Posted by Kenny Pfeiffer on November 13, 2012 at 13:30:18:
After the First Light Marathon this past January some concerns were voiced about a runner allegedly breaking the grandmasters course record and finishing 5th overall. He is currently listed in the official results and on the course records page, and so it is forever in the books. This past Sunday, I ran the Pensacola Marathon. I finished 5th according to all observers (friends, family, and strangers). When the results came out I was listed as 6th. There was a runner with no half split and a previous best of 4:19 who allegedly ran a 2:51 and finished 2nd. Race photos show the man walking at several points throughout the race.
It's mainly a big deal because on both occasions these runners qualified for Boston. I don't really even care that much about getting bumped up one place, but I think its unfair when there are people who work their tails off to try and run a BQ only to have other runners steal it. In both occasions, I believe the runners in question registered for the full marathon and then ran the half course. At First Light there is not even an electronic mat at the half split to verify that runners complete the course. At Pensacola there was a mat, which the runner in question did not cross (or at least his time did not register).
I say all of that to get to this point...in these smaller marathons, which are mostly run by volunteers, there needs to be some sort of method put in place to help keep people honest and help keeps things fair. Maybe put a mat along the half course that runners of the full would not cross to show if runners went that way. I am not sure of how to remedy this problem, but something definitely needs to be done. Otherwise, I can tell you a sure fire way to qualify for Boston...just register for the full and then run/walk the half, and don't go fast enough to break any world records and raise suspicions.