A half-marathon in Sheffield didn’t go nearly as smoothly as planned due to a low stock of water.

A half marathon in Sheffield didn’t go nearly as smoothly as planned due to a low stock of water.

Despite the cancellation, over 4 thousand determined runners still lined up and started running. Police in South Yorkshire previously attempted to set up road blocks but later decided it would be better for everyone involved to allow the runners to take part in the race.

Chair of the race organizers, Margaret Lilley elaborated on the troublesome water problem and the unpleasant aftermath. She commented ‘We have scoured supermarkets around the city, but unfortunately we have not been able to secure enough water for the medical and safety officers of the race to say it is safe to go ahead. We therefore took the very reluctant decision to cancel.’

She pointed out however that the huge group of runners may not have agreed with that decision as they had lined up for more than a half an hour. The cancellation was announced via a loudspeaker and it reportedly wasn’t all that loud, so it’s unknown if the runners decided to ignore or just didn’t hear it.

Despite the slight chaos, no injuries were reported.