Chinese Marathoners Accidentally Eat Soap, Mistaking It For Food

Gift bags handed out to participants at a marathon in China left a sour taste for some, as several marathoners mistook the bar of soap in the bag as food.

In a race to host marathons to boost local economies and prestige in Qingyuan, inexperience on the part of both the organizers and runners has led to poor race management and injuries, The Wall Street Journal reports. For the Qingyuan race alone, medical workers performed first aid on participants more than 12,000 times. These injuries include 10,000 muscle spasms and 1,700 sprains.

The inexperience of the race's organizers was also seen in the soap mishap. The packaging of the soap inside the gift bags resembled food packaging, and the words "fruity soap" were written in English. In an interview with the Yangtse Evening Post, an event coordinator says, "The packs of soap were indeed like food packaging. It was a negligent mistake on our part," quotes Metro UK.