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Reply to "Beijing Marathon Report Available"

Re the turn point, this was not a last minute addition because the course was found to be short after measurement. This was always part of BOCOG's course design and it was the adjustment point presented to us in our capacity as measurers. The course had a fixed start (adjacent Chairman Mao's tomb) and fixed finish (track finish line) and any adjustment was to be made on the out and back section near the finish. This out and back section, of course, could have been anywhere along the course but, from a measurement perspective, it was very convenient exactly where it was planned by BOCOG. Runners I spoke to weren't particularly concerned and some thought it provided a good late race opportunity to check their opposition. It was also good viewing for spectators who were in the Olympic Green.

Re the initial measurement of the walks course, this was done by local Chinese measurers for the April test event. However it had not been well documented so the course used in April may not be exactly the same as the course we laid out for the Olympic Games. To my knowledge the Stadium was in full use in April for a track and field test event, so it is not correct to say the Stadium was not finished at that time.

There was less than 500m of common course between the walks and marathon and we measured each independently.
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