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Course Miscalculation Left Rock 'N' Roll 1/2 Marathon Short

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon took place Sunday — as anyone trying to get around town will know. Nothing is worse than getting caught in traffic on a weekend.

There might be one thing worse though: coming up short on your race — and that’s exactly what happened to some of the half-marathon runners. Due to an error in calculating the course the half marathon came up almost 940 feet short.

This means that runners — including the elite — won’t have their times count in their records. Race Director Paul Huddle  told the Republic that the miscalculation happened at the turnaround between miles 9 and 10. 

They realize something was wrong about 90 minutes into the race — at that point they corrected it.

So some of the half-marathoners ran a full 13.1-mile course. But it’s a real bummer for many of the top runners, some whom came all the way from Kenya to race.

No one’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics was impacted.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.