And there's a cop standing right there who doesn't bother to do or say a goddamn thing.
Not cop's job to know the course. They're there in case of trouble or someone jumping barriers.
Run club events in the UK have huge numbers of volunteer marshals at every point where it could go wrong and have a lead bicycle with someone who's very aware of the course. It's insane in a major event how this went this wrong.
Yes Allie Ostrander was right in the middle of it and gives an excellent accounting of what happened. it’s on the Athletes Special podcast. if you don’t like Spencer Brown that’s up to you of course. But they rerun the taped footage and you can see Jess McClain follow the pace car making the wrong left turn and going down the road and then a person comes and tells her that they have gone the wrong way.
anyways I personally think the just need to make it right.
My concern is USATF is going to wait and wait to make a decision on who makes the team and then there won't be time for adjudication. If I was Jess, I would get a lawyer and have USATF name the team ASAP. Then go after both ATC and USATF for the prize money (and maybe a little more for mental duress).
You can see how horrendously the course was marked in this video. They literally had cones up across the entire correct route, the markings made it look as if the correct course was closed. I wonder how many of the sub elite men got sent off into the marathon course.
Totally unacceptable that Atlanta Track Club marked the course this way and that USATF let the course be run with this ridiculous marking.
the instagram video linked here showing a spectator’s POV of the wrong turn is not a good look for USATF. in the broadcast of the event all you can see is the TV moto making a wrong turn and McClain follows (along with the other two women). however in from the spectator’s view you can see that McClain is following the TV moto which is following a BMW pace car (which is following a police moto). in our pre-race briefing for the bike escort duties we were informed that the BMW pace cars would have a USATF official riding inside the car and they would know the course. (our volunteer coordinator even did a ride along with ATC and USATF officials the weekend prior to the race for a final run through.) so, even if the BMW made a wrong turn because it followed the police moto, the USATF official in the car should have immediately realized the error and corrected.
prior to seeing this angle, i was prepared to blame ATC (since they allegedly are responsible for the TV motos), but seeing this changes my attitude and makes the USATF official statement factually misleading. it states “Lead vehicles are provided and managed by the local organizing committee” which, perhaps that is true that ATC provided the BMW, but there was a USATF official sitting inside that BMW and they’re primary job was to ensure that the course was followed correctly and no athletes failed to complete the course (ex. took a shortcut).
from citius mag, timeline of why it happened. concerning of the actual direction of traffic during the incident, but, it appeared was a lot of chaos/traffic accident happening at the wrong time.
Key thing is ATC is paying up, but team spots are still in the air as it is a USATF decision
"Atlanta Track Club has released a report into its investigation into why three women leading the USATF Half Marathon Championships were misdirected off course on race day. They concluding that an on-duty officer being struck by a car triggered a cascade of events that left a critical intersection unguarded at precisely the wrong moment. From the statement: "Atlanta Track Club's position remains unchanged: We are responsible for the integrity of these championships. 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." Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley, and Ednah Kurgat ended up losing out on the national title and the top three spots for the World Road Running Championships. USATF is still sorting out its team selection. However, the Atlanta Track Club is now matching prize money to correct the outcome. McClain will receive the $20,000 first-place prize money. Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined second- ($12,000) and third-place ($7,500) prize money, as they were side-by-side when they went off course. Here are the key findings from the timeline of what the Atlanta Track Club reported from its investigation: 8:05 AM – A Fulton County Sheriff's officer working the race was struck by a vehicle at Mitchell & Ted Turner Drive, which is roughly 300 feet from the critical Nelson Street intersection. 8:07 AM – "Officer down" broadcast goes out. Race-assigned officers at Nelson Street immediately leave their post to respond, before repositioning traffic cones. 8:10 AM – The lead men's athletes successfully navigate the intersection, still guided by race motorcycles. 8:15 AM – An off-duty (non-race) officer fills in at Nelson Street, focused on managing emergency vehicles and unaware that a footbridge ahead was part of the race route. 8:20 AM – The lead women's pack arrives. The pace vehicle driver, seeing no cones and a police motorcycle ahead, follows it...turning left instead of continuing straight onto the footbridge. 8:21 AM – 25 seconds later, a race-assigned officer returns and catches the four women. They turn around and rejoin the course at the same point they exited."
