THERE will be no Comrades Marathon for the second year in a row after it got cancelled again due to fears over the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Board announced its decision to cancel the Comrades Marathon which was scheduled for 13 June 2021.
“Amidst intense and ongoing uncertainty with the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on mass gatherings and events, our runners’ interests remain uppermost in our minds and endeavours. We urge Comrades runners to take care and continue to maintain their fitness levels to enable a smooth transition once the normal staging of distance running resumes, while we at the CMA pledge to enable runners to stay connected, engaged, safe, informed and abreast of developments in this regard,” said Cheryl Winn, CMA Chairperson.
In it’s statement CMA said the decision was made after talks with KwaZulu-Natal Athletics, Athletics South Africa, the National Coronavirus Command Council, members of the medical fraternity and governmental departments.
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“The CMA Board is determined that the health, safety and welfare of Comrades runners, officials, volunteers and the general public remains paramount even after having held out hope that the nation’s most unifying road running event would have been able to be hosted in June. The impending third wave of Covid-19 which is widely anticipated around April to June this year, has ended any such hopes and makes the hosting of any mass event in the near future highly unlikely,” reads the statement.
However, the 2nd Comrades Marathon virtual event will take place on Sunday, 13 June 2021.
Runners will be able to run in any location, outside on their garden or neighbourhood, all at their own pace.
Last year, 43,788 participants from more than 100 nations participated in the virtual run, said CMA.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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