2020 Marathon of the Treasure Coast
Explanation of Final Results
Final Results are posted as of Wednesday, March 4, and here’s what you’ll see on the Marathon of the Treasure Coast RunSignUp results page. You can access that page by clicking on the link shown below:
https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/17573/#resultSetId-189992
If you click on the dropdown menu located in the middle of the page, you’ll see 8 possible choices to display results, as follows:
Explanation of Results
When the entire pack of runners missed the first turn, it created a horrible situation with no real solution. While everyone went off course, each runner ended up running a unique distance, depending on where he or she turned around, where he or she got back on course, and whether or not he or she stopped and decided to restart the race.
As runners came back past the start/finish area, we realized that we could restart the race, and that many runners wanted to do just that.
When runners accepted the ‘restart’ option, that instantly created two completely separate races, since it’s impossible for those who kept going to race against those who restarted. There’s no way to rank runners across those two options to create a set of awards and results, so creating two separate races was the best choice among no good choices.
Two completely different races means two sets of winners, two sets of awards, and two sets of results that are not intermingled at all. That’s partly why you see seven possible results reports above.
The ‘Original’ Race
Those runners who chose to continue on (or those who didn’t realize there was a ‘restart’ race option) ran the course correctly once they passed the start/finish line and headed into downtown Stuart. After running either the Full Marathon or the Half Marathon course, they came back and finished underneath the arch. The key question at this point is – how far did each of those runners actually run?
Various runners have reported that they ran an extra half mile, to two miles or more. Very few runners ran the same distance, which means there’s no equitable way to ‘fix’ or modify the times to get a ‘standardized’ set of results for the exact full or half marathon distance. Unfortunately, GPS-based watches (Garmin, Coros, Suunto, etc) simply aren’t accurate enough to use for timing a race. If they were, then races such as Boston, Chicago, New York and every other big and small race would use them, and there would be no need for timing chips on the backs of race bibs or certified accurate courses.
Further, there’s just no way to have people ‘self-report’ their results based on their GPS watch – even with some documentation such as Strava, it’s not possible to ‘correct’ the race times in any meaningful way. Remember that not everyone wears a GPS-based watch or uses a phone tracking app – some people, including the TC Marathon’s Race Director, just use a simple digital watch, or they don’t even run with a watch at all! How would we ‘correct’ their time?
It may seem surprising, but running off-course isn’t really a rare experience – it has happened down through the ages, and far too many times to count, in big and small events. There’s a standard way to handle course mishaps. When everyone does the same thing – goes off-course in the same way - then award placings are calculated the same way as if there were no error. The finish times may, or may not be, adjusted before publication, depending on lots of factors.
When various groups of runners do something different than the rest of the field – when the race leaders go off-course while the rest of the pack doesn’t, for example, or when some part of the field gets off-track while everyone else runs the correct course - then one of two actions is taken. If those who got off-course cut the course short, then those runners are ineligible for awards. If those who got off-course run long, then that extra distance is ignored for the purposes of handing out awards.
Is this fair? Not really, but in situations such as this, there’s really nothing that can be completely ‘fair’. What’s described above makes the best of a bad situation, and frankly that’s not very good.
This standard process is how the Marathon of the Treasure Coast has handled the awards for the Original race option. We’ve published the race times and awards categories, and we’re distributing awards to those who didn’t get their award at the race site Sunday morning. If you didn’t get your award, then we’ll make arrangements to get it to you.
We’re not adjusting or modifying any of these finish times, because there’s simply no equitable way to do so.
What about the published distance of the races? That’s a hard question to answer, because most of you ran something further than 13.1 or 26.2 miles, but you all didn’t run the same amount of extra distance. You’ll notice that the race names for the ‘Original’ races have the word ‘Plus’ added to them, along with a distance (13.1+ or 26.2+miles). We know that for everyone, the actual distance you ran was the correct distance Plus some extra distance, and most of you ran a mile or more extra.
We feel that those race names give some indication that what you ran wasn’t the typical race distance of a half or full marathon. Incidentally, despite the error in running a longer course, we had 5 full marathon runners who still qualified for Boston despite running more than 26.2 miles. Congratulations to them!
What About My ‘Real’ Marathon or Half Marathon Time?
Because many of you used a GPS-based watch, you have data that shows what your time was at either the half-marathon point (13.1 miles) or the full marathon point (26.2 miles). Even though that time isn’t accurate enough to be used for scoring and awards purposes, it’s still a reasonably good estimate of where you were when you reached that distance.
Lots of races, including ours, publish intermediate split times. Boston, for example, publishes split times for every 5K from 5K to 40K. We publish 5 split times for our Full Marathon, and 3 split times for our Half Marathon, those times being collected as runners cross timing mats located out on the course.
