A miscalculation in the distance of the Edmonton Marathon, which exceeded the proper length, has resulted in 13 participants missing out on the opportunity to compete in the esteemed Boston Marathon.
On Thursday, the Edmonton Marathon organizers announced that the Boston Marathon will accept the finishing times of 92 runners for qualification purposes, but not for those 13 individuals.
The race held on August 16 in Edmonton was approximately two-thirds of a kilometer longer than it should have been.
Initially, the organizers defended their original course length, but a subsequent review revealed a miscalculation due to an issue related to a mapped detour.
The Boston Athletics Association, responsible for the Boston Marathon, indicated that despite the extra distance faced by Edmonton runners, they would be eligible for qualification if their final timings still met the requirements for Boston. However, it also stated that times adjusted due to the extra length would not be accepted, resulting in the disqualification of the 13 runners.
Edmonton Marathon organizers plan to reach out to the 13 affected individuals and collaborate with Athletics Canada to reassess the course certification procedures.
“It is clear that the community brought together by this event is resilient, passionate, kind, and deserving of our utmost effort,” stated Tom Keogh, race director of the Edmonton Marathon, in a Thursday announcement.
“We pledge that such a distance miscalculation will not occur again.”
The Edmonton Marathon race director has issued an apology regarding an error that resulted in over 600 meters being added to both the marathon and half-marathon distances. This led to one runner missing qualification for the Boston Marathon due to an extended finishing time.
Throughout the event, numerous runners noted that their personal distance measuring devices indicated the course was longer than the official marathon distance of 42.2 kilometers and the half-marathon distance of 21.1 kilometers.
In the following days, race officials confirmed that the actual course was 674.7 meters longer than required.
Despite the additional distance, the Edmonton Marathon announced that both the men’s and women’s marathon course records were surpassed.