You may take it for granted that the gift package given by marathon organizers should contain some energy reviving food, and so did the 20,000 marathon runners who participated in the Qingyuan marathon in south China’s Guangdong province last Sunday. However, the gel-like bars turned out to be soaps.

Some people pointed out that many runners mistook soaps contained in the gift boxes for food. The photos from the scene show many soaps, with one bite’s loss at the corner, were ditched on the roadside.

It was estimated that over 12,000 had problems such as spasms, sprains, bruises, faintness, or stomachaches during the race, according to local health bureau officials. Twenty-three runners were hospitalized, and five of them were in critical conditions.

“The package of the soaps are indeed like food package. It is our mistake of negligence,” said one of the event hosts.