The Munich Marathon was marred by two strange mishaps on Sunday. While the men ran around 100 meters too much due to a misdirection, the fastest women turned around too early and had to run two extra laps in the Olympic Stadium to complete the full distance of 42.195 km.
“Why they turned so early is still being analyzed,” said race director Gernot Weigl on Bavarian Radio. The race should be evaluated by Monday. “I can’t blame anyone,” said Weigl.
According to the best German starter Sebastian Hendel, the fastest men took a wrong turn shortly after kilometer 10. “It was about 20 seconds more that we had over the kilometer,” reported Hendel, who set a personal best (2:10, 14) set up.
According to the BR, among the women, the leading Kenyans Catherine Cherotich and Tecla Chebet, among others, turned around too early on Ludwigstrasse shortly before Odeonsplatz. Weigl’s race management decided at short notice to extend the course by two stadium laps of 400 meters each. Cherotich secured victory in 2:31:34 hours.
On Monday, the route of the women’s leaders should be remeasured to ensure the validity of the results.