With less than two miles left in the US Half Marathon Championship, Jess McClain was on her way to her first national title. She had a large lead over Ednah Kurgat and Emma Grace Hurley when the guide vehicle took the trio off course. So much so that by the time McClain rejoined the race, she would finish ninth. Molly Born won her second national title in 85 days. She was in disbelief when she crossed the finish line.

Born was more than a minute behind Jess McClain and the lead pack when they veered off course. She thought that she finished fourth until she crossed the tape and realized that she had finished first instead. Upon learning what had happened to McClain and co, Born had mixed emotions about the win.

Born shared FloTrack’s post, which talked about the loss of McClain, Hurley, and Kurgat, and Molly Born crossing “the line first in 1:09:43,” as a story on her Instagram handle (@born_molly).

“Heartbreaking situation 💔 I feel so bad for these amazing ladies,” read her caption.

Per Runnerspace.com, Molly Born mentioned, “I shouldn’t go to Copenhagen. I shouldn’t. I’m fine. I’m not going to fight for my spot.”

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The winner of the US Half Marathon Championship gets an automatic berth to the 2026 World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen. McClain will miss out on that and the $20,000 first-place prize money.

In another interview, Molly Born admitted that it wasn’t her “best race” and that she doesn’t feel like a “US champion.” She also revealed that whatever disrupted the race affected others, as Carrie Ellwood nearly veered off as well. However, she recovered to finish in second place, four seconds behind Born.

In fact, Molly Born added that she tried to see if she could give up her spot.

“So I was asking the officials, and I was asking them, like, ‘If I give up my spot, could it go to, like, one of the ladies who should’ve been the winner?’ And he was saying that they’ll go back to five, but there’s a hard rule that fifth is the farthest they’ll go down to.”

That would still put Jess McClain, Ednah Kurgat, and Emma Hurley out of contention as they finished 9th, 12th, and 13th, respectively.

USA Track & Field’s statement after the incident

In the aftermath of the race, all the athletes affected by the misdirection filed protests with USA Track & Field (USATF). Officials upheld those decisions, and they subsequently appealed them. But the jury found “no recourse within the USATF rulebook” to alter things, and the result stood as per the official statement.

That is despite admitting that the course “was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection.”

However, Jess McClain is hoping for more than that.

In a post on her official Instagram page, McClain called for action from USATF, urging them for better measures.

“Something needs to change & safeguards should be in place for athletes who are out there doing their absolute best on race day,” McClain wrote. “Someone needs to care enough to do something. Anything. I love this sport so damn much & just want to help make it better for our younger pros & all of the amazing athletes to come.”

The official statement from USATF also touched on the 2026 World Road Running Championships. 

“This race was a selection event for the 2026 World Road Running Championships,” reads the official statement. “That team is not officially selected until May. USATF will review the events from Atlanta carefully.”

It does mean that officials have not yet confirmed Molly Born’s place, giving McClain, Kurgat, and Hurley some hope. That is especially important since only one spot remains on the team.