Two Oceans Marathon responds to premature cut-off dispute
Participants were stopped at 10:46, four minutes before the 'scheduled' cut-off time of 10:50.
Two Oceans Marathon: Were some runner's cut-off prematurely? / TikTok: dreamchasing29
Lester Kiewit interviews Hilton Kearns, Race Manager of the Two Oceans Marathon.
Listen below.
Disappointed Two Oceans Marathon runners have criticised race organisers, claiming they were unfairly prevented from finishing, which affected their chances of qualifying for the Comrades Marathon.
The participants were stopped at 10:46, four minutes before the 'scheduled' cut-off time of 10:50.
According to the marathon's rules, missing the cutoff time means you're out of the race with no chance to continue.
RELATED: WATCH: Were some Two Oceans Marathon runners cut off prematurely?
The Two Oceans Marathon released a statement explaining that they had communicated the 10:46 cut-off time to all runners via the official 'digimag'.
However, in one place on the website, it still showed the old time of 10:50.
Kearns explains that, on the morning of the race, the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) instructed officials regarding the 10:46 cut-off.
Unfortunately, the technical official on-site did not enforce this instruction, allowing some runners to continue, while others resorted to jumping the fence, he adds.
Those who passed through and jumped the fence were eventually stopped at the 46km mark on the instructions of the JOC.
"The time that we start the last batch would then determine the time of that cut-off."
- Hilton Kearns, Race Manager – Two Oceans Marathon
"The technical official at that point should've abided by the messaging and the rule that came from the JOC."
- Hilton Kearns, Race Manager – Two Oceans Marathon
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.