The Boston 2020 Marathon for the first time in 124 years has been delayed. This was of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Boston Athletes Association (BAA) announced on May 28.
BAA said the world’s oldest run will be held in the form of a virtual event. All participants will receive a completion medal if they can run a distance of 42 km in 6 hours.
Earlier, this famous marathon was delayed from April to September 14 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. BAA adds that all spectators who have purchased tickets to the event will receive a full refund.
This year, BAA initially wanted to keep the traditional time of running. However, the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading at a rapid pace. Therefore, the Boston authorities and seven other localities located on the 42,195km runway constantly pressured the proposal to be postponed.
Many have argued that the overcrowding of the crowd creates too much risk. There are 31,000 registered athletes and about 1 million fans having a tradition of high-five athletes. The pressure was even greater with BAA on March 10, after Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a statewide emergency.
The most prestigious marathons
The Boston Marathon is one of the 6 most prestigious marathons in the world under the World Marathon Majors system. The remaining five tournaments are New York City Marathon, Chicago Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon and Tokyo Marathon.
Besides reputation, the Boston Marathon also brings great economic benefits to the city. According to Mayor Walsh, this running event brings about $ 200 million to the local economy annually. Besides, there is about $ 36 million to be donated by the athletes to charitable causes. The 2021 Boston Marathon is expected to take place on April 19, 2021. Hopefully, the situation will get better then.
The United States is currently the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the world. Among the states, Massachusetts is also one of the places with the highest number of cases and deaths.