SEPTEMBER 9 — September and October are exciting months for Malaysia’s recreational sporting community. Runners are completing their final long runs, cyclists are clocking up kilometres, and multisport athletes are fine-tuning months of preparation for some of the country’s major sporting events. But this year, another factor has entered the equation: the air we breathe.

The recent deterioration in air quality across parts of Malaysia has brought the haze back into public discussion. On September 8, unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings were recorded across several locations, including Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and parts of Selangor.

For the sporting community, this raises a difficult but increasingly relevant question: when air quality becomes unhealthy, should a major sporting event still go on?

This is no longer a hypothetical question.

The RHB LEKAS Highway Ride, originally scheduled for September 12, has been postponed because of the haze and poor air quality. Other sporting activities have also been affected by deteriorating conditions.

At the same time, Malaysia has a busy calendar of mass participation events ahead. BOOM+ Run Putrajaya is scheduled for September 13, followed shortly by POWERMAN Malaysia in Putrajaya from September 18 to 20. Thousands of runners are also preparing for the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon on October 3 and 4.

The question on many participants’ minds is therefore understandable: what happens if the haze persists?

There is no simple answer.

For many recreational athletes, registering for an event is not merely about buying an entry ticket. A marathon runner may have trained for four or five months. A cyclist may have sacrificed countless weekends preparing for a long-distance ride. Duathletes may have spent months balancing running and cycling sessions around work and family commitments.

For participants travelling from other states or countries, flights, hotels and transportation may already have been booked.

A postponement can therefore be deeply disappointing.

Organisers face an equally difficult situation. Large sporting events involve months of planning and coordination with sponsors, local authorities, medical teams, vendors, volunteers and numerous other stakeholders.

Road closures may have been approved. Race packs have been prepared. Medals and merchandise are ready. Contractors have been appointed. Participants have made their travel arrangements.

Changing the date of an event at the last minute is neither easy nor inexpensive.

Yet amid all these considerations, there is one factor that cannot simply be treated as another operational variable: participant safety.

Mass participation sporting events deserve particular attention during periods of poor air quality because participants are not merely standing or walking outdoors.

They are exercising intensely, sometimes for several hours.

A marathon runner breathes much more rapidly and deeply than someone undertaking ordinary daily activities. The same applies to cyclists and duathletes competing over long distances.

This makes the decision to proceed during deteriorating air quality considerably more complex.

It is not simply a matter of asking whether an event can continue.

Perhaps the more important question is whether it should.

At the same time, deciding whether an event should proceed based solely on a single API reading may also be too simplistic.

Air quality can change within hours. Conditions early in the morning may differ from those later in the day. Different locations can record different readings, while the duration and intensity of physical activity also vary significantly from one event to another.

Organisers therefore need to consider not only the current API reading but also air-quality trends and forecasts, event duration, the nature of the activity, participant profiles and advice from health and government authorities.

This is where Malaysia’s growing mass participation sporting-event industry could benefit from clearer and more visible contingency protocols.

Instead of participants anxiously refreshing social media the night before a race, organisers could communicate their air-quality contingency plans well in advance.

A traffic-light approach, for example, could be considered.

Under normal conditions, an event proceeds as planned. As air quality deteriorates, organisers could issue additional health advisories, modify activities, adjust start times or reduce exposure where practical. When conditions reach a predetermined level of risk, postponement or cancellation could become the appropriate response based on established guidelines and professional advice.

The precise thresholds and actions should, of course, be guided by the relevant environmental, health and sporting authorities rather than being determined arbitrarily by individual organisers.

What matters is that participants know how a decision will be made before race weekend arrives.

There is another important dimension to this issue: communication.

In moments of uncertainty, communication becomes part of the participant experience.

Participants do not expect organisers to control the weather, haze or other environmental conditions. They do, however, expect clear and timely communication about circumstances that could affect their safety and participation.

An organiser that provides early advisories, explains what conditions are being monitored and updates participants regularly can reduce uncertainty even before a final decision is made.

Silence, on the other hand, creates an information vacuum.

Participants begin checking social media repeatedly. WhatsApp groups fill with speculation. Some cancel hotel bookings while others decide to travel anyway. Rumours can eventually become louder than official communication.

For sporting-event brands, this matters.

Postponing an event may cause short-term disappointment, but handling a difficult situation transparently and responsibly can strengthen long-term trust.

In that sense, a decision to postpone is not merely an operational decision.

It is also a brand decision.

Participants remember how they were treated when circumstances became difficult.

Malaysia’s mass participation sporting scene has grown tremendously over the years. Running events, cycling races, triathlons, duathlons and trail races now attract thousands of participants.

Beyond encouraging active lifestyles, these events generate tourism activity, support local businesses and create vibrant sporting communities.

With that growth comes greater responsibility.

Environmental uncertainty — whether haze, extreme heat, heavy rain or other conditions — should increasingly form part of event planning rather than be treated merely as an exceptional problem to manage at the last minute.

The current haze therefore offers an opportunity for the industry to have a broader conversation.

Perhaps the question should not simply be whether the next race will be cancelled or postponed.

Instead, we should be asking whether Malaysia needs a more consistent framework for managing air-quality risks at mass participation sporting events — one that provides organisers with clearer guidance while giving participants greater certainty.

No runner wants months of training to end with a cancellation notice.

No cyclist wants to see a long-awaited ride postponed.

And no organiser wants months of preparation to be undone by circumstances beyond their control.

But there are moments when reaching the starting line should not be our only definition of a successful event.

Success should also be measured by whether every reasonable decision has been made to ensure participants can reach the finish line safely.

Sometimes, protecting that finish line may mean having the courage to move the starting line to another day.

*Dr Tunku Nur Atikhah Tunku Abaidah is a senior lecturer at the School of Business Management UUM Sintok, Kedah 

** This is the personal opinion of the writers or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.