http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/438593/india-marathoners-miss-turn-take-bus
India marathoners miss turn, take bus
Published: 20 Oct 2014
Online news: Asia
Writer: AFP
NEW DELHI - A marathon ended in farce in India after the pilot car overshot
a turn, forcing the top three runners to take a long detour before
abandoning the race -- and taking a bus to the finish line.
The leaders, who missed the U-turn at the 16 kilometre-mark (10 mile), ran
four extra kilometres before officials finally stopped them and told them
they had taken the wrong route, a newspaper reported Monday.
Realising they had no chance of recovering ground, the three abandoned the
42-kilometre race in the southern city of Bangalore on Sunday and borrowed
money from spectators to take a bus to the finishing line.
"There were no officials on the road where we were supposed to take the
U-turn," one of the runners, Inderjit Patel, told the Times of India. "We
were just following the pilot car."
"It was too late when we were told what had happened. There was no point
continuing the race. I am not bothered about missing the prize money, but
disappointed that we had to suffer this humiliation."
Race organisers admitted the mistake and apologised. But there were other
screw-ups in the race, which was flagged off by Olympic gold medallist and
multiple world champion distance runner Haile Gebrselassie of Ethopia.
Runners had to line up at the start behind a row of heavy-set security
guards who were slow to get out of the way when the flag went down, causing
many competitors to trip over them.
Received on Mon Oct 20 2014 - 14:56:42 EDT