Regardless of leisure, training or participating in a running event, as long as you are running at night, it is best to take note of your surroundings. Accidents and injuries have been happening frequently during running events that are held especially at night.
Yesterday, a runner and a marshal were seriously injured after they were hit by a car while they are on a motorcycle during the Penang Amateur Athletic Association (PAAA) Annual Round The Island Relay.
The PAAA Annual Round The Island Relay was held on 9th December 2018 and flagged off at the Esplanade around 4 a.m. in the morning. As soon as the event flagged off, Cheah Ting Cong, a 16 year old teenager who is a substitute runner in the Penang Amateur Athletic Association (PAAA) Annual Round The Island Relay was riding pillion on a motorcycle with Lee Foo Beng, a 51-years-old marathon marshal, when a car suddenly rammed them from behind.
The impact of the crash was so strong that both the teenager and the marshal flew off the motorcycle, landing on the other side of the road. As for the car, it skidded and crashed into a road divider, leaving it badly damaged.
They had been taken to the Penang General Hospital where Lee is receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for head injuries while Cheah was injured in his legs. Both of them are from the mainland.
However, this collision was not the only issue at hand.
According to Soon Lip Chee, who is the state exco in-charge of the Youth and Sports portfolio, the annual event is not recognised by the state government.
The committee chairman, Mr Soon Lip Chee mentioned:
All sports function must not only obtain approval from the Sports Commissioner but also receive support or recognition from state government under Youth and Sports Department in order to allow the state to monitor the event. Nevertheless, priority must be given to the safety of participants as stated in the Development Sports Act 1997.
Unfortunately, the event organisers could not be contacted for comments.
Runners hit by reckless driver at PAAA round island relay now. The culprit must pay for the wrongdoing. Be careful runners. Pray hard
Posted by Choo Hooi Lim on Saturday, 8 December 2018
The relay, covering about 72.63km run, passed through Gelugor, Bayan Lepas, Sungai Batu, Balik Pulau, Genting, Sungai Rusa, Sungai Pinang, Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah and Tanjung Tokong before returning to the Esplanade.
A Southwest district police spokesman said the car involved in the accident was driven by a 34-year-old man.
Night Run Safety Precaution
As mentioned above, running at night can be dangerous, it would be good to note the following:
- Be extra aware of your surroundings!
- Wear reflective or brightly coloured clothing!
- Road rules still apply despite having no cars on the road!
- If possible, it is best to run with a buddy or a running group.
- Running a familiar route is safer than running in unknown territories.
- For headphone users – Use headphones that have surrounding awareness to hear any oncoming vehicles.
- In case of emergencies – Bring a cell phone to be able to contact people.
The safety of participants at running events in Malaysia has always been a major concern. Earlier this year in March at the Run Out Pahang Marathon, a car driven by race volunteer crashed into four runners and last year marathon pacer Evelyn Ang was killed and two male runners were injured at the Klang City International Marathon when a car ran over them at the marathon.
