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Freedom Marathon runners still waiting for race results

Posted at 8:22 PM, Nov 13, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-14 06:21:43-05

Norfolk, Va. - Two days after the Freedom Marathon in Norfolk, runners still don't know what the results are.

Runners say they were thrilled to be part of a race that supports veterans, but some feel like they're being kept in the dark about efforts to resolve a glitch with the timing system.

They were notified of the problem after the race Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, they hadn't heard an update.

Michael Hicks, who ran the half marathon, says he and many others have posted on the race's Facebook page, just wanting to know what's happening.

“I had a great time, it’s just a little frustrating not getting any responses back,” said Hicks.

It's especially a concern for some who ran the full marathon.  It was an official qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

“For this to happen, it was extremely frustrating to us, extremely frustrating.  You can only imagine the amount of work and dedication that was put into this for something like that to happen,” said Manny Cordero, executive director for the race.

Cordero says the timing company, Colonial Sports in Williamsburg, told him Tuesday morning that they should have the results for the 5k by Wednesday and the half and full marathons by Thursday.

The owner says there was something wrong with the database that caused all the data to shift, so the bib numbers and race times don’t match up with the correct person.

They're using video from the finish line and calling people to verify bib numbers.

Cordero says the results will still be valid as a qualifier for Boston.

“That’s one of the main reasons that I wanted them to get 100 percent accuracy, so that as soon as they get the data corrected, we can email the results to the Boston Marathon,” said Cordero.

Tuesday afternoon, race organizers posted an update to their Facebook page for runners.  Cordero says they're doing their best to keep people informed.

Once they have the results ready, Cordero says they'll be posted to their website's homepage, Facebook and Twitter.

The city of Norfolk, which sponsored the race, says they've been in close contact with organizers and are confident all the timing issues will be resolved.