On Sunday the 19th of September, the Bristol Half-Marathon (21.1km) was held alongside the Bristol 10k in the Great Bristol Run. It wasn't without controversy however.
The first man home in the Half-Marathon was Omar Ahmed as shown above. The problem however was that he had entered the 10k race but ended up accidentally running the half marathon in just 63 minutes. It seems that he went the wrong way when he reached the point where the course split for the two distances. He was later disqualified.
A spokesperson for the organisers said... "Ahmed entered the 10K as an elite runner and not the half marathon. Therefore he was not officially part of the half marathon race and has to be disqualified. Rules are rules and in this case they say we have to disqualify Omar. We salute his performance, and he has been invited to take part in next week's Great Manchester Run as an elite athlete. Of course, we also look forward to welcoming him back to Bristol for 2022's Great Bristol Run."
What the organisers don't say is how could the lead man in the 10k take the wrong course? Was there not a lead bike for the 10k? Was the split in the course obvious with large signs?
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