Runners Overcome Goofy Turn : Hellebuyck, Smith Top Field in Misguided Disney Marathon

No, that wasn’t Goofy directing runners in the first few miles of the first Disneyland Marathon on Sunday morning. And nobody got into Tinker Bell’s stash of pixie dust and sent the pack the wrong direction.

But somehow, someway 2,200 marathoners went left when they should have gone right, slicing off roughly a half-mile between the first and second miles and sending organizers scrambling to remedy the gaffe.

Amazingly enough it happened in Disneyland, the ultimate controlled environment.

To their credit, race officials managed to measure the missed distance and add it after the 25-mile mark, so runners covered the entire 26.2-mile distance. Of course, every mile marker along the course after the first mile was off, confusing leaders and back-of-the-packers alike. And split times? Forget it.

“I know what happened, but I don’t know why it happened,” race director John Mansoor said. “We noticed it right away. I think the athletes would have known right away. They weren’t aware of when we were going to add the extra distance.”

Eddy Hellebuyck, a Belgian living in Albuquerque, N.M., called upon 54 previous marathons for experience but even he felt out of sorts as the race progressed. His plan was simply to stay at the front of the pack, then kick for the finish line when it was in sight.

With only Toshinobu Sato of Japan along for company with what should have been 1.2 miles to go, Hellebuyck was at last informed the missing distance would be made up.

“It was a big surprise,” said Hellebuyck, who outkicked Sato to win by four seconds in 2 hours 19 minutes 46 seconds.

Kathy Smith of Aliso Viejo, the women’s winner in 2:44:51, relied on her watch to gauge her pace, then figured the extra 880 yards would be coming soon. She found out for certain when her coach, Bill Sumner, let her know the plan at the 16-mile mark.

Mansoor plans to hold a meeting soon to get to the bottom of the foul up and make sure it never happens again. From what he could piece together, the lead runners were led astray by a group of escorts on bicycles. After the start in the Disneyland parking lot, the runners hit West Street before returning to the park for a brief loop. It turned out to be too brief.

One of the bike riders later said it appeared a series of orange cones were not where they should have been, which sent the runners the wrong direction.

“We had cyclists, course monitors, park operations people involved,” Mansoor said. “Park operations were responsible for laying out the cones in the park. On the street, it was the Anaheim (police). It was a challenge dealing with so many entities.”

Mansoor, who also directs marathons in Sacramento and San Francisco and will organize the U.S. national track and field championships later this year, could not recall an entire marathon field going off a course.

“Overall, we’re pretty happy it all came out right in the end,” he said.

Other than Mansoor, no one was happier Sunday than Hellebuyck and Smith, who each earned $5,000 for winning.

“This was not a fast course,” said Hellebuyck, who Sunday ran his fifth marathon this year, a rare feat among runners, who generally tackle the demanding race at most two to three times a year. “If you want a fast time, go to Boston or Chicago.”

Smith, who qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials at Columbus, Ohio, last fall, also was running simply to win. She took the lead at the six-mile mark, then was cheered by friends along the course.

“This is a stepping stone,” said Smith, whose best is 2:41:19 at Las Vegas in 1993. “I already had my Olympic trials qualifying time, so I was looking to do the best I could.”

She had dropped out of the Feb. 5 Long Beach Marathon, and over breakfast with Sumner later that day decided to give the Disneyland race a try.

Notes

Race director John Mansoor believes Disney officials are leaning toward moving the marathon to a fall date, avoiding conflicts with the Long Beach and Los Angeles marathons. This year, the three races were held six weeks apart. . . . The 5-kilometer race attracted more than 6,000 starters, according to Mansoor.