Trevor Hofbauer breaks one-hour half-marathon barrier (but fails to run full course)

On Sunday evening, Calgary’s Trevor Hofbauer became the first Canadian runner to break the 60-minute barrier over 21.1 km at the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, his time of 59:54 was ruled unofficial after the lead pack veered in the wrong direction, mistakenly following the lead car.

Hofbauer’s race ended up being nearly a kilometre short, which resulted in a speedy time.

According to several elites, the men were following the lead vehicle when they were steered in the opposite direction at the 4K mark. Luckily, it was only the frontrunners who were steered short. The remainder of the main field covered the full 21.1 kilometres.

Hofbauer still took the win and was likely on his way to a personal best, covering the first 20 km in 59:22, meaning he would only need to cover the final 1,100 metres in five minutes to run a PB.

The 2022 Canadian marathon champion entered the race wanting to win, after just missing his half-marathon best of 64:30 by three seconds at Vancouver’s First Half earlier this month.

The half-marathon started on the famous Las Vegas Boulevard, across from the Waldorf Astoria and headed south to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, where they turned around, then ran north to Fremont Street in Old Las Vegas, before running back south and crossing the finish line in front of The Mirage.

Vancouver’s Justin Kent, who came into the race as the defending champion, finished fifth overall, in 61:40. Last year, Kent made a name for himself on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon series, taking three wins in three starts.

His best time of 62:48 is from the 2022 Rock ‘n’ Roll San José Half Marathon in San José, Calif., which is part of the same series.

The race honoured the results, but the times remain unofficial.

“At approximately 1.75 miles into the 13.1-mile Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Las Vegas Half Marathon, a portion of the elite field inadvertently made a wrong turn resulting in their overall prescribed distance of the race being short by 0.68 miles. In order to account for this occurrence, there will be two categories of final elite results with prize money being adjusted.” – Mandi McCary, Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series