What supposed to be a fun event to promote health and wellness turned out to be a disaster of sorts.
The 2016 Qingyuan International Marathon produced more injured people than invigorated runners.
Some 12,200 participants suffered injuries, according to The People.
Held in northwestern Guangdong Province on March 20, the event was joined by approximately 20,000 participants.
Out of the 12,000 people treated, 9,838 experienced muscle spasm; 1,743 sprained themselves; 194 had scratches; and 20 fainted, according to Nanfang Daily.
Nanfang Daily also reported that the ambulance took 17 participants to the hospital. Three runners got admitted to intensive care and two for a cardiology condition.
The marathon set three distances: 42 km (full marathon), 21 km (half marathon) and 5 km (mini marathon).
Prior to the event, the medical team of the organizing committee underwent necessary training on March 12, according to the official website of Qingyuan Marathon.
The team learned, among many others, what to do with exercise-induced injuries, how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, and how to manage common medical emergencies.
The website also said that organizers set up 19 medical stations, prepared rescue vehicles such as ambulances and deployed rescue teams.
Each rescue team received a walkie-talkie, manual resuscitators and automated external defibrillators (AEDs), used to check a person’s heart rhythm.
Some participants even tried eating the bath soaps given as souvenirs, which they thought were “energy bars,” reported The Wall Street Journal.
According to a BBC report, an event official said to Yangtse Evening Post, “The packs of soap were indeed like food packaging. It is a negligent mistake on our part.”
The bar of Royal Orchard Fruity Soap, a product of Jakarta-based PT Orson Indonesia, comes with the word “grape” written on it with a matching picture of a bunch of grapes. The soap’s packaging lists all product details in English.
Perhaps the organizers will now give actual energy bars next time.