VIRTUAL REALITY

Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon to run virtually in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic

The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon will go virtual for its 2020 races.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, with 1,101 new cases reported Wednesday, made it impossible to run the traditional races, said Kari Watkins, executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

“We did not want to be a super sp reader event ,” Watkins said.

The race was originally scheduled for April 26 but was postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic with a target date of Oct. 4 for i ts 20th running.

Instead, the 20th Memorial Marathon now will feature people running on their own in the races they entered. Virtual runners are asked to run the distance they registered for sometime between Oct. 4-18 along any route of their choosing. Participants will upload their times recorded by their electronic devices to the marathon's website.

“You really can run any route that you would l ike,” said Jordan Ward, Memorial Marathon operations director. “You can get on a treadmill. You can do it in the city that you live in. You can do it around your neighborhood. Whatever you want.”

Everyone who entered the marathon will be automatically transferred to the virtual event. Anyone who doesn't want to run in the virtual races, can choose to either donate their registration fee to the National Memorial & Museum or defer it the 2021 or 2022 races. Runners must make their decision by Aug. 12.

Watkins said she understands people will be disappointed the traditional marathon could not be held, but the National Memorial and Museum could not responsibly organize a race of 25,000

runner son the streets of Oklahoma City with COVID-19 cases surging. The safety of the runners and the Oklahoma City community was the top priority, she said.

“We are disappointed too,” Watkins said. “This is not what we wanted. This is not how we envisioned our 20th year.”

Watkins said it would have been easier to cancel the races instead of holding a virtual event, but the Memorial Marathon wanted to give people the opportunity to run and earn the 20th anniversary medal.

“It's not that we are not running, it's that we are not running together ,” she said.

Tulsa' s Route 66 Marathon will also be held virtually. That race was scheduled for Nov. 22 and its virtual runners are asked to run sometime from Nov. 21 until Dec. 1.

Route 66 runners have the same options as the Memorial Marathon if they don't want to participate virtually.

They can donate their registration fee to Route 66's race charity or defer their fee until 2021 or 2022.

As of now, Watkins said the 2021 Memorial Marathon will be held in April as normal.

“Our hope is to get a healthy America again,” she said.

Go to OKCMarathon. com for more information.