After being postponed to fall, Manitoba Marathon now going virtual due to COVID-19

This year's Manitoba Marathon is going virtual due to COVID-19.

The annual Father's Day marathon was one of many large events that were postponed this spring when cases of the virus began to spike in the province.

Organizers later announced that the race would take place in October.

But Wednesday morning, with the event a month away, organizers released a statement saying this year's marathon would now be a virtual-only eventdue to concerns about COVID-19.

The decision was "heartbreaking" but with cases of COVID-19 spiking in the province recently, organizers didn't want to put the community at risk, said Rachel Munday, executive director of the Manitoba Marathon.

"It's hard to explain to people how sad we are as a team," she said.

Organizers are now hoping to provide a virtual race experience for participants, including a "DIY Race Weekend" kit, where runners can upload their race results and photos, Munday said.

The marathon usually has about 10,000 to 12,000 people participate each year. Munday says she's expecting about a fourth of that this year.

Reaction to the news has been mixed, she said, but generally, people haven't been surprised by the decision.

"Certainly there's a lot of support throughout the running community, both here and across the country," she said.

Though the 2021 marathon is only eight months away, Munday is confident it will be able to go forward in person.

"I think that by that time we'll have a better idea of how we are all going to live in this new world that we're living in with COVID around us," she said.

"It might look different than people are used to, but we're looking forward to seeing people in person again and getting there on the roads as as a community and celebrating running."