Leading 3 women run off course with a couple miles to go. Jess McClain was leading and was going to win barring a blow up, ended up finishing 8th. Sounds like an appeal has been filed. Men’s race was a snooze fest.
Thanks for that heads up!
I put the “live” feed on and started at about their 10mile mark (1:15 on the clock)
Ironically, they were led off course right after Tim read a spot for Garmin; then they say “Kergat just took a look back” thinking she’s looking to see who’s following, but it’s more likely she’s gonna say “girls! This isn’t the right way!!!” as she’s run this course before
Then the sirens go off
And yeah, Tim said “McClain surely on to victory”
For extra drama, this was the selection race for Worlds 
Went over to the Dark Side (LetsRun) and found the results I expected, e.g., “Should’ve know the course”
But also a couple of “this isn’t orienteering”
Blame is lying mostly with the host organization (Atlanta Track Club), and the escort vehicles they provided
LR also posted a link to post-race with Molly Born
So basically, we screwed up, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It does sound like the right people will get the spots to Worlds.
No … they’re saying ATC screwed up; they didn’t mark the course properly, their escort vehicles went the wrong way
USATF hedges and seems to say “we shouldn’t have certified it, the way it was, but ..” and hedges further saying that 1-2-3 at the finish doesn’t necessarily cement our selection
I could be wrong
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVW8hiVkjlp/?img_index=1&igsh=NmQyZTBxMHc4MW13
I’m not sure how long this post is going to stay up on IG, but Laura asks a reasonable question
“Were all the people in the lead vehicles … Men? Because women are detail oriented and we’re not making that turn. Maybe put some women in the vehicles, for the Women’s races, anyway?”
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Atlanta Track Club has offered to match the prize money as follows: McClain to receive the equivalent of first-place prize money ($20K). Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined total of second- and- third-place prize money ($9500-ish?) because they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the race course.
Well, that’s something, anyway
What a cluster. It seems like the prize money would be secondary to the team decision to these top athletes, but at least it looks like USATF/Atlanta Track Club are attempting to make things right.
Two separate problems, two separate responsibilities, as I read into it
ATC did the right thing as far as the prize money, which was their issue to fix
The team selection is the next dilemma to resolve, and that’s on USATF
I was on the course..
There was a statement from ATC that the police escort vehicle made a turn to respond to an officer working the event who was hit by a car that may have ignored traffic instructions(he was taken to the hospital). ATC runs well organized events but had a major screw up at this race last year and wound up with the marathon course being short; 80 BQ’s or so were null and void. I think there was an awful lot of ‘guilt by precedence’ this past weekend..
The thing that got me - and probably the runners, too - was “if that was NOT the course, why were there cones in the street?”
I saw another video that explained that street was also part of the MARATHON course, and those cones marked that route
Or they were to direct traffic away from the HM course?
Either way, if I’m one of the lead runners, and the escort vehicle makes a turn - which I might not be expecting because I did study the course - and even though I think ‘that’s not right?’ but there are cones there (‘maybe I’m wrong?’), and I’m only a mile away from a decisive (and potentially career-changing) win … I’d follow
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To quote Stephen A Smith “it’s fluid!”
Update 3/5/2026
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVhhWMXjYch/?img_index=3&igsh=bnd0aWJydW9mdW4y
CNN (of ALL places) has a step-by-step breakdown of the events at that corner which pretty much explains things
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