Nervous watch on entrants

ONE of the city’s biggest events is being run next weekend but Gold Coast Marathon boss Cameron Hart is already in a race against time.

He is closely watching developments in NSW where Covid cases are on the rise.

More than 20,000 people are set to compete across a range of events on the Gold Coast next weekend.

“We are watching very closely with the restrictions in NSW, particularly out of Sydney,” said Mr Hart, the chief executive of Gold Coast Events Management.

“At the moment there are 2500 runners that are potentially impacted, which is a significant number.

“While it is 2500 runners, that could be 7500 people because they would bring their mum and dad or kids.”

Mr Hart said the loss of numbers would be felt across the city but he was thankful for support from other states.

“There will be a significant loss to Gold Coast tourism companies (but) a lot of Victorians are keen to come up and have a winter run,” he said.

Despite the concerns, Mr Hart said preparations for road closures and registrations had been smooth, with the help of community volunteers and Queensland Police.

“We are working very closely with Queensland Main Roads, City of Gold Coast and Queensland Police for the road closure plans,” he said.

“We are making sure we can run the event safely and successfully to minimise the impact to the community.”

The half-marathon is on next Saturday and the marathon on Sunday, July 4, with the start and finish in Southport.