These split times aren’t ‘official’, they’re not used for scoring or awards, they don’t qualify for any records (unless that split point distance was certified), yet they do reflect pretty reasonably each runner’s progress though the course.
What we’ve done for you ‘Original’ course runners is publish a pair of intermediate split time reports called ‘Marathon Split Times’ and ‘Half Marathon Split Times’. Some of you have already given us your GPS watch data for that point in the race, and for those that have, you’ll see that your Half or Full Marathon split time is displayed. We’re not using those times to calculate awards, but they are documentation that you crossed that intermediate split point in that time.
Why are they called intermediate split times? Because just like our other intermediate split points, these times occurred before you reached the finish line.
If you don’t see your name there, and you’d like to, and you have some sort of documentation of your ‘real’ half or full marathon time, then simply email us that time and documentation and we’ll add your split time to the appropriate report. Send it to racedirector@treasurecoastmarathon.com
We’ve done as much as we can to make the best of a bad situation. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’re completely devastated that this happened, and that we have put you through this. We pledge to do everything we can to put measures into place to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
The Restart Races – Wave 2
When some of you were running back to the start/finish area after getting off-course, you asked about restarting the race. After a moment’s thought, we decided that it was a solid option, especially for those attempting to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Trying to decide when to start that second race was sort of a judgment call on the fly, since we wanted to make that ‘Restart’ offer to everyone. Waiting to see how long it took the pack to completely pass by,and estimating when we could get the ‘Restart’ race going, we decided to start the second race 40 minutes after the start of the first race.
We did just that, and 143 runners took advantage of that ‘Restart’ option. They all ran the entire full or half marathon course, crossing the timing mats along the way, and this second set of races, Wave 2, finished without any further hitches. Out of the 52 runners in the full marathon, we’re pleased that 14 of them ran fast enough to qualify for Boston. That’s the highest number of runners we’ve ever had qualify!
If you’re one of the Wave 2 runners who won an award, we’re having your award made and we’ll make arrangements to get it to you. Congratulations on a fine effort!
In summary, we have tried hard to be as fair as possible to as many of you as we can, and despite that, we have fallen far short of being fair for everyone in every way. For that, we are deeply sorry. We hope that despite the route misdirection, you had an enjoyable morning running, and we hope you run with us again.
Explanation of Final Results
Final Results are posted as of Wednesday, March 4, and here’s what you’ll see on the Marathon of the Treasure Coast RunSignUp results page. You can access that page by clicking on the link shown below:
https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/17573/#resultSetId-189992
If you click on the dropdown menu located in the middle of the page, you’ll see 8 possible choices to display results, as follows:
- Marathon Plus (26.2+ Miles)
- Half Marathon Plus (13.1+ Miles)
- Marathon Plus Team Relay
- Marathon Wave 2
- Half Marathon Wave 2
- Participant Lookup and Tracking
- Marathon Split Time
- Half Marathon Split Time
Explanation of Results
When the entire pack of runners missed the first turn, it created a horrible situation with no real solution. While everyone went off course, each runner ended up running a unique distance, depending on where he or she turned around, where he or she got back on course, and whether or not he or she stopped and decided to restart the race.
As runners came back past the start/finish area, we realized that we could restart the race, and that many runners wanted to do just that.
When runners accepted the ‘restart’ option, that instantly created two completely separate races, since it’s impossible for those who kept going to race against those who restarted. There’s no way to rank runners across those two options to create a set of awards and results, so creating two separate races was the best choice among no good choices.
Two completely different races means two sets of winners, two sets of awards, and two sets of results that are not intermingled at all. That’s partly why you see seven possible results reports above.
The ‘Original’ Race
Those runners who chose to continue on (or those who didn’t realize there was a ‘restart’ race option) ran the course correctly once they passed the start/finish line and headed into downtown Stuart. After running either the Full Marathon or the Half Marathon course, they came back and finished underneath the arch. The key question at this point is – how far did each of those runners actually run?
Various runners have reported that they ran an extra half mile, to two miles or more. Very few runners ran the same distance, which means there’s no equitable way to ‘fix’ or modify the times to get a ‘standardized’ set of results for the exact full or half marathon distance. Unfortunately, GPS-based watches (Garmin, Coros, Suunto, etc) simply aren’t accurate enough to use for timing a race. If they were, then races such as Boston, Chicago, New York and every other big and small race would use them, and there would be no need for timing chips on the backs of race bibs or certified accurate courses.
Further, there’s just no way to have people ‘self-report’ their results based on their GPS watch – even with some documentation such as Strava, it’s not possible to ‘correct’ the race times in any meaningful way. Remember that not everyone wears a GPS-based watch or uses a phone tracking app – some people, including the TC Marathon’s Race Director, just use a simple digital watch, or they don’t even run with a watch at all! How would we ‘correct’ their time?