This post was edited 57 seconds after it was posted.
ATLANTA TRACK CLUB REVIEW OF THE 2026 USATF HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS ATLANTA - MARCH 3, 2026 -
On Sunday, Atlanta Track Club issued a statement regarding the misdirection that affected leaders of the women's field at the USATF Half Marathon Championships who went off course. At that time, we committed to conduct a full review to determine how and why the lead vehicle left the official course. Below is a summary of our findings:
The intersection where the athletes went off course had been staged according to the operational plan with traffic cones and assigned police personnel.
Thirteen minutes before the lead women reached that intersection, a report of an officer down was broadcast across the assigned Atlanta Police Department frequency. The officer was reported to be down one block from the race course.
The intersection where the officer was reported down was surrounded on three sides by the race course. No details on the cause of the officer's distress were yet available.
As per their training, the police personnel assigned to the race responded to aid the officer down and to support the arrival of additional first responders around and through the race course.
This action left a number of key race intersections, including the one where the wrong turn occurred, unattended for a brief period.
In a well-orchestrated response, Atlanta Police Department backfilled this intersection with personnel who would help keep runners safe while helping first responders through the intersection to reach the officer down.
The lead vehicle driver for the women's race knew the course was to continue over the footbridge. But because the intersection and the traffic cones had not been reset for the race due to the arrival of emergency vehicles, the driver followed a police motorcycle off course - believing the race was being rerouted.
The backfilled officer at that intersection, who was not assigned to the race, did not know that the race's lead vehicles were going to use a footbridge that does not normally allow cars on it, so was not equipped to prevent the wrong turn.
Atlanta Track Club's position remains unchanged: We are responsible for the integrity of these championships. 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.
Atlanta Track Club has offered to match the prize money as follows: McClain to receive the equivalent of ($20,000) first-place prize money. Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined total of second- and- third-place prize money ($9,750) because they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the race course.
Atlanta Track Club also recognizes and appreciates the swift and professional response of law enforcement, who prioritized the safety of both the injured officer and the more than 11,000 participants on the course.
The Fulton County Sheriff's officer involved in the emergency incident was working for the race and had been on a motorcycle. He was transported to Grady Hospital and released later that day.
Below is the minute-by-minute summary of the events that led to the misdirection:
6:00 AM Cones staged; lined up but not set in final position at Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive. Cones were purposely not set in position because the road was not going to be closed until ~8:00 a.m. and would accommodate race and on-race vehicular traffic up until that time.
7:00 AM Race-assigned police officer arrives at post at Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive.
7:59 AM Handcycle lead athlete successfully navigates intersection onto the footbridge with race-assigned motorcycles and bike escorts.
8:05 AM Officer (riding a motorcycle) working the race is struck by vehicle at the corner of Mitchell Street and Ted Turner Drive. This intersection is 300 feet from Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive.
8:07 AM Report of an officer down at the corner of Mitchell Street and Ted Turner Drive is broadcast by Atlanta Police dispatcher. Officer's condition is unknown.
8:07 AM Race-assigned police officers at the corner of Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive and from other intersections respond, running toward Mitchell Street and Ted Turner Drive - leaving the race intersection at Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive unattended. Officer had not yet repositioned cones to prevent any wrong turns before moving down the street to aid fellow officer.
8:08 AM - 8:10 AM Atlanta Police Dispatch announces that an officer has been struck by a vehicle and that they are searching for a vehicle that may have fled the scene.
8:10 AM Lead male athletes successfully navigate intersection onto the footbridge with race-assigned motorcycles, broadcast motorcycles and bike escorts.
8:11 AM - 8:14 AM Race intersection remains unattended as the rest of the men's USATF Half Marathon competitors are crossing onto footbridge while on-duty police, Atlanta Fire and Grady EMS swarm the area.
