Maine Guy Who Runs

This is Jess McClain absolutely FLYING just over a mile from the finish, on her way to winning the US Half Marathon Championships. Jess is the best person, and I know thousands of fans were crying with joy like we were as she made the move 🙏🇺🇸 But things didn’t unfold that way. Right around this moment, the lead car made a wrong turn. On the broadcast, you can see flaggers and police cars rubber-stamping the turns too. Jess did what any athlete would do—you follow direction from officials (and the camera that is broadcasting the event). The top 3 athletes lost a few minutes, and with it spots on the US team for the world champs, a national championships podium, and big prize money/bonuses (at least as I’m writing this now). If that stands, it is NOT ACCEPTABLE. @usatf and Atlanta Track Club (the event hosts), MAKE THIS RIGHT. Don’t hide behind rule books designed for when there weren’t cameras and lead cars showing the athletes where to run. At the very least, give both podiums the full prize money, and figure out a way to express in the results that this was your unintentional screw-up, and not on any of the athletes. Most importantly, all of these women (including Molly Born, a total beast who crossed the finish line first) are so incredible. It’s time for USATF to think outside of the box and make this right for everyone. Let’s make this a funny story, rather than a sad one 🙏 Jess, we are so so proud of you 😭🦖