Niagara Falls Marathon disqualifies winners after leading them the wrong way

October 28, 2025

The 2025 Niagara Falls International Marathon race weekend turned into what one participant called “an absolute nightmare”–and judging by reactions from other runners, they’re not alone in that assessment.

On Sunday, the top three runners in both the 10K and half-marathon races unknowingly followed the lead cyclist in the wrong direction, cutting more than a kilometre off of their race distance and earning disqualifications on the results page.

The mishap occurred just 2K into the race, when the 10K and half-marathon groups were still running together. While approaching the designated out-and-back turnaround point, the lead cyclist turned roughly 500 metres early, shaving approximately 1.1 km off the half-marathon course, and 1.25 km off the 10K.

At the point where he was told to turn,Matt King, the initial 10K winner, told Canadian Running there was no turn-around sign, but pylons lining the centre of the road seemed to come to an abrupt end. “I asked the lead cyclist twice if he was confident this was the right thing to do,” King recalled. “He said yes and that he’d tell me if it wasn’t.”

According to the official results, the runners who followed the cyclist in the wrong direction have been removed. Their names appear in the official race app, with “no finish time.” Consequently, the initial fourth, fifth and sixth-place finishers were bumped up to first, second and third. Running Magazine