OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Updated Statement
The Edmonton Marathon’s previous statement detailing confidence in the course certification process was issued with the best information it had at the time. Since then, and after receiving notes from participants, including elite athletes that the course ran longer than its certified distance, we undertook a detailed review of the physical measurement of the certified course. That review has identified an error in how this year's detour related course adjustments were calculated and for that we sincerely apologize. The additional distance added for the Wellington Bridge detour was partially offset with adjustments made to the course's west end turnaround point. Upon review it was determined that the turnaround point did not fully offset the addition of the detour, which resulted in a net increase to the distance of the half marathon and marathon courses of 674.7m.
The event owns this error, and we take full responsibility. We appreciate the many participants who have emailed and the ones that we have followed up with to have additional conversations. While we pursued the highest level of professional course measurement and certification available, an error occurred.
We do not take this lightly. We understand that every participant arrives at the start line having invested months of dedicated training, hard work, courage and deeply held goals. We also understand we hosted the nation's best athletes and their finishing times did not truly reflect their amazing performances. We also understand the connection this event has with our city and its pride in delivering exceptional world class events.
The integrity of the course distance is fundamental and we acknowledge that we did not deliver the standard participants deserved. We recognize many participants ran qualifying times for future races, including Boston. We are working directly with Athletics Canada and other relevant partners to determine how this year’s results can be recognized.
Moving ahead, we will review our certification processes with our partners and ensure this error does not happen again.
We thank everyone for their patience as we work through this and anyone with specific questions or concerns is encouraged to contact the Edmonton Marathon directly at info@edmontonmarathon.ca
Tom Keogh, Race Director, Edmonton Marathon
*Note: The 10km event was not professionally certified with physical measurement and not part of this statement.