Edmonton Marathon course was not measured correctly, director says

The Edmonton Marathon says a review showed an error was made in a detour for the route, which added extra distance, as had been previously reported by runners.

The Edmonton Marathon says it has found an error in how it measured this year’s race after participants reported that they ran longer than the certified distances.

A statement from race director Tom Keogh Tuesday night said the additional distance added for the Wellington Bridge detour was partially offset with adjustments made to the course’s west end turnaround point.

“Upon review, it was determined that the turnaround point did not fully offset the addition of the detour, which resulted in a net increase to the distance of the half marathon and marathon courses of 674.7 metres,” said Keogh.

“The event owns this error, and we take full responsibility.”

The Edmonton Marathon is working with Athletics Canada and other partners to determine how this year’s results can be recognized for qualifiers for other races like the Boston Marathon as well as for those looking to break records.

“We understand that every participant arrives at the start line having invested months of dedicated training, hard work, courage and deeply held goals,” said Keogh. “We also understand we hosted the nation’s best athletes and their finishing times did not truly reflect their amazing performances.”

The organization previously attested that the course was measured correctly and said there was likely an error in GPS tracking through racer’s smart watches.

This year’s marathon attracted more than 10,000 participants, the most the event has ever seen, but it’s possible the error could deter future racers.

Half-marathoner Robbie Yamada said he felt validation after the organization came forward with the error, although it will take some time to gain trust back.

“I think me and a lot of the other runners felt almost gaslit by the organisation, especially when their initial statement was claiming it was a GPS error rather than just stating that they’ll investigate it further,” Yamada told CTV News Edmonton.

“It leaves a bad taste in a lot of our mouths after this. I think we see it a lot differently than before.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg