A long-distance runner from the Windsor-area has been denied a Canadian record.
Dayna Pidhoresky officially finished the Niagara Falls International half marathon in one hour, 11 minutes and 46 seconds.
That was nearly 30 seconds faster than Tara Quinn-Smith's Canadian record of 1:12:09, run in 2009.
But Athletics Canada ruled Pidhoresky's time doesn't count because construction of the Niagara course falls outside the governing body's regulations. The start and finish lines were too far apart.
Rules state the start and finish lines must be no further apart, in a straight line, than half the distance of the race. In a half marathon, that's approximately 10 kilometres. The rule is to prevent course designers and runners from manipulating wind and elevation to increase their speeds.
Niagara race director Jim Ralston doesn't feel the course takes anything away from Pidhoresky's accomplishment.
"She's still the fast half-marathoner in the country," he said.
Despite gunning for the record since spring, Pidhoresky isn't disappointed.
"If not now, maybe next time I race the half," Pidhoresky said of achieving a record-setting time.
The 1:11:46 was still a personal best for the 24-year-old.
"It’s great to run a personal best. It feels better to run that than get the record," Pidhoresky said.
Pidhoresky will now focus on her dream of representing Canada in the marathon at the Olympics. She has her sights set on 2016.
She'll run her first full marathon in the spring.
"I'm running my first full probably in the spring, if my training goes well in the winter. So I don't think 2012 is what I would be looking at, probably more 2016, but it would be the marathon," Pidhoresky said. "So I guess it all depends on how my body reacts to that."
In the meantime, Pidhoresky will take little rest. She'll run 145 km each week, sometimes running twice a day.
She is scheduled to race in Japan in November and then, on her way back, stop in Vancouver to run the Canadian Cross-Country Championship on Nov. 26.
"I have a bit to go before I can break a little bit," Pidhoresky said.
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