SUNDERLAND: Thousands of runners were disqualified from a marathon after inadvertently taking a wrong turn.

Runners at theMarathonof the North inSunderlandlast month were told they had missed out on completing the full marathon by 264 metres because of the error. Event organisers admitted that the runners took the wrong turn because of a marshalling error. This meant that all but the winner failed to complete the correct course at the April 28 event.

Organisers commented: “Regrettably, due to incorrect placing of marshals, which we take full responsibility for, only the lead athlete followed the correct route through the Sheepfold area near the Stadium of Light. Unfortunately, the 2nd and 3rd-placed runners were not within line of sight of the leader and lead bikes/vehicle.–MSN