Runners who qualified at Edmonton Marathon can still apply for Boston despite course error

Runners who raced the Edmonton Marathon hoping to qualify for Boston still have a shot, the Boston Athletic Association confirmed Thursday.

Edmonton's course was found to be 674.7 metres longer than regulation after the race on August 18. Runners had flagged concerns immediately, but organizers initially stood by their measurements before confirming the error Tuesday.

The Boston Athletic Association said that if a runner met the qualifying standard to finish — even while running the extra distance — their official, unadjusted times can still count for Boston qualification. "So long as the results and times are official and unadjusted, they could be used for the qualifying," said Chris Lotsbom, media director for the association. The association stressed it will not accept any results that have been adjusted to account for the overage.

Runners must meet Boston's strict qualifying times set by age group.

More than 10,000 people registered for the Edmonton Marathon. Runner Brittney White qualified with a time of 3 hours and 25 minutes for women in her age group, meeting the Boston standard exactly. She said she could tell mid-race the course was too long and pushed herself to speed up. "I might sound silly, but it's something I worked really hard to get and overachieve," she said of her qualification. "So yeah, I was a little bit panicked." After receiving Boston's confirmation, she said the relief was immediate.

Edmonton Marathon director Tom Keogh said the event is communicating with partners, including the Boston Athletic Association and Athletics Canada, on how to recognize this year's results. Athletics Canada is still discussing the issue with Edmonton organizers.