THERE was both anger and disappointment at the Hatfield Broad Oak 10k road race on Bank Holiday Monday after the organisers ran out of medals.

Runners who had been out on the road ony for well over an hour got over the finishing line to be told that there were no medals left.

What made matters worse for the disappointed runners was the site of the thousand or more runners who had finished ahead of them, wearing the medals around their necks.

Runners went on to the Hatfield Broad Oak 10K Facebook page to ask when they would get their medals, to be met (initially) with an underwhelming response of “We will see what we can do”.

This did not go down well with runners, many of whom had paid £28 to enter.

One runner said: “This is becoming a common theme with races that the slower runners end up with no medal as the event doesn’t order enough even though it should have been planned for in the entry fee.

“We then need to chase them and hope we get one in the post”

Another runner said: ” I have to say I agree to say that I’m disappointed with not receiving the medal, it’s almost feels that your event is not inclusive to slower runners.

A runner added: “I can’t believe they ran out? They must know the number of people who were racing!”

Among those who missed out was our editor, Michael Casey. He said: “I have run every year since 1971 and this was the first time in a mass participation event, that this has happened.

“I particularly feel for the people running near me; for a number it was their first 10K. These were people, who had taken up running through the Couch to 5k and were now taking it to the next level.

“I could see how disappointed they were when they got the news”.

By Tuesday night, the organisers updated their message: They said: “To all race finishers who could not collect a medal on Monday please accept our deepest apologies.

“We will be placing an order for more ASAP and will let you know when you can collect”.

YH did wonder if the organisers had overstretched themselves? In previous years, the number of runners has been around the 1,000 mark. However, this year, there was well over 1300.

Many runs sell out months before the start date but Hatfield was still advertising the day before the race.

They were making appeals for more marshals in the weeks leading up to the race. The one water station after the 5k point seemed to have just two (three at the most) manning it.

Many appreciate that this is for a very worthy cause (St Mary’s Primary in Hatfield Broad Oak) and there were many positive aspects to the whole event however, these are separate matters.

We put a number of questions to the organisers.

We did ask them, how many medals had they ordered?

How many people entered?

How many people ran?

Will you be taking on board comments by people who did not get a medal?

Will you recognise that some people went away feeling that you ran a “two tier” event?

The main organiser, Gemma Staines said she could not meet our deadline.

We sent questions on Tuesday with a deadline of Wednesday. We will publish their response, should we receive one.