths and a chaotic post-race bottleneck.
The runner didn’t mince words: despite SCSM’s reputation as Singapore’s flagship race, the experience “really fell short of expectations”.
Anyone else ran the SCSM HM today feel it was very poorly organised?
byu/bobbledog10 inaskSingapore
Shuttle troubles that started the day on the wrong note
While the poster didn’t personally take the shuttle, they said other participants reported that buses were overbooked, forcing runners to be dropped off far from the designated points. This meant many had to make unexpected extra walks before even starting their 21 km race, which is obviously hardly ideal since every minute of rest for a long run matters.
Other Redditors chimed in with similar experiences, with one user saying their shuttle never showed up at all, leaving everyone stranded. “Everyone left waiting ended up sharing Grab and called the bus company for a refund,” the commenter wrote.
Runners squeezed in two-way narrow sections
Another point the post noted was that the route itself became a major headache. According to the post, the second half of the race from Gardens by the Bay to Marina Barrage and Bay East was made two-way despite the narrow paths. This led to constant squeezing, bumping and jostling, especially for faster runners trying to overtake.
The runner noted that every other race they’d been in had kept such sections one-directional because of safety and space concerns, making this arrangement particularly baffling.
Medical cart blocked the path and caused a standstill
Apparently, a serious incident occurred along the Gardens by the Bay stretch toward the Padang, where a medical cart attending to an injured participant ended up blocking the entire route. This caused a sudden halt, leading to runners at the back crashing into those in front.
Of course, the poster didn’t blame medics for attending to an emergency but questioned why the course wasn’t planned wide enough to allow emergency vehicles to park without blocking traffic. They felt the organisers should have at least deployed someone further upstream to warn runners and redirect the crowd. For them, this was another proof of poor planning.
Collapsed runner but no medic in sight
The post further recounted how, in another worrying moment, they apparently saw someone collapse around the 19 to 20 km mark, with fellow runners shouting for help, but no organiser or medic nearby. Some participants reportedly stepped in to help until assistance eventually arrived.
Post-race congestion left runners standing in the heat for 30 minutes
But the biggest frustration came after crossing the finish line. According to bobbledog10, last year’s race at the Padang saw smooth post-race flow: medal collection, hydration, and exit all done within minutes.
This year, however, runners were funnelled into a sweaty, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd that barely moved for over 30 minutes, with no cooling or hydration provided during the wait. Some even fainted, the poster said, while others gave up and left without collecting their entitled items.
“It’s hard to understand why they didn’t copy last year’s system,” the runner wrote in their Reddit post.
The Redditor wondered whether the problems stemmed from over-registration, under-staffing, or both. They added that for the price runners paid, the experience was “really disappointing”.
Netizens express their frustration and scepticism for future marathons
The comments section quickly filled with runners sharing similar sentiments. One long-time participant wrote: “I have been participating every year. This one was very poorly organised. Absolutely not going to participate again in SCSM.”
To which another replied: “Every year people complain about how messy the organisation is, and every year the crowds still show up. Honestly, it’s time we show how we feel with our wallets instead.” This was basically a call to vote with their dollars and express their opinions through boycotts or something similar.
Another commenter said they’ve stopped joining local half marathons entirely: “You’re always paying so much for an overcrowded course, and corporate-focused organisers rather than a runner-focused race.”
A first-time racer added: “My first official race, and I am put off from doing more in the future.”
Will the organisers respond?
With thousands gearing up for the Full Marathon the next day, the original poster ended their post with a hopeful, but strongly worded jab: “Hopefully they get their [redacted] together and manage things better.”
Whether organisers will address the feedback remains to be seen. However, with posts similar to this, it was clear that this year’s half-marathon had clearly touched a nerve among the running community.
