A miscalculated racecourse length at the Edmonton Marathon has deprived 13 participants of the opportunity to qualify for the esteemed Boston Marathon.
In a statement released on Thursday, the event organizers in Edmonton announced that the Boston Marathon would accept qualifying times from 92 runners but not from the 13 affected individuals.
The race, held on August 16, exceeded the standard distance by approximately two-thirds of a kilometer.
Initially, the organizers defended their reported course length, but a subsequent review revealed they had miscalculated due to an issue with a mapped detour.
The Boston Athletics Association, which oversees the Boston Marathon, had indicated that although the Edmonton runners covered a longer distance, they would still be eligible for qualification as long as their finishing times met the Boston qualifying standards.
However, the association clarified that it would not accept adjusted race times from Edmonton that accounted for the extra distance, resulting in the rejection of the 13 times.
Organizers in Edmonton have stated they will reach out to the 13 affected runners and collaborate with Athletics Canada to reassess the course certification process.
“It’s clear that the community involved in this event is resilient, passionate, and deserving of our utmost efforts,” commented Tom Keogh, the race director for the Edmonton Marathon, in a Thursday statement.
“We pledge to ensure that such a distance miscalculation does not occur again.”
The race director of the Edmonton Marathon apologized for a miscalculation regarding detours, which added over 600 meters to both the marathon and half-marathon distances. One runner missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon due to the increased distance affecting his finishing time.
Throughout the event, numerous racers reported that their personal distance measurements indicated the racecourse exceeded the official distances of 42.2 kilometers for the full marathon and 21.1 kilometers for the half marathon.
Race officials later confirmed that the course was indeed 674.7 meters longer than it should have been.
Despite the extended distance, the Edmonton Marathon reported that course records were established in both the men’s and women’s categories for the marathon.