Portland Marathon awards winner’s trophy to wrong runner, some sent 800m long
The Portland Marathon had a number of incidents at last Sunday's event in Oregon prompting runners to voice their concerns on social media. "It's no big deal," the race director said when asked about runner's being directed off route. (Photos: Eileen Park, Melissa Pickell.)
Oregon’s Portland Marathon’s Facebook page has been flooded with runners’ concerns about race organization following multiple incidents last Sunday.
Some runners went the wrong way because of race error and completed more distance than the necessary 42.2K. KGW.com Portland reports that the route was correctly marked but no official was on the corner where the accident happened. The third-place finisher in the men’s marathon was handed the winner’s trophy in finish line confusion. Also, race officials did not have the finish line tape set up to celebrate the race’s winner.
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According to the Oregonian, Nate Bowen was given the race’s trophy despite finishing two minutes back of winner Matthew Palilla, who ran 2:36:25. Bowen accepted the award after initial hesitation since he was aware that he did not cross the line in first. Shaun Frandsen, the second-place finisher, was given the wrong award too and thought to be a half-marathoner.
As of Thursday afternoon, Palilla has yet to hear back from the Portland Marathon. He confirmed this with a comment on his Strava account. The Oregonian reports that he will be mailed the proper trophy. There does not appear to be any issues with the women’s finishers. Kate Landau won the Portland Marathon in 2:38:45.
Beyond the top-three finishers, some runners also reported that the course was long after certain groups were rerouted in Portland and covered an extra 800 metres. One runner decorated their race shirt to reflect that the race was an ultramarathon, meaning a race longer than 42.2K. Corrals C to F are believed to have been affected by the course error.
“In terms of nearly 8,000 runners, not many at all [were affected].” race director Les Smith told the Oregonian. “It’s not a big deal,”
Race director’s response
Some runners voiced their concerns after noticing their GPS data measuring the course as long as 27 miles (more than 43 kilometres). Although GPS data can sometimes provide inaccurate data, the race itself recognized that “We are very sad and apologetic that the course deviation occurred. It was horrible and I understand the outrage. And, our volunteer committee is as humbled as am I. We are sorry.”
Congratulations to the 10,000 runners in the full and half marathon!#PortlandMarathon pic.twitter.com/s6u2w9G6St
— Eileen Park Robertson 박아린 (@EileenParkTV) October 9, 2016
One runner posted their GPS data and compared their route to the race course map provided on the Portland Marathon website. Multiple runners commented saying that they too followed the same incorrect route. Inaccurate courses often provide issues for runners who use the race to qualify for the Boston Marathon since times need to be adjusted and are only considered on a case-by-case basis.
Runners with times that they believed were affected have the option of submitting a correction form on the race results page. The race is a popular event for runners in the Pacific Northwest.
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