Shropshire Star

Staff gutted by Shrewsbury half marathon distance blunder

Organisers of the Shrewsbury Half Marathon have confirmed that the distance covered by runners was half a mile short.

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Staff were "gutted" by Sunday's marshalling error, which had led to competitors turning down a lane too early after 10 miles, said organiser David Jones.

The mistake meant the course was shortened from the official 13.1-mile distance to 12.6 miles.

Mr Jones, who organised the event, which attracted about 1,500 runners, said: "We've managed to get a Garmin map from a runner and it looks like the marshal turned the runners too early in Huffley Lane.

"The whole team are gutted as the race went amazingly well, easily the smoothest it's been.

"We need to have a think about how we resolve it but luckily the race went well and we've still had good feedback.

"We're just disappointed it's happened. We estimate half a mile was taken off, which matches the distance other runners clocked. The mistake happened at around the 10-mile mark."

It was the second issue to hit organisers following a mix-up with Royal Mail which saw 300 competitor race pack numbers held at the sorting office in Wolverhampton.

Mr Jones said anyone who had to pay extra to get their numbers for the race would eventually be reimbursed.

Emma Preston, a member of Shropshire Triathlete Club, SY Tri, said the mistake was disappointing for all concerned and could affect runners trying to qualify for future events.

She said: "For some people it is the challenge of doing their first half marathon and now they find out they haven't done it.

"We started realising it was going wrong at about mile 10 when the GPS on our watches was not matching up with the mile signs on the route. I came over the line and thought 'That's good', but then someone said 'Yes, but it's half a mile short'.

"It is just a double disappointment after the race packs. You think someone would have run the course beforehand to check.

"It was just an anti-climax for some people when they got to the end and realised that they hadn't run the full distance so the time didn't count. It is a massive issue because some people are trying to qualify for other events and now their time won't count."

The men's race was won by Dean Bate, of the Tipton Harriers, who completed the course in a time of 1:11:44. Peter Middleton, of Shrewsbury AC, was second, in 1:14:02, and Tony Power, of Telford AC, came third at 1:14:25.

The women's race was won by Jessica Harvey, of Telford AC, with a time of 1:26:43. Heather McLenaghan was second with 1:27:44, and Harriet Page was third with a time of 1:27:59.

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