The organiser of a running event yesterday is facing various troubles, including complaints by participants. A police report has also been made by a vendor against the organiser for allegedly defaulting on payments.

Participants took to Facebook to express their frustration about the Sesame Street Run Singapore at Our Tampines Hub.

They complained of long wait times, lack of clear instructions from the organiser and failure to receive merchandise that they had been promised when they paid to take part in the run.

Ms Cheng Wan Ying wrote that there was a lack of safety in the race. "Roads not closed. People who walked leisurely (had) to share the same path (with runners). Poor runners had to run on the road at their own risk."

Another participant, Ms Soh Bee Kim, said she had paid more than $120 each for two race packages for her son and herself. However, they did not receive the caps that were to be included.

She wrote: "Doesn't the organiser think about keeping aside enough merchandise for all participants who had paid for the race packages?"

When contacted, Mr Aaron Goh, the founder of event management company Heroes, which organised the run, blamed "miscommunication" with its vendors.

He told The Straits Times: "The issue is that we relied on external partnerships. When you outsource, there can be miscommunication and different expectations."

Specifically on the complaint about runners running alongside traffic, he said: "I knew that the roads were not going to be closed off but they (the vendor) said that riders, on motorcycles, would be observing their safety."

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The 40-year-old added that this is the first time his company is organising such an event and that it faced a "steep learning curve".

Some 4,000 people participated in the run, he said.

His company apologised on the Sesame Street Run's Facebook page after the event. It wrote: "We, as event organisers, accept full responsibility for the various mistakes and incompetent planning that resulted in your unhappiness.

"We would like to assure all participants that we have heard your feedback loud and clear, and are taking the necessary steps to resolve all of them," it said.

Mr Goh said that runners who did not receive their merchandise will be getting the items shortly.

Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng, who was the guest of honour, told ST that the safety of participants should be a top priority when organisers are planning such events.

He added that the profile of participants differs between fun runs and competitive ones.

"In terms of the whole experience, from registration to collection of race packs, it's not easy to organise an event for many people. Depending on the nature of the run, some people could be more focused on timings and achieving their personal best. Others are fun runs, where people want to see their favourite characters."

Meanwhile, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and that investigations are ongoing.

It was made by Mr Kelvin Lee, 43, director of event management company REM, which was one of the initial vendors which helped with the media launch of the event.

He told ST that Mr Goh had defaulted on payments to vendors in the event. REM later pulled out of the event. He did not want to say how much it was owed.