Two men fighting for the win in Sunday's Manchester Marathon experienced a racer's nightmare when they went off course after 24 miles and didn't find their way back to the race route.

As partial recompense, the New Hampshire race has announced it will award each of the two $1,250, or half of the total purse for first and second place, WMUR reports.

In a statement about the mishap, the race said, "The Manchester Marathon Association Board of Directors is currently reviewing statements from the lead runners along with statements from the volunteers who were positioned at mile marker 24."

Although other runners reported that a turnaround near 24 miles wasn't marked, in its statement the race said, "A turnaround sign was posted just past mile 24 at the turnaround point. The sign was placed there by race management prior to the start and removed after the race when the course was broken down."

One of the two leaders, Jason Ayr, told WMUR he didn't see the sign or receive direction from volunteers. Ayr said he realized something was amiss when he found himself running on a dead end street.

One possibility is that heavy winds blew the sign over between when it was placed and when some of the runners passed the area, and that the sign was later returned to its designated spot.

As a result of the two leaders' detour, Dan Vassalo wound up as the men's winner in 2:31:06.

Scott Douglas Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times.

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