NYC Marathon canceled due to pandemic
NEW YORK — A public health crisis that has proved to be treacherous for large events claimed two more of the world’s biggest marathons Wednesday, with organizers in New York and Berlin canceling their races this year because of the spread of the coronavirus.
The cancellations left the sport without three of its six most important races in 2020 — the Boston Marathon was called off in May — and increased concerns that interruptions to the endurance sports world would continue until there was a medical solution to the crisis.
The New York City Marathon, one of the most prestigious and lucrative events of its kind, would have celebrated its 50th anniversary in November. It is one of the highlights of fall in New York and a spectacle for endurance sports, attracting more than 50,000 runners, 10,000 volunteers and roughly 1 million fans, who line nearly every accessible yard of the 26.2-mile course through the five boroughs.
City officials and New York Road Runners, who own and organize the event, decided holding the race this year would be too risky. Public health experts have said mass events, especially those that bring people together from across the globe, will remain a danger until a treatment or a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, is widely available, a stance that makes it difficult to envision major public marathons coming back without one.
“At some point, we are going to be waiting for runners on finish lines again,” said Michael Capiraso, chief executive of New York Road Runners.
He said he and other organizers had held out hope their race could happen.
They decided to cancel it before having to spend more money to organize it.
“There was hope, but that turned to uncertainty, and given what we have seen the past months, this was really the only decision,” Capiraso said.
White House officials have issued warnings about another wave of infections this fall. And while infection rates in the New York metropolitan area are now among the lowest in the country, the virus is spreading at concerning rates in areas that have not heeded the advice of public health officials to continue to practice social distancing, avoid public gatherings and wear masks. As of Wednesday, cases were rising in 27 states over the previous two weeks.
Following coronavirus health guidelines while holding a major race is simply impossible, leaving the endurance sports business economically devastated this year.
“I worry about their ability to get through the pandemic,” Rich Harshbarger, chief executive at Running USA, an industry trade group, said of the organizations that manage races. “The question isn’t how do we respond; it’s how do we get through this?”
Runners who had signed up for this year’s race in New York will be able to choose to receive a refund or to defer their entry to the race during the next three years. They will also have the option to run the race virtually from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1. Organizers said they would announce details of the virtual event in July.
In the New York marathon, the runners and thousands of volunteers are transported to a starting line village at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, where they huddle and wait for hours to be called to the start at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The runners then cram into a series of starting corrals while they wait for a cannon sound to signal the start of the race.
Remaining 6 feet apart simply cannot happen.
Organizers canceled the race once before, in 2012, after Hurricane Sandy hammered the region just days before the race. They decided against having only an elite field this year in part because they feared crowds would gather on the streets and because of the uncertainty of international runners being able to travel to the United States.
The London and Chicago marathons remain scheduled for the fall, but organizers have yet to commit to holding them. The Tokyo Marathon went forward in early March only with elite runners, but that is not a long-term solution. Without ticket sales in the sport, organizers need money from casual participants to help pay for the elite field’s appearance fees and prize money.
In the absence of federal guidelines, endurance events are likely to happen on a state-by-state or eventby-event basis. The Marine Corps Marathon remains scheduled for late October in Washington and Arlington,
Virginia, though organizers have canceled two shorter races for that weekend. A marathon in Fargo, North Dakota, scheduled for August, plans to move forward. It attracts about 1,500 participants. Spartan, which manages events with obstacles, held a race for about 1,000 people in Florida this month.
The New York Road Runners carry cancellation insurance for the marathon, which will help ease what will be a significant blow.
The marathon is the signature event and among the main revenue generators for the organization, which collects a little more than $100 million each year but had to cancel two other major events in the spring — the New York City and Brooklyn half marathons.