Signing up for 10km run takes longer than the race
Delays amid rush to join most popular part of Standard Chartered Marathon after quota cut
Would-be runners spent hours struggling to register online for a place in the 10km race at next year's Standard Chartered Marathon, after organisers cut the number of slots in the popular event by 1,500.
All 35,000 spots were snapped up by 10am yesterday, three hours after online registration opened, leaving some frustrated that their efforts to register had been in vain.
After last year's registration chaos - when the online system was so overloaded that it crashed and caused misery for runners trying to sign up - this year's registration process appeared to run more smoothly.
But competition was keener as the number of slots for the largest of the five events during the marathon had been cut, with organisers allocating the quota to longer races.
Some runners who did manage to secure a place wrote on the marathon's Facebook page that they spent as long as two hours in the online registration system.
"Registration took longer than the actual run," wrote one, Daniel Recktenwald.
Some reported using smartphones, computers and tablets simultaneously to maximise their chances.