Atlanta Track Club has offered to compensate Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat following a mishap at the USATF Half Marathon Championships last Sunday where all three runners — who were in leading positions late in the race — mistakenly followed a lead vehicle that veered off of the course.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the race organizer said McClain, who was leading would be offered the equivalent of the winning prize money, $20,000 while Hurley and Kurgat would get a split of the sum of the the second and third place cash prize.
The organizer also explained that a motorcycle police officer assigned to the event was struck by a vehicle and was injured, required medical attention and emergency vehicles were diverted to the scene, which impacted the lead vehicle that the three runners followed off of the course.
Cones that were supposed to guide runners along the correct route were not repositioned at the time of the medical emergency.
“Atlanta Track Club’s position remains unchanged: We are responsible for the integrity of these championships,” a statement read. “We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognized as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course.”
The club also released a detailed breakdown of the moments leading up to the runners heading off course, race preparation measures and the actions of emergency personnel who went to treat the injured officer during the race.
According to the timeline, “25 seconds after the first female athlete goes off course, the first race-assigned officer who aided the downed officer arrives back to the intersection. Police motorcycle accelerates, catches the four (4) women, who turn around and eventually rejoin the race at the same point they exited the race course.”
News of the runners exiting the course immediately drew widespread criticism as they were unable to recover and regain their positions in time to even place in the top five finishers.
McClain was in what she though was the lead when she realized had followed the vehicle off of the course and turned back. Hurley and Kurgat were behind her and also turned around.
This all occurred with less than two miles remaining in the race.
Molly Born won 1:09:43, Carrie Ellwood took second in 1:09:47 and Annie Rodenfels was third in 1:10:12 and gained automatic qualifiers that presumably would have gone to McClain, Hurley and Kurgat.
Meanwhile, When McClain finished in ninth in 1:11.27 as Hurley was twelfth in 1:11:38 and Kurgat in thirteenth 1:11:50.
Hours after the mistake, McClain made a plea in a social media post that measures had to be put in place to prevent a similar type of issue.
“Something needs to change & safeguards should be in place for athletes who are out there doing their absolute best on race day,” she said. “Someone needs to care enough to do something. Anything. I love this sport so damn much & just want to help make it better for our younger pros & all of the amazing athletes to come.”
Hurley and Kurgat made voiced their own frustrations in posts on social media while USATF, which used the race as its half marathon championships qualifier but was not the organizer, said denied protests and appeals filed after the event.
In a statement last Sunday, USATF said its jury of appeals found that “the event did not meet USATF Rule 243 and that the course was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection. This violation contributed to the misdirection taken by the athletes within the top four at the time of misdirection. However, the jury of appeals finds no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish. The results order of finish as posted is considered final.”
The race organizer also said that the police officer involved in the emergency incident at the race was transported to a hospital, treated and released late last Sunday.
On Wednesday, USATF said it had already contacted McClain, Hurley and Kurgat and praised Atlanta Track Club for offering to compensate all three athletes.
“First, we applaud and thank Atlanta Track Club for their decision to pay prize money to the impacted athletes,” the statement from USATF read. “We have spoken directly to all the athletes involved and we are grateful for their patience and professionalism despite their understandable anger and disappointment. We are working diligently to address the impact this will have on selection to Team USA for the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships. This is a complex process, but it remains one that we want to navigate quickly and provide closure as soon as possible.”
