Exceptions

If you have a situation not addressed by rules and examples in the Marathon Rules page, please request the Exception Form. Be mindful that the exception review process may take 6 weeks or more to complete and may require additional information during the review process.

To request an Exception Form, please email to membership@marathonglobetrotters.org.

Turks and Caicos – Notice of Exception

Name of the Race: Move-a-Thon Marathon Turks and Caicos
Country: Turks and Caicos
Race Date: January 14, 2023

The Marathon Globetrotters Board of Directors has voted to approve an exception to the 10 Finisher rule for the Turks and Caicos 2023 Marathon (Rule 10). Among the reasons are the following:

  1. The race is a multi-year marathon and not a one time event.  
  2. The race is professionally organized.
  3. The race has been run for several years in a row (with a break for COVID) and has consistently had a problem attracting enough marathon runners to meet the 10 Finisher rule.
  4. Our former Electronic Media Director, Steven Lee, did a detailed population analysis of countries in 2018 and came to the conclusion that Turks & Caicos was too small of a country to support a marathon with a 10 finisher rule without international help.
  5. The race in 2020 with 23 Finishers satisfied the rules, but it took a considerable effort on the part of the MG to recruit enough runners.  This level of effort is not sustainable.  

If you finished the the 2023 Race in Turks & Caicos, please submit your race for approval in the normal manner. The approved exception covers all participants in 2023.

Previous races are not approved retroactively.  A separate Exception Form is needed for the 2018 and 2019 races.  Please designate someone to do this.  The race exception form can be found at membership@marathonglobetrotters.org.  A reason other than this exception should be indicated.  

The Board is considering a rule change in the long term that accounts for this situation in a multi-year event, that rule change will be submitted to membership for a vote.

Last update date : January 22, 2023

Statement on the Saint Peter’s Marathon

Name of the Race: Saint Peter’s Marathon
Country: Vatican Holy See (Vatican City State)
Race Date: January 19, 2019

The MG Board of Directors originally voted not to consider the Saint Peters Marathon 2019 as a legitimate marathon based on the information that was communicated to us at the time: that official permission for the race would not be sought; that participants would be on a training run if questioned by authorities; and that race bibs would not be worn. This appeared to us that an effort was being made to hide the race, and that Rule 23 was being violated. We thereafter announced to members that the Saint Peters Marathon 2019 would not count as an official race for MG.

However based on new information that was received after the race was run, the board of Marathon Globetrotters changed its position regarding this event and decided to accept it as a legitimate marathon event. The reason for this reversal is that a Race Exception to the rules was filed, and although we could not definitively verify whether local laws in the Vatican and in Rome were being complied with (Rule 23), it appeared that a good faith effort was made on race day to receive permission from Vatican officials, and from the police and Swiss Guards who were present, to start the race.

We would like to stress that race bibs should be offered for future events. We hope that this race will serve as a catalyst for future events in the Vatican and that race directors will obtain permission from an official authority of the Vatican prior to any future race.

Last update date : February 27, 2019