Three elite runners were led off course by an official race vehicle during Sunday’s U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta, costing them a shot at the national title and likely a spot on Team USA, according to a report by Runner’s World.
Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley, and Ednah Kurgat had pulled clear of the field with less than two miles to go in the women’s race, run as part of the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon, when a lead vehicle guided them off course.
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The three runners followed the vehicle for roughly a quarter mile before realizing the error and doubling back, according to video of the race broadcast and data from Hurley’s Strava account. The detour cost them approximately two minutes, erasing what had been a commanding lead.
Watch the moment of the race when the mistake happened:
McClain finished ninth. Hurley, a Roswell native and three-time GHSA state champion who ran for Fellowship Christian School, finished 12th. Kurgat was 13th. All three had been on pace to finish on the podium.
New champions, unresolved questions
Molly Born was credited with the win in 1:09:42, earning $20,000 in prize money. Carrie Ellwood finished second in 1:09:47, and Annie Rodenfels rounded out the podium.
The top three finishers in the women’s race automatically qualify for Team USA at the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in September. The athletes who were affected by the misdirection filed a protest, which was denied, and then appealed.
A jury of appeals found that the course “was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection” and that the event violated USATF Rule 243, which governs course marking. But the jury also determined there was “no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish.”
USATF said in a statement Sunday that the World Road Running Championships team is not officially selected until May, and that it “will review the events from Atlanta carefully” to ensure “an ultimate decision is in the best interest of all the athletes involved.” The federation also noted that lead vehicles are the responsibility of the Atlanta Track Club.
The 2025 Publix Atlanta Marathon also had its fair share of controversy when the course was found to be one-tenth of a mile short of the official distance, invalidating results and stripping some runners of Boston Marathon qualifying times. The club announced the news more than a month after the race.
Men’s results
The men’s race on Sunday finished without incident. Wesley Kiptoo won in 1:01:15, with Hillary Bor second in 1:01:30 and Ahmed Muhumed third in 1:01:51.