Bluenose Marathon takes a turn for the worse

Halifax’s Blue Nose International Marathon may undergo a review following the running of the 5th annual race in May. Confusion on the course caused a number of upsets in some of the race categories and prompted calls for a review of the marathon’s organization.

Halifax’s Leah Jabbour waited an hour after finishing before officials declared her the women’s marathon winner for the second year in a row, with a time of 3:17. The mix-up occurred after a Quebec runner, Emilie Caron, missed a turn and ended up slicing several kilometres off the race route. Officials disqualified Caron, but Jabbour later wondered why it took them so long to figure out how Caron, whose previous personal best was 3:40 on a flat course, could have possibly run a 3:11 on the gruelling and hilly Halifax route.

Caron wasn’t the only marathoner to miss route markers. Several other runners inadvertently shortened their race when they failed to see turns. Top marathoner David MacLennan – a previous winner of the Blue Nose – reportedly missed a turn and ran an extra 3K, finishing in sixth place with a time of 3:11. Terry Melloy of Bridgewater, N.S. won the men’s race in 2:48.

Several leaders in the 5K race were also disqualified after missing portions of the course. Other runners said they were frustrated that police halted them during their race to allow cross-traffic at points. Some 8,000 runners took part in the race weekend. Blue Nose organizers said they would review the marathon following the problems. On the race website, organizers wrote: “This year, we saw a few new challenges, but one thing remains the same, we’ll continue to invite and eagerly listen to your feedback.”

-Charles Mandel