Chicago Marathon Cancelled

Covid-19 apparently does not want us to run together in 2020. The last major United States marathon has been cancelled on July 13, 2020.

Our sources have informed us that The Chicago Marathon may be cancelled sometime today. The race has been in jeopardy since the pandemic began back in March.

A month ago the Boston Marathon was cancelled and yesterday, the New York City Marathon was cancelled.

However, unlike Boston and NYC, Chicago attempted to stay ahead of the curve in terms of giving their customers options to plan ahead. Back in April, they announced that racers could postpone their 2020 event to 2021.

Organizers then published the following, just a few weeks ago.

At this time, we are unable to say definitively whether or not the race will proceed and we want you to know that we are preparing for both outcomes.

We’re continuing our preparations for the event with the goal of providing a safe race weekend experience. This includes working with city and state officials to align our preparations with their current guidelines and re-opening framework.

Work is being done every day knowing that external factors could mean that we cannot safely hold the race. In addition, we’re also working to ensure that in the event of a cancellation, we are able to provide you with unique options outside of our standard event policies.

Now the race is officially cancelled. All participants may receive a refund OR defer to 2021,2022, or 2023.

Boston, New York, and Chicago make up half of the World Marathon Majors, and all are done for 2020. The other 3 in the series are Tokyo, Berlin, and London.

The Tokyo Marathon was run on Feb 29, at a much smaller scale than previous years. It started with the elite field, limited volunteers, and no spectators. The 2020 Berlin Marathon, where Kipchoge set the world record just two years ago , was cancelled on June 21st.

This leaves London, originally scheduled for April 26, and currently postponed to October 4th.

A month ago, London Marathon Event Director Hugh Brasher wrote the following:

As you know, the rescheduled date for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon is Sunday 4 October. At this point, we cannot be certain if the event can go ahead or, if it can, in what form it can take place. We know that you would like certainty. We understand and acknowledge that you want to know if you should start serious training or restart your fundraising campaign. However, much as we would like to, we cannot offer you certainty.

Brasher stated he will announce more by July 28th.

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Matt B. Davis

is the host of the Obstacle Racing Media Podcast and the author of "Down and Dirty-The Essential Training Guide for Obstacle Races and Mud Runs". He is also the only (known) #wafflehouseelite obstacle racer.