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Ultra-marathon competitor disqualified after running an extra mile on wrong turn

World Materials 15 July 2019 01:24 (UTC +04:00)
When Tom Fairbrother crossed the finish line of his first ever ultra-marathon eight minutes ahead of his closest rival, despite having taken a wrong turn and run an extra mile, all he felt was relief that he had survived the gruelling test of endurance
Ultra-marathon competitor disqualified after running an extra mile on wrong turn

When Tom Fairbrother crossed the finish line of his first ever ultra-marathon eight minutes ahead of his closest rival, despite having taken a wrong turn and run an extra mile, all he felt was relief that he had survived the gruelling test of endurance, Trend reports citing Telegraph.

But that relief soon turned to anger when, after being photographed and interviewed as the winner, he was told that he was being disqualified because he didn’t complete the course.

This was despite assurances from Race to the Stones organisers that he could still take home the trophy from the non-stop 100k Race even though he had taken a wrong track.

“Obviously the whole experience has left a bitter taste,” Mr Fairbrother wrote on his blog.

“To have run my first ultra… plus an extra mile, gone through the embarrassment of being announced as the winner, then removed, and ending up with nothing to show for my efforts (finish time, result or prize) is a great shame.”

Organisers have insisted that it was a miscommunication and they thought he was back on the set course ready to complete it when they spoke to him and told him to get over the finish line.

Mr Fairbrother, a recovering bulimia sufferer who aims to raise awareness of eating disorders in sport, has described how he was exhausted as he tried to complete the longest run of his life when he came to a fork in the trail at 57 miles.

He thought the arrow was pointing right and went down a chalk trail which eventually came onto a road. When he could see no signs he realised he was lost.

“But I had followed the arrows and there were no obvious points where I missed a turning,” the 31-year-old wrote.

He got out his phone and Googled the finish line, which was 5.7 miles away. Having already run 57 miles he knew that this would mean that he would actually cover 63 miles, one extra than required for the 100k, but decided to push on.

Mr Fairbrother ended up on a main road and with a “frazzled” brain and legs it was only the adrenaline which pushed him on. At one point a driver pointed offered to drive him back to the trail, but he refused for fear that he would be disqualified.

At 61 miles he got a call from his fiancée Coralie Frost, who was with the race organisers who were concerned about his whereabouts.

“Once I told them what had happened, they said I just had to get to the finish,” Mr Fairbrother said.

“I specifically asked the question: "If I cover the full 100k, and cross the finish line, can I still win the race, or will I be disqualified?"

“The answer was yes, so long as you have covered the distance and get back to the finish line first, you will be the winner. What a relief! I had a surge of happiness and determination as I ran the last two miles safe in the knowledge I was okay.”

He entered the finish area from the wrong direction and had to turn around and cross the line, believing that he had won his first ever ultra in 8:35:15.

The race CEO congratulated him, checked he was OK and “seemed impressed that I had run a mile further”, Mr Fairbrother said.

He posed for photographs and gave an interview, but five minutes later organisers asked to see the tracking information as his time was under review.

He was informed that despite running the extra distance and gaining no advantage from going off course he was to be disqualified.

Organisers insist that the signage was correct and he had simply taken a wrong turn. He did not call their dedicated line for those who find themselves off track, which will allow experts to guide them back with GPS.

Tim Pigott, a physiotherapist, was awarded first place for finishing in 8:43:54.

He posted a picture of his trophy on social media, adding: “It needs noting that there was a person ahead of me but he made an epic route error ending up going along the main road- it’s a trail race- and was DQ’d - his performance up to this point was seriously impressive and I’m gutted he didn’t get the race and finish he deserved.”

Mr Fairbrother, whose race fee was refunded, said that it would not be his last ultra-marathon, but added he “probably won't be coming back to Race to the Stones.”

A spokesman for Threshold, which organised the event, said: “We appreciate it must have been very disappointing for the leading runner to have gone off course and missed out on the victory yesterday.

“After speaking to Tom after he crossed the finish line it became clear that he had taken a wrong turn and guided himself directly back to the finish via mapping software on his phone. Unfortunately this means he didn’t run the official 100km course. Once we realised that he hadn’t completed the comprehensively signposted route we explained to him he would unfortunately be disqualified.”

They said that the signage had been checked and no errors had been found.

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