Patrick Makau passed through the 20 km mark at the RAK Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates last Friday in a pending world record of 55 minutes and 38 seconds. But a validation check on the course by renowned measurer Hugh Jones found that although the total distance of the race was accurate, the 20 km mark was in the wrong spot and that intermediate distance was significantly short.
"Upon checking his figures Hugh confirms that both the 15 km and the 21,097.5 km measurements are confirmed as accurate (within tolerance levels)," reported IAAF road running manger Sean Wallace-Jones in an e-mail message. "The 20 km mark however was 72.7m short and therefore is invalid." Wallace-Jones also said that the 10 km mark was properly placed.
As such, Deribe Merga's 15 km intermediate time of 41:29, equalling the standing world record set by Felix Limo in 2001, can be submitted to the IAAF for approval as a world record. Furthermore, women's winner, Dire Tune, can rest assured that her 1:07:18 finish time is indeed the new Ethiopian national record and course record. Makau, who clocked 58:52 at the finish line, also set a course record.
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