Eilish McColgan’s record-breaking 10000m run in Glasgow invalidated after error from Great Scottish Run organisers

The 10,000m records set by Eilish McColgan at the 2022 Great Scottish Run in Glasgow earlier this month has been rendered void after it was found the course was 150 metres short.

Eilish from Dundee ran the 10,000 metres at the start of this month, October 2 - setting a new British record by finishing in 30 minutes and 18 seconds. However due to human error, an area was not laid out as planned, meaning the short was 150 metres short.

The course began in Glasgow’s George Square before proceeding to the city’s southside and finishing at Glasgow Green.

The 31 year-old athelete from Dundee ran what was a new British record and surpassed her own European mark by finishing in 30 minutes 18 seconds. McColgan also took gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m at this year’s Commonwealth Games as well as two medals in the European Championships.

This is the second time the Great Scottish Run have misjudged the distance - when the half marathon course in 2016 was also found to be 150 metres short of 10,000.

That error invalidated the record set by Scotsman Callum Hawkins, who won this year’s men’s half marathon in 1:03:35. The Great Run Company say the error had a marginal effect on the half marathon but it was within tolerance and the course was valid - unlike McColgan’s record which has been invalidated.

It was the third time that year that she bettered her 10 km personal best prior to the reversal. She had not run outdoors in Scotland since the 2014 Commonwealth Games but competed in the Great Scottish Run after withdrawing from the London Marathon due to health issues.

Paul Foster, the chief executive of organisers, said:“We will be reviewing our internal processes to ensure we cannot make this mistake again,”

“There are no excuses for this happening and we’re very sorry. We know we’ve let our customers down.”

Eilish is currently in Egypt, and has not yet reacted publicly to the news - although continues her training as she posted herself training on a treadmill on Monday while cruising on the River Nile, two days ahead of the news.

The Newcastle-based company said after the 2016 mistake - which was in a different part of the course - that several extra check steps had been implemented to ensure the situation would not be repeated.

This year’s event attracted about 20,000 runners - doing 10,000m or half marathons - and was the first Great Scottish Run to take place in three years after the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.