Bucharest Marathon: Professional runners’ race canceled, virtual event goes on

The race for professional runners of this year’s Bucharest Marathon was canceled one day before the planned start on October 11.

The decision to cancel it was taken at the request of the authorities, given the coronavirus pandemic evolution in the country and in Bucharest, where the number of Covid-19 cases reached 2.28 per thousand inhabitants this weekend, Bucharest Running Club announced.

This past Sunday, 250 professional runners were scheduled to start the race in the city’s Constitution Square, in an event that would have allowed them to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, the runners who registered for the virtual races, where they participate in the competition individually, can go ahead under the conditions initially announced. They can run on a route and in a time slot of their choice, between October 11 and October 18.

Those who join the #RunRomania Virtual Run Week opt on registration for a cause they want to support and can start the race anywhere in the world. They can join any of the 42 km, 21km, 15km, 10km, and 5km races or the Aleargă cât poți (Run as Much as You Can) race.

“We, the Bucharest Running Club team, together with the partners of the event, did everything possible so that the physical event took place in complete safety conditions for professional runners. We hope that those qualities specific to the marathon runner - determination, endurance, planning - will help those who had prepared to compete on October 11, to overcome this moment. It is a difficult moment, especially since the runners are in Bucharest right now, some of them from other continents,” Valeria van Groningen, the president of the Bucharest Running Club, said.

(Photo: lzf | Dreamstime.com)