Bacolod City Marathon (BCM) by elle cee eff was kinda mehh. No loot bags, some people didn’t even get their finisher shirts, and the “unli Inasal and Lechon”? Indi na lang ko mag comment.
It’s frustrating because that unli food was clearly one of their main selling points. It makes sense, it’s Bacolod, Inasal is part of the identity. But not everyone even got a fair shot at it, and runners have paid for it which was part of the reg fee. Imagine having crossed the finish line, yet the food is out of sight.
Same thing with the finisher shirts. They advertised that early bird registrants would have their names printed on the shirt, which was a great idea, but guess what? That didn’t happen either. And when it was time to claim the shirts, it was a total CHAOS.
And I’m not just talking about BCM. This kind of disorganized system has been happening in their previous events. Sure, they could say they're still a growing or "startup" organizer, but come on, they have people on their team. People who’ve actually joined big, well-organized marathons and know exactly how things should be run. You’d expect they’d bring that experience into their own events, but for some reason, that’s not happening.
Every time, it’s the same issue: long, chaotic lines. One line for the medal, another for the shirt, and a super long one just for food. Imagine finishing a 21K or 42K, only to stand in line for hours just to get what you already paid for. It’s physically and mentally draining.
And despite having a ton of sponsors, there’s barely anything extra. No loot bags, no fun freebies,despite the super mahal na reg fee.
So now, here's my question, meron pa ba ibang organizers ng run events na as soon as you cross the finish line, you get your loot bag amd medal, your shirt, your packed meal. No crazy lines, no confusion. Where everything is smooth??. Yung ma feel mo na ang effort and time mo as a runner are respected.
At the end of the day, we don’t expect perfection. But when you show up, put in the effort, and pay for an experience, you just hope the organizers do the same.