It may seem surprising, but running off-course isn’t really a rare experience – it has happened down through the ages, and far too many times to count, in big and small events. There’s a standard way to handle course mishaps. When everyone does the same thing – goes off-course in the same way - then award placings are calculated the same way as if there were no error. The finish times may, or may not be, adjusted before publication, depending on lots of factors.
When various groups of runners do something different than the rest of the field – when the race leaders go off-course while the rest of the pack doesn’t, for example, or when some part of the field gets off-track while everyone else runs the correct course - then one of two actions is taken. If those who got off-course cut the course short, then those runners are ineligible for awards. If those who got off-course run long, then that extra distance is ignored for the purposes of handing out awards.
Is this fair? Not really, but in situations such as this, there’s really nothing that can be completely ‘fair’. What’s described above makes the best of a bad situation, and frankly that’s not very good.
This standard process is how the Marathon of the Treasure Coast has handled the awards for the Original race option. We’ve published the race times and awards categories, and we’re distributing awards to those who didn’t get their award at the race site Sunday morning. If you didn’t get your award, then we’ll make arrangements to get it to you.
We’re not adjusting or modifying any of these finish times, because there’s simply no equitable way to do so.
What about the published distance of the races? That’s a hard question to answer, because most of you ran something further than 13.1 or 26.2 miles, but you all didn’t run the same amount of extra distance. You’ll notice that the race names for the ‘Original’ races have the word ‘Plus’ added to them, along with a distance (13.1+ or 26.2+miles). We know that for everyone, the actual distance you ran was the correct distance Plus some extra distance, and most of you ran a mile or more extra.
We feel that those race names give some indication that what you ran wasn’t the typical race distance of a half or full marathon. Incidentally, despite the error in running a longer course, we had 5 full marathon runners who still qualified for Boston despite running more than 26.2 miles. Congratulations to them!
What About My ‘Real’ Marathon or Half Marathon Time?
Because many of you used a GPS-based watch, you have data that shows what your time was at either the half-marathon point (13.1 miles) or the full marathon point (26.2 miles). Even though that time isn’t accurate enough to be used for scoring and awards purposes, it’s still a reasonably good estimate of where you were when you reached that distance.
Lots of races, including ours, publish intermediate split times. Boston, for example, publishes split times for every 5K from 5K to 40K. We publish 5 split times for our Full Marathon, and 3 split times for our Half Marathon, those times being collected as runners cross timing mats located out on the course.
These split times aren’t ‘official’, they’re not used for scoring or awards, they don’t qualify for any records (unless that split point distance was certified), yet they do reflect pretty reasonably each runner’s progress though the course.
What we’ve done for you ‘Original’ course runners is publish a pair of intermediate split time reports called ‘Marathon Split Times’ and ‘Half Marathon Split Times’. Some of you have already given us your GPS watch data for that point in the race, and for those that have, you’ll see that your Half or Full Marathon split time is displayed. We’re not using those times to calculate awards, but they are documentation that you crossed that intermediate split point in that time.
Why are they called intermediate split times? Because just like our other intermediate split points, these times occurred before you reached the finish line.
If you don’t see your name there, and you’d like to, and you have some sort of documentation of your ‘real’ half or full marathon time, then simply email us that time and documentation and we’ll add your split time to the appropriate report. Send it to racedirector@treasurecoastmarathon.com
We’ve done as much as we can to make the best of a bad situation. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’re completely devastated that this happened, and that we have put you through this. We pledge to do everything we can to put measures into place to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
The Restart Races – Wave 2
When some of you were running back to the start/finish area after getting off-course, you asked about restarting the race. After a moment’s thought, we decided that it was a solid option, especially for those attempting to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Trying to decide when to start that second race was sort of a judgment call on the fly, since we wanted to make that ‘Restart’ offer to everyone. Waiting to see how long it took the pack to completely pass by,and estimating when we could get the ‘Restart’ race going, we decided to start the second race 40 minutes after the start of the first race.
We did just that, and 143 runners took advantage of that ‘Restart’ option. They all ran the entire full or half marathon course, crossing the timing mats along the way, and this second set of races, Wave 2, finished without any further hitches. Out of the 52 runners in the full marathon, we’re pleased that 14 of them ran fast enough to qualify for Boston. That’s the highest number of runners we’ve ever had qualify!
If you’re one of the Wave 2 runners who won an award, we’re having your award made and we’ll make arrangements to get it to you. Congratulations on a fine effort!
In summary, we have tried hard to be as fair as possible to as many of you as we can, and despite that, we have fallen far short of being fair for everyone in every way. For that, we are deeply sorry. We hope that despite the route misdirection, you had an enjoyable morning running, and we hope you run with us again.
Mike Melton
Race Director
Marathon of the Treasure Coast 2020
Race Director
Marathon of the Treasure Coast 2020