A woman who ended up getting lost while running a marathon in Raleigh , North Carolina and ended up having to hitch a ride with the cops to get back on course , still won her race some nine minutes ahead of her closest competitor . Heidi Bretscher 's troubles began around mile 17 of the Rock N ' Roll Raleigh Marathon that took place earlier this month . The 28-year-old runner was so far ahead of the pack it was n't clear to her which way she was meant to go . Wrong way : Heidi Bretscher , 28 , said she was on pace to beat her personal record when she , and the two cyclists who were accompanying her , missed an unmarked turn . Retracing her steps : At mile 19 , Bretscher was leading the women 's race by about 30 minutes . She found a police officer who gave her a ride back to mile 17 . Somehow , she ended up running entirely off the planned route and around a lake that was n't even on the course . Despite her unscheduled detour , Ms. Bretscher 's was brought back on track by a couple of helpful cops who drove her in their patrol cars back to the point in the race where things became muddled . After working out her timings and distances she still managed to cross the line well ahead of her closest rival . ' I 'm a little frustrated , ' she told ABC 11 following her victory . ' I ran three miles off course because I did n't know which way to run in the race . ' 'Usually when you cross the finish line , you 're really excited . I was n't excited , ' she said . ' I was just really nervous that I was going to get in trouble because I did n't stay on course . ' No sign : The route changed from the 2014 race leaving several turns unmarked allowing runners to get lost . Off course : Before the mishap , Bretscher said she was on pace to run her best time ever . On form : Race officials said as soon as they learned of Bretscher 's confusion , the course was fixed and crew members were alerted . The organizers had hoped that things would be different this time around after changing the course from last year to help ease the traffic and impact on local residents . Competitor Group Inc. , the main company responsible for organizing the Rock N ' Roll marathons , said that they worked with the city of Raleigh but had n't realized the confusion it would cause . 'It 's just an embarrassing situation on behalf of everyone involved with Rock N ' Roll and something that we 're working to fix for next year , ' Competitor Group 's Dan Cruz said . At mile 19 , Bretscher was leading the women 's race by about 30 minutes . She came unstuck when she arrived near at a split near Lake Johnson . Not knowing whether to turn left or right , she ended up choosing incorrectly . ' I saw Mile 18 while I was on the trail . However , I never saw Mile 19 and eventually it became clear that we were off track , ' she said . Course officials did n't seem to have a clear idea over what she should do either . It was n't until she approached a traffic cop when she was able to find a clear solution who helped get her back on track . But even then things did n't improve because the police officer dropped her back at mile 17 where her problem first began . A second police officer agreed to whisk her to mile 22 , just four miles from the finish line . Winner ! Despite her detour , Bretscher managed to be the first woman and third runner overall to finish the race with a time of 3:06:59 , nearly 10 minutes ahead of the next woman to cross the finish line . Returning runner : Competitor Group Inc. said that Bretscher was the only runner affected by the course , and as a silver lining , they 're offering her a second shot at one of their other marathons , free of charge . The whole incident left Ms. Bretscher feeling frustrated because she had been on pace to run her best time ever . 'One of the hardest things for me , actually , was when I was in the car with the second police officer . I heard the male runner winning the race , and I knew I should have been really close to the finish line at that point , ' she said . 'So that was really discouraging for me , but I was still so determined to win . ' After crossing the finish line her win came under scrutiny but it was calculated that even with the ride from cops , after analyzing her times , she still came in some nine minutes ahead of her closest rival . Bretscher managed to be the first woman and third runner overall to finish the race with a time of 3:06:59 . Competitor Group Inc. say Bretscher was the only runner affected by the new course design and have agreed to allow her entry to another of the marathons they run , free of charge . Ms. Bretscher says despite the error which cause her a great deal of frustration at the time , she will likely be back at the race next year under the presumption that course officials will have learned from their mistakes and that everything will far more smoothly .
Heidi Bretscher , 28 , was running the marathon in Raleigh , North Carolina . At a point where the course splits , she ran in the wrong direction . A couple of helpful traffic cops brought her back on course for her to win third place .