Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon view of the final yards, the direction of running was changed to "right-hand inside" (i.e. clockwise). This meant the distance in the stadium was shortened to , and the total distance became officially "about 26 miles plus 385 yards on the track". A modified version of the Polytechnic Harriers' April 1908 map was issued in June 1908 incorporating the changed ending and omitting the "Long Walk" start used for the Trial Marathon. This was published in the newspapers and in the official programme for the games. This distance (ignoring the word "about" in the phrase "about 26 miles plus 385
Bangkok Marathon miles) to 27.6 km (17.1 miles). According to organisers, the increase was due to the race officials directing runners to take a turn at the wrong place which added over 3 km extra to each of the two laps. The mistake sparked humour and outcry in the social and news media. "The Guardian" called it "world's longest half marathon". Some comments on social media called it a "Super Half Marathon", while some called it a byproduct of "race inflation". Organizers apologized for the mistake and decided to offer a T-shirt saying "Finisher of 27.6 km" to participants who completed the