News
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April 30th, 2020
Longest Race Cancelled For This Year
The pandemic hit the world’s longest certified road race. "Self-Transcendence" 3100 Mile Race is cancelled for the first time.
The event, initially held over 2700 miles in New York in 1996, then organised at the distance of 3100 miles uninterruptedly since 1997, is cancelled this year due to the coronavirus crisis around the globe. The organisers made the decision considering the public health as well as the travel restrictions for the participants outside the USA.
The competitors of the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race cover the distance by running 5649 laps at a 0.5488-mile loop around one block in Queens, passing by a vocational high school, basketball courts and a playground. The time limit to finish the race is 52 days. The runners begin at 6 a.m. and run for extended periods throughout the day, taking breaks as needed. If they want to, they can continue as late as 12 midnight when the course closes for the night.
Men’s race record is held by Ashprihanal Aalto of Finland who finished with a time of 40 days 9 hours 6 minutes 21 seconds in 2015. Women’s record holder is Kaneenika Janakova from Slovakia who completed 3100 miles in 48 days 14 hours 24 minutes 10 seconds in 2017.
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April 29th, 2020
Is the Tour Under Jeopardy?
Tour de France, rescheduled to August 29th, may still go on despite the ban of sporting events in the country until September.
The event has already been postponed once due to the coronavirus pandemic, moving from the initial start date of June 27. The announcement of the new ban led concerns as the weather conditions later in the year had left the event with a limited window to take place in 2020. However, the French Ministry of Sports clarified that the ban might not affect the Tour “but it can have consequences for the number of spectators." The Race Director, who had ruled out holding the race without crowds in an earlier interview, would need to reconsider his decision in that case.
The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903, except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. If the 2020 Tour takes place on the new dates, it will start in Nice on 29 August and finish in Paris on 20 September. -
April 28th, 2020
Latest Situation with Fall Marathons
As the road runners wait for the fall season to hit the race courses again, uncertainty continues over some global marathons.
Hopes rise for the new season as the European countries, where the rate of infection growth have slowed down, start loosening the coronavirus measures. If the improvement is maintained, September and October will be quite intense with the addition of the races postponed from spring. However, there are still uncertain prospects for some major marathons in the countries that either the pandemic would still be a threat in fall or the country has announced long-term measures.
The organisers of the London Marathon, rescheduled for 4 October, are considering the option of conducting the race with elite runners only. If the event could have been staged on 26 April as originally planned, the streets of London would see 45 thousand runners and 750 thousand spectators on the day. Even though the final decision concerning the number of the participants is to be made at the end of August, it is likely that the current social and physical distancing will need to be kept in October. It is not confirmed whether Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele, who were due to meet on April’s race, have signed up also for the revised date.
The Berlin Marathon of 27 September is postponed indefinitely in compliance with the German government's ban on gatherings of more than 5 thousand people until 24 October. The organisers are expected to announce if the event will eventually take place this year. The government's ban will impact several other marathons in Germany.
The first marathon in Europe will be the Stockholm Marathon on 5 September unless negative conditions occur by then. The event, gathering nearly 15 thousand runners every year, was postponed from 30 May.
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March 12th, 2020
Coronavirus Hampers Road Races
While many road running events are cancelled worldwide, the spreading coronavirus crisis is also affecting the events in Turkey.
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Youth and Sports announced a set of measures to be taken, including the cancellation or postponement of several international events in various sports. Five road races are listed among others.
Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, is rescheduled to the 20th of September from its original date of 5 April. The new date not only enables the half marathon participants of the European Athletics Championships to be held in Paris from 25 to 30 August to race in Istanbul, but also provides the opportunity for a test race for those who would run the Istanbul Maraton on 8 November.
Silver Label International Mersin Marathon will not be held on 22 March as scheduled either. Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, the organiser of the event, is considering end November or early December as the new date in line with the climate of the city.
Izmir Marathon, planned for 12 April originally, is announced to be held on 4 October. Bursa Osmangazi Historical City Run, another event scheduled to 12 April, is one of the races to be cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus measures. Diyarbakır Sur Half Marathon is also postponed indefinitely from 23 April.
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March 7th, 2020
Historical City Run Scheduled For 12 April
International Bursa Osmangazi Historical City Run, granted “five stars” by European Athletics, will be held on Sunday, 12 April.
The major road running event of Bursa is once again set to provide its participants a unique experience at the historical sites of the city’s largest district. The event with a concept that few races offer in the world holds a “5-star” label since 2018, the topmost category in the assessment of European road races.
Those finishing in the top-10 on 12 April will pocket prize money starting from USD 2,000 while the master athletes are eligible for cash prizes as well. For those who would like to run at a shorter distance, there is a public run over 4km on the day.
To register with the 15th International Bursa Osmangazi Historical City Run, a form must be filled out at www.osmangazimarathon.net. Timing services in the event will be provided by Depar Timing.
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