Electric Run organisers promise Abu Dhabi improvement after Dubai failures

Matt Jones - Editor 20:58 27/01/2016
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  • A less-than-auspicious debut last November saw a power failure ironically delay the start of the Electric Run by nearly an hour and runners had water confiscated.

    But a totally-different experience is expected in Abu Dhabi, which will take place at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit on Friday. Regional director for event organisers Fast Track David Sanderson is hopeful this time the race will be remembered for all the right reasons.

    “The overarching point is that anyone who came to Dubai and is coming to Abu Dhabi will experience a different event,” he said.

    “For anyone who went or heard anything negative about Dubai they should come along to Abu Dhabi and see what we’ve done to enhance the event. That will be worth coming along to.”

    Sanderson refused to shy away from some of the glaring issues which dogged the inaugural Electric Run held in the Emiates a few months ago and instead moved to explain how organisers had worked tirelessly to ensure the capital city race will run as smoothly as possible.

    “Any event will always have teething problems,” admitted the Australian.

    “The biggest issue at Dubai was a power failure, specifically on the start line which caused a 45 minute delay.

    “Unfortunately these things happen, it was out of our control.

    “There was also a water issue. Security took water from people at the very beginning of the event. We corrected that as soon as possible to allow people to bring in their own bottles and isotonic drinks. There was water provided on the course although some people felt that wasn’t enough and we’ve listened to those people and there will be multiple stations on course.”

    Sanderson said he and his team have responded to feedback from the 10,500 plus runners that attended November’s race, while they have enhanced the race in other areas, including adding more ‘lands’ to the circuit, such as ‘Electric Avenue’ and an as yet unnamed one which will remain top secret until race day.

    “We’re really excited about Abu Dhabi. We’re really excited about taking the event to Yas Marina Circuit for the first time,” he added.

    “We looked at the Dubai event and have taken feedback from people involved and we’ve thought how we can improve the Abu Dhabi event.”

    With hopes the Abu Dhabi race will now go ahead incident free, Sanderson says it is time for participants to get excited about the event known as the world’s brightest 5K night run.

    “The reason we brought it out here was the huge increase in people wanting to get involved in non-traditional mass participation events, where you can get off the couch and come and enjoy yourself,” he said. “It makes it more of a social event.”

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