Concerns trip up 3 local runners’ Paris race plans
The three Houston women trained for months and then flew 5,000 miles to the starting line. But just hours before the Paris half-marathon was to begin, the race was canceled as fear of the new coronavirus gripped the City of Light.
The iconic race is just one of many mass public events now being shuttered or postponed around the world, including Austin’s legendary South by Southwest festival, leaving would-be participants disappointed, relieved, and most of all, jittery by so many unknowns.
“We have to assume we were not exposed to it,” said Warren on Saturday, two days after returning from France. “I really hope I’m not.”
It was supposed to be an epic trip, an idea six months in the making. Warren, along with running buddies Ruth Clark and Janice Cruz Cardona have pounded countless miles together and are veterans of the long haul. They were already training for Houston’s half-marathon in mid-January and wondered if they should go international. Clark had once lived in Paris and thought that city’s 13-mile race on March 1 would be just the kind of big gesture to mark their running and their friendship.
They signed up — along with some 44,000 others across the globe.
By the time they boarded their Air France flight on Feb. 27, the novel coro
navirus, COVID-19, had already pummeled Wuhan, China, and begun its march to other countries. Outbreaks were reported in Italy and a handful of cases detected in France. It was enough to give the women pause but they were not easily dissuaded.
Their flight was surprisingly empty. Warren swabbed her seat, arm rest and tray table with disinfectant wipes. Cruz Cardona had her hand sanitizer at the ready. They just told themselves they would be extra careful and wash their hands a lot.
On Friday, Feb. 28, they picked up race packets and snapped photos. The next day Clark’s father texted her from the United States to tell her the French government had banned all multinational gatherings of more than 5,000 people. They reassured themselves it was only for indoor events, their race was outside. Still, runners are packed tightly into pre-race corrals. And there are a lot of spectators and volunteers.
About an hour later a friend texted Warren to say he was sorry about her race. The trio frantically searched their phones for news and finally it came: the half-marathon was officially canceled.
“I was more surprised than disappointed,” said Warren.
But suddenly the risk felt real, even palpable.
The three women, with nowhere to run, took to sightseeing. The Louvre Museum, though, was closed because of COVID-19 (it has since reopened). People in masks seemed to be everywhere. The women made a conscious effort not to touch the handrails in the subway and avoid large crowds.
Now home, they are back to running the Houston trails. The halfmarathon in Paris has been rescheduled for the fall but it is unclear if they will be making a return trip. Even if they don’t have the medal, at least they have a dashing story to tell.