Organisers of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon have announced that Sunday is the final day for participants to collect their medals following the disruption that affected distribution after the 10km race.
In a notice issued to runners, the organisers urged participants who had not yet received their medals to visit the designated collection centres across Lagos before the close of the exercise. The announcement comes after a crowd surge at the finish line caused confusion and delayed the proper distribution of medals to runners who completed the race.
The organisers stated that Sunday, March 15, marks the last opportunity for runners to claim their medals for successfully completing the race. Participants were advised to proceed to any of the three approved collection centres earlier announced by the marathon organisers.
According to the statement, runners can pick up their medals at the Puma Store located at Ikeja City Mall in Alausa, the Puma Store at Circle Mall along Lekki Toll Road, and the marathon office at Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The organisers expressed appreciation to all participants who took part in what they described as another historic edition of the annual marathon event. They also acknowledged the challenges experienced during medal distribution and assured runners that steps are being taken to review and improve the process in future editions.
The medal distribution issue followed an incident that occurred after the 10km race on Saturday when impatient runners reportedly overwhelmed security personnel at the medal collection point. Barricades were reportedly pulled down as participants struggled to gain access to the medals.
Reports indicated that some individuals grabbed multiple medals while others who completed the race were unable to collect theirs due to the disorder. There were also claims that some medals were later sold to runners who could not access the official distribution point.
Despite the incident affecting the 10km race, the elite marathon category recorded impressive performances. Kenya’s Ezra Kering won the men’s 42 kilometre race with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes 55 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Meseret Dinke emerged as the winner of the women’s category with a time of 2 hours 37 minutes 36 seconds.
Organisers have assured participants that lessons from this year’s experience will help improve planning and crowd control in future races.
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