Newport Marathon organisers apologised to runners on Wednesday after they discovered this year's course was too long, promising to amend times for those applying to run in the London Marathon.

Organisers were told by the Association of UK Course Measurers (AUKCM) that the race held on April 28 was 276 metres (0.171 miles) too long. A marathon course is traditionally 26.2 miles (42.2 km).

"Run 4 Wales is disappointed that this has happened at one of its events and understands and apologises unreservedly to those impacted, particularly those aiming for Good for Age qualifying times," organisers said in a statement.

"For this reason, we have been working with London Marathon Events who have agreed that times will be amended for those applying for a Good for Age entry at the TCS London Marathon, should the athlete have been affected in gaining a place."

Organisers said an "equivalent number of seconds" would be removed from finish times.

"For example, a 3-hour finish time would be corrected approximately by 70 seconds," they added.

"This will be done automatically via the London Marathon system when applying." REUTERS