Jess McClain looked poised to win the 2026 US Half Marathon Championships on Sunday, until chaos derailed her race.
With under two miles to go of the 13.1-mile race, McClain led the pack by a considerable margin and looked set to cruise to victory in Atlanta.
However, disaster struck suddenly when the 34-year-old, followed by Emma Grace Hurley and Edna Kurgat, was led off the course.
The top-three female runners followed the lead bike off the race course for around 400 meters, according to Athletics Illustrated.
Upon realizing their error, the trio had to run an extra 400 meters to get back on track. But by that point it was too late. McClain slipped from the top of the podium to ninth place, while Hurley and Kurgat crossed the line in 12th and 13th.
Molly Born, who was over a minute behind at the time of the mistake, was crowned champion, having stuck to the correct course and reached the finish first with a time of 1:09:43.
Jess McClain was poised to win the US Half Marathon Championships when she was led astray
The 34-year-old runner was forced to double back on herself after realizing the error
McClain (picutured in 2024) missed out on the national title and a $20,000 prize
McClain was estimated to have had a 30-second lead on Hurley and Kurgat at the time of the wrong turn and is reportedly expected to file a complaint.
While it is the runners’ responsibility to memorize the course, three vehicles – a police motorcycle, the media vehicle and a motorcycle with a camera operator – were said to have been involved in the error.
A furious McClain declared that she was ‘p****d off’ at the finish line, and it was not hard to understand why.
The error robbed her of the national championship, which would have been the first of her long-distance career.
Furthermore, the race acted as a qualifier for the 2026 World Road Running Championships, with the top-three finishers securing their place in Copenhagen.
Due to the error, McClain may have missed out on a spot at the World Championships, along with a $20,000 prize for first place.