Organizers are considering what, if any, options they have for holding the Reykjavík Marathon this year in a way that abides by current COVID control measures, Vísir reports. The marathon was not held last year because of the pandemic.
The Reykjavík Marathon is the biggest race of the year in Iceland and is currently set to take place on August 21. About 15,000 people take part every year. However, current gathering restrictions are set at a maximum of 200 people.
Current COVID control measures will be in effect until August 13 and there’s a fair amount of uncertainty about what will happen after that.
Silja Úlfarsdóttir, information officer for the Reykjavík Sports Association (ÍBR), says that organizers haven’t given up hope of holding the race in some form this year. Staff is currently assessing the situation in consultation with civil defense authorities.
“We were pretty optimistic about being able to hold the race this year, but we’re taking a closer look at it. We’re still relatively optimistic, though.”
A number of socially distanced running initiatives were launched last year when the marathon was cancelled and gyms had to be closed. One was ‘Run Your Way!’ which encouraged would-be marathoners to run on their own and collect money for charity. Another was ‘Let’s Run Around the World,’ which allowed participants to participate in a virtual relay race around the world.
Silja says that there are a lot of ideas on the table, but can’t comment on which direction race organizers are leaning just yet. “The dream, of course, is to be able to hold the marathon, because the [donations collected] are so important for all the charities.”
She says that participating runners have been understanding about the uncertainty: “I think people have just gotten pretty used to this and know that people just need a little time to make decisions about these things.”
ÍBR will announce its decision about this year’s Reykjavík Marathon in the coming days.
