By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
ATLANTA (01-Mar) — It was both the best of times and the worst of times at this morning’s USATF Half-Marathon Championships, part of the Publix Marathon Race Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club.
Moments after a jubilant Wesley Kiptoo crossed the beautifully-dressed finish line in the Home Depot Backyard and celebrated his first USA title, the mood quickly turned to confusion, disbelief and then bitter disappointment. Three women who were leading the race by a comfortable margin –Jess McClain (Brooks), Anna Grace Hurley (Asics), and Ednah Kurgat (U.S. Army)– had run off-course at about the 12 mile (19.3 km) mark and ended up finishing ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth, respectively. Molly Born, the reigning national marathon champion, crossed the finish line first in 1:09:43 and was declared the winner. The Puma Elite Running athlete was shocked.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” a perplexed Born told Race Results Weekly. “I crossed and I just thought they had the tape out for fun because I didn’t know where I was. I thought I was in fourth. I was so far back that I didn’t see them make the wrong turn.”
Minutes earlier at the 15-K mark (49:11), McClain, Hurley and Kurgat were battling for the win with Carrie Elwood (Asics) just five seconds back. Hurley had done most of the leading, but Kurgat put in a surge just after 15-K which Hurley quickly covered. McClain fell back to third, but battled back to the leaders. McClain, the top American at last year’s Boston Marathon, eventually took the lead and then opened a gap on her two rivals. Hurley caught up, but McClain pulled away again, this time for good. She had a commanding lead and looked as though she would capture her first national half-marathon title in just a matter of minutes.
Unfortunately, the three leaders –who followed the lead vehicle and a motorcycle ferrying a TV camera operator– had run off the course. Ellwood, who was close behind, also went the wrong way but was quickly told by an official that she needed to turn back, saving her race.
“I was in fourth place and the top three were well ahead of me, 150 meters maybe ahead of me,” Ellwood explained. “I started following them and I probably went 150 meters down, then a guy on a motorcycle came up behind me and was like, ‘You’re going the wrong way.’ I turned and looked at him and said, ‘No I’m not. All the leaders are in front of me.’ He was like, ‘No, you’re going the wrong way. I’m going to tell them to turn around.'”
Ellwood got back on course and finished second in 1:09:47. Annie Rodenfels, who followed Born and Ellwood, finished third in her half-marathon debut in 1:10:12. She too was shocked.
“When I crossed (the finish line) they said third!” Rodenfels recounted. “I was like, no!”
Because today’s race was the team selection event for the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in September, making a top-three finish was particularly important for the top athletes. McClain, Hurley and Kurgat saw their team berths evaporate right before their eyes.
“We were, minimum, 1000 meters off-course,” Hurley told Race Results Weekly. “We had at least a clear split at 15-K when the three of us were clear of the field. Yeah, we ran quite a bit off-course. We just followed the lead car.”
For McClain, today’s result was particularly painful. She had finished fourth at these championships last year (which also selected a national team even though the 2025 World Athletics Road Running Championships were cancelled), and had put a real focus on contending for the win this year.
“It’s frustrating because… you’re just robbed of multiple things,” said McClain, whose GPS watch said she ran a total of 13.6 miles/21.9 kilometers. “What’s getting you through the last two miles is that moment you cross the finish line.”
The affected athletes protested, but USATF officials decided that the results should stand. In a statement, USATF officials wrote:
“Following the completion of the USATF Half Marathon Championship in Atlanta, a protest was filed by athletes in the women’s field who followed a lead vehicle off course. That protest was denied and an appeal was submitted. The jury of appeals found that ‘the event did not meet USATF Rule 243 and that the course was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection. This violation contributed to the misdirection taken by the athletes within the top four at the time of misdirection. However, the jury of appeals finds no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish. The results order of finish as posted is considered final.'”
However, the official team selection for September’s World Championships will not be made until May. USATF officials said that they “will review the events from Atlanta carefully” before making a decision.
Born, who has now won two national titles in a span of 85 days, had mixed emotions.
“I shouldn’t go to Copenhagen,” said Born, who was still trying to process what had happened. “I shouldn’t. I’m fine. I’m not going to fight for my spot.”
But for Kiptoo, today was all sunshine (literally) and rainbows. He and two-time Olympian Hillary Bor broke away from the field right from the gun and built a lead of 18 seconds by 5-K, and 42 seconds at 10-K. By 15-K it was clear that –barring disaster– either Bor or Kiptoo would get the win. Just before the 20-K mark Kiptoo made his move. The 2021 NCAA indoor 5000m champion for Iowa State surged away from Bor and ran to the finish line alone. He clocked 1:01:15 to Bor’s 1:01:30. At Friday’s press conference he had predicted that he would win.
“If you know your training and you know how you’re feeling you know what’s coming,” said Kiptoo with an American flag around his shoulders. “It’s not a surprise. I’ve been putting in a lot of work and my team (Hoka Northern Arizona Elite) and my coach (Jack Mullaney) has been there for me. I have been working so hard.”
Third place went to Ahmed Muhumed, Kiptoo’s NAZ Elite teammate, who broke away with Charles Hicks from the chase pack just before the 15-K mark. Muhumed ran 1:01:51 to Hicks’s 1:02:10. Like McClain, Muhumed had finished fourth last year.
Today’s race winners earned $20,000 in prize money, part of a $110,000 purse. The next USATF road running championship will be at the 10-mile distance at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in Washington, D.C. on April 12.
PHOTO: Wesley Kiptoo winning the 2026 USATF Half-Marathon Championships, part of the Publix Marathon Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Molly Born winning the 2026 USATF Half-Marathon Championships, part of the Publix Marathon Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Jessica McClain and Ednah Kurgat moments after crossing the finish line in ninth and 13th place, respectively (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
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ENDS
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