The half-marathon in Atlanta experienced a major scandal when the lead cyclist mistakenly misdirected the top three female runners just a few kilometers from the finish line. Jessica McClain, who was in clear lead for victory, ended up finishing ninth due to the confusion caused by the wrong course marking. Molly Born, who was trailing over a minute behind McClain, ultimately won the race and the $20,000 prize due to this unexpected turn of events.

Following the incident, a formal protest was filed regarding the competition's results. The United States Track and Field (USATF) jury acknowledged that the race course was incorrectly marked. Despite this admission, they decided to uphold the final results, directing any further inquiries about course markings to the local event organizers. This decision has raised concerns about the fairness of the results and the integrity of the competition.

The marathon was part of the selection process for the U.S. national road running team for the world championships. USATF stated that they would consider the events at the end of the race when selecting team members, especially as McClain had previously performed well in national athletics. The ramifications of this incident may extend beyond just the race results, affecting athlete selections for future competitions.