JEDDAH, 5 March 2005 — A mix-up over hotel checkout times left one young hopeful contender in the Jeddah Charity Race checking out, well actually camping out, at the race starting line in the wee hours of the morning.

Sulaiman Musalim Al-Bargan, a teenager from Yanbu, arrived on Tuesday night in Jeddah to take part in the race. Just getting to Jeddah was an adventure in itself.

Sulaiman had a rough trip from Yanbu, which started off by hitching rides in cars and ended up reaching downtown Jeddah (Al-Balad district) by bus. The young man was determined to participate in Wednesday’s charity race. He wasn’t taking any chances. At 5 a.m., he was found sound asleep behind the press stand by race organizers.

Khaled Al-Sharani, an account manager with an advertising firm, was at the scene and took the tired teen to his office on Tahlia Street where he rested, had breakfast and told his complete story.

After spotting Sulaiman, all tuckered out and sound asleep, he woke the young boy up and asked him what was he doing sleeping there.

“I want to take part in the race,” Sulaiman said. He told them he had a rough trip from Yanbu and was staying at Qasr Al-Haraman Hotel located in Al-Balad. He maintains they informed him that at 3 a.m. he had to check out.

Arab News called Al-Harman and questioned them about Sulaiman. They confirmed that he was there the previous night. “He was here last night,” the hotel desk clerk said. When asked when did the young man leave, the clerk said, “I don’t know. It doesn’t show on the computer.”

He wondered if the young racer may have got his a.m. and p.m. confused. “But I think he checked out at 3 p.m. That’s the checkout time — 3 p.m.”

When asked if the young man could have been told to check out at 3 a.m., the clerk was adamant in his response. “No,” the clerk said. “Even if our guests don’t have money, we never throw anyone out at night.”

When we asked his name, the clerk replied, “You can call me ‘Hotel Haramain’.”

If Sulaiman was the first at the finish line, he would have won the race, but he can always say he was the first at the starting line.