8:15 AM On-duty officer (not related to the race) arrives at the intersection of Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive in a marked APD vehicle and helps manage the flow of emergency vehicles through the intersection and prevents other cars from driving toward the scene of the officer down.
8:20 AM Injured officer being loaded into ambulance for transport to Grady Hospital.
8:20 AM Motorcycle, pace car and four (4) women's USATF Half Marathon competitors incorrectly turn left at the intersection of Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive. They do not go straight onto the footbridge. The race-related officer(s) assigned to guide them to the footbridge are a block away attending to the injured officer.
8:21 AM 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.
8:22 AM Additional race-assigned officers return to their post at Nelson Street and Ted Turner Drive and place cones to prevent any further wrong turns.
This post was edited 7 minutes after it was posted.
The recounting of the events that led to the runners going off course is much appreciated. At this point no matter who is considered to be accountable for the wrong turn. Either ATC or USATF or the Atlanta police force. One thing is clear, Jessica, Kurgat, and the third gal are not at fault clearly. So they need to be paid and sent to the worlds. With a long drawn out ordeal simply because it’s the right thing to do.
I'm getting a little lost in the weeds here... So the lead vehicle had someone in it who knew the course went straight over the footbridge (apparently a USATF person per another post), but who exactly did they follow when making the incorrect left turn? It was a random police car/motorcycle who was actually responding to the injured officer, and the lead vehicle thought this meant they should follow the cop because the course had been changed last minute?
Race leaders Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley, and Ednah Kurgat were taken the wrong way with less than a mile to go. And the running community lost its way right after them, Allison Mercer argues.
So the ATC has done the right thing regarding prize money. The world's team selection decision is also obvious: the top 3 girls across the line are vocal about not taking those spots, and the running community writ large is also in agreement on granting the spots to the 3 wronged athletes. Therefore is it safe to assume that USATF will inevitably make a different decision that makes no one happy?
I've read plenty of comments but haven't seen this very obvious resolution posted... but essentially ATC is in charge of the results. For example, if a person cuts the course and finishes first, their placing is still solely at the discretion of ATC whether they want to dq, or apply a time penalty or any number of things they should have legal recourse to do.
Surely, the opposite can also be true - that they can look at available footage and data to determine who finished 13.1 miles first. Or they could also just call the 12 mile mark where this turn happened the finish line and take the results from there. It's not like they are strangers to making short courses... This is their race after all and they are free to make the rules.
This would then save the USATF from their own reluctance to take action.
If the officers supposedly responsible had left their positions, whose direction did the race car (and motorbike) follow in concluding that the race must have been re-rerouted and turn left?
Clearly it wasn't the officer we see on video (who they claim is "off duty" but wearing full uniform) - she has her back to the action and couldn't look less interested.
Why did that officer not ask the spectators located on the corner, which way does the course run here?
If officers "repositioned traffic cones" behind them, why was the turn left open?
So the ATC has done the right thing regarding prize money. The world's team selection decision is also obvious: the top 3 girls across the line are vocal about not taking those spots, and the running community writ large is also in agreement on granting the spots to the 3 wronged athletes.
USATF should consider themselves lucky that the obviously correct solution is so incredibly obvious this time. There are 1,000 ways this could have played out that wouldn't have as obvious of a solution. Imagine the top 3 not having a 1 minute gap on the entire field at the point of the turn
Officer is at the turn in dress blues with their hands in their pockets.
Cones are not set up properly.
In the citius mag video (spectator on the corner) there is still a cop car on the other side of the street.
Apparently, there is a USATF official in the lead car.
The “cop down” seems like convenient PR. While it has some distraction - they had a cop at the intersection and presumably a trained official in the lead vehicle.
id personally like to see video of the CcTV time stamped.
I don't think the report really takes the Atlanta Track Club off the hook. So a cop riding a motorcycle, presumably on the full marathon course, was struck by a car. How did a car get into a closed course and strike the motorcycle? That's really kind of concerning. It could've been way, way worse if it wasn't when the lead motorcycle was passing through the intersection where the accident happen, but say the four hour pack.
