Women 10(.4)K and (Out of) Shape Run not actually 10km

Women 10k

Anitha Kiptum’s winning time of 34 minutes 55 seconds was outside her personal best time of 32min 12sec and also slower than last year’s winning time of 33min 46.30sec. The extra distance played a part in the slower time. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

At the recent Women 10K, the elite runners were noticeably slower than their personal best (PB) times which left them puzzled. As it turns out, the Women 10K was about 400m longer, according to a top-10 runner who spoke with the organisers.

Elite runners were told that that part of the course would involve running across a makeshift wooden bridge that would span a ditch. Before race day, a minor disaster struck the organisers when a truck went over the bridge and broke it.

There was no time to build a new bridge and so another 400m was added so that runners could avoid the ditch.

The elite runners were not informed of the change in course and the information was not made public.

In the Shape Run, the distance was apparently less than 10km as well. Elite runners estimated it was about 300m less.

So if you think you were so fast for the Shape Run then deteriorated so badly for the Women 10K, now you know why.