McColgan’s records chalked off after Great Scottish Run course is 150m short | Athletics
Great Scottish Run organisers have apologised to Scottish runner Eilish McColgan after her European and British 10km road record times she ran earlier this month were invalidated after it was found the course was 150 metres short due to “human error”.
McColgan finished the 2 October Glasgow race in 30 minutes and 18 seconds, beating her previous record mark by one second. However organisers The Great Run Company say the course was “not laid out in line with the previously agreed plans”.
The company has been in touch with McColgan directly to explain and apologise, saying there is “no excuse” for the incident and are offering those who took part a 10% discount on entry to the 2023 event. It was the first time the event had returned since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Obviously disappointed with this news, but these things happen!” said McColgan on Twitter. “Thankfully my British and European Record still stands from the Great Manchester 10K. So it’s all good!”
Paul Foster, chief executive of the Great Run Company, said: “We were recently made aware of a discrepancy with the 10k course at this year’s Great Scottish Run. Following an internal investigation, we have established it was 150m short.
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“The shortfall in the distance was wholly due to human error. An area of the course was not laid out in line with the previously agreed plans. This error had a marginal knock-on to the half marathon but it was within tolerance and the course on the day was valid.
“We’re extremely disappointed that this happened at the 10K, on what was an incredibly positive return to the city for the Great Scottish Run following the pandemic. We will be reviewing our internal processes to ensure we cannot make this mistake again. We know we’ve let our customers down on this occasion. There are no excuses for this happening and we’re very sorry.”
It is not the first time measuring problems have struck the race. In 2016, personal bests were wiped from the records after the half-marathon route was found to be 149.7m short.
