GEORGE TOWN: It was a gloomy day for participants of the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2018 (10km category) after the event had to be cancelled Sunday (Nov 25), the first time since its inception, due to heavy thunderstorm.
Over 11,000 participants who had warmed up for the 10km-run, which was scheduled to start at 6.30am today, had to walk away with their finishers medal without taking part in the run.
State Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said it was unfortunate that the run had to be cancelled but the safety of the participants was of paramount importance.
"With a heavy heart we had to cancel it due to the rain.
"I know runners were very keen to run but safety rules required that the run be stopped in the event of a thunderstorm.
"It has never happened before but the weather was beyond our control.
"We did not want any casualties," he said in his speech during the prize-giving ceremony held at the parking area near Queensbay Mall, Bayan Lepas.
Yeoh then clarified that the run could not be delayed as the Penang Bridge needed to be reopened at 10am sharp.
"We need to clean up and follow protocol which is why it could not be delayed to a later time," he said.
However, the 42km-full marathon and 21km-half marathon, which started at 1.30am and 3am respectively, were not affected by the rain and went on as scheduled.
A total of 26,000 runners turned up for the marathon.- Star
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