‘Short’ marathon leaves runners angry

The Association of UK Course Measurers has withdrawn the certificate of accuracy for the Hull Marathon, in a major embarrassment for the organisers of the inaugural event.

Secretary of the AUCM Phil Holland said it looked as if the course was short in at least one place: “It is happening with increasing frequency. I think it is because a lot of people are getting into race organisation and don’t always know all the fine detail. Runners have a right to be aggrieved because they can’t be sure that what they have run was a marathon.”

Immediately after the race on Easter Sunday, some runners were complaining it was short, but organisers Toro CSC Events said they were “happy” the course was accurate.

They apologised yesterday, saying they had to make an “unavoidable and non-negotiable” change to the route at short notice “to protect the safety of runners” and it had been impossible to get the course officially remeasured.

But they insisted runners had gone the 26.2 miles.

However runners said they were unhappy that weeks of preparation had gone to waste.

One said: “It was 16 weeks of solid effort and to come out with nothing. I am going to have to take 16 weeks to train up again.”