DQ II

Due to popular demand - here's my 2c on Pierre's Orange Run disqualification...

From what I've read, our French friend was admitted into the race, ran it and won but was then DQ'd following a complaint from a local runner. I also read somewhere that the application form said locals only. Whatever the case, the issue is that the individual runner and/or the organisation wanted to exclude foreigners.

Well my opinion - which appears to be backed up by the vast majority of local runners judging from the many comments on the pacemakers blog, and others - is that limiting events like this to locals is an outrageously short-sighted and quite possibly xenophobic policy that borders on the downright stupid!

What state would Malaysian athletics be in in the future if fools who exclude foreigners were allowed to take the helm? The person who complained is clearly a primitive backward-looking type who's only concern is him/herself. And the person who agreed to disqualify someone who is obviously not local after he'd been allowed to enter and finish the race should be shot! No doubt the official in question is the type who will act to please whoever is standing in front of them at the time, rather than acting in accordance with principles.

I will never enter a BHP event unless Pierre is reinstated and they apologise to him.

Just think of the 5 "best" marathons in the World - London, New York, Berlin (forget the rest!) - where would they be if it was locals only?!?