the blunder was believed to have been caused by a race marshal toilet break during the event .
the bizarre gaffe happened during yesterday 's bournemouth bay run and today the organisers - bournemouth borough council - appealed for those who were affected by the mix-up to contact them for a ` gesture of goodwill .
it was reported that some runners were ` in tears , i felt so sorry for them - i felt like crying at the end .