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darwinquincy[S] 55 points 3 years ago*
If anybody is curious, the post references a Running Times article (incorrectly identified as a Runners World article). Here is the excerpt and link:
Best Adventures in Race Certification Blooper Presented by the Amelia Earhart Society
This award goes to Doug Thurston, the race director of the (in his words) "first, last and only Disneyland Marathon in Anaheim, CA in March 1995 (not to be confused with the successful and ongoing event at Disney World in Orlando, FL)." Again, lets let Doug tell the story in his own words:
"I can speak firsthand of thinking my career was over when all 1,600 marathon runners were directed off-course about a mile and a half into the race, missing about two miles of the course. Wrong turns is a story often told. What makes this story for the ages is that Ron Scardera, the course measurer, was on-site with his calibrated bicycle and was able to measure the lost distance and add it on to the end of the race and recertify the course while it was being run. The course was a complicated double out-and-back loop through the Disneyland theme park and surrounding streets. Although the splits made little sense to the runners, by the time theyd hit the finish line theyd finished a certified marathon. The course counted as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon and Olympic Trials. You can imagine the scene as we were laying out cones and moving volunteers and barricades with the lead runners bearing down on us."
Along with this award, we present Doug with the Best Sense of Humor in the Aftermath of Disaster Award.
Running's Greatest Bloopers, Running Times, November 1999
In all honesty, this is pretty impressive. Can you imagine redoing a marathon course, on the fly, during an actual marathon?
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