Participants Endure 3.5-Hour Queue For 2XU Compression Run Race Pack At Suntec, Organiser Apologises

Runners Suffer Long Queues For 2XU Compression Run Race Pack, Organiser Adds More Collection Dates

As we all know, Singaporeans love queueing for desirable things. Many exercise enthusiasts also love taking part in organised runs.

However, many people who’re taking part in the upcoming 2XU Compression Run didn’t appreciate queueing up to collect their race packs.

They reported a queue of up to 3.5 hours at Suntec City to do this.

The organiser has apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Long queues start around noon

On race pack collection day last Saturday (1 Apr), 2XU Compression Run organisers posted on Facebook at 11.58am to expect to queue for an average of 1 to 1.5 hours.

Despite that, however, a participant complained at 1.49pm of a “ridiculous” queue and that she had queued for more than two hours.

Photos posted by netizens showed a snaking queue folded several times upon itself.

One participant questioned why runners in different categories had to join the same queue, making everyone wait equally long.

Another contributor joked that the organiser was using the same system as the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), in reference to the long queues at border checkpoints on 31 Mar due to an ICA system glitch.

Others jibed that the whole situation was just an April Fool’s joke.

Race pack queue gets longer in the afternoon

As the afternoon dragged on, the queue apparently got even longer.

At 1.17pm, the organisers updated that the queue would take up to 2.5 hours.

However, those on the ground said staff had advised them that the wait would be three hours.

A netizen pointed out that this meant that the time queueing would end up being longer than the time taken to complete the race.

Another posited that maybe that’s why the run is named “2XU” — because one would have to spend twice the amount of time queueing than running the race.

Participant spent 3.5 hours in queue

Finally, a participant reported at 2.45pm that he’d spent a whopping 3.5 hours in the queue.

The photos he shared showed that the entire was full of people queueing in an orderly fashion.

There also appeared to be many counters and staff serving participants.

When it was finally his turn, he was also served fairly promptly, with the whole collection lasting just over 30 seconds.

Organisers apologise for queue, add extra race pack collection dates

So why the long wait, then? The race organisers left no clue in their Facebook post later that afternoon, apologising for the inconvenience.

They said they understood the “frustration and disappointment” felt by participants and took full responsibility.

They said they’ve taken immediate steps to rectify the situation, identifying the issues and putting in place measures to prevent similar queues in future.

While the race pack collection would continue the next day, they also added extra days for race pack collection on 8 and 9 Apr.

Runners can thus collect the packs at their convenience at Marina Square Link Bridge Atrium on Level 2 from 11am to 7pm on those days.

Situation improved on 2 Apr

Sure enough, the race pack collection situation on Sunday (2 Apr) appeared to be better.

The crowd was noticeably smaller than Saturday’s, with the organiser updating on Facebook that the longest waiting time was about 30 minutes.

Most of the netizens who posted on their Facebook page praised them for a good job, saying that they queued for about 20 minutes or less.

Hopefully, a valuable lesson has been learnt and things will be smooth sailing for the event from now on.

The 2XU Compression Run will start at 4.30am on 16 Apr at the F1 Pit Building.

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Featured image adapted from Jeffery Lim on Facebook and Franz Salazar on Facebook.