New York City Marathon, the largest marathon in the world, won’t take place in 2020. The organizers announced on Wednesday that the event wouldn’t take place due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
NYC Marathon, which was scheduled to take place on November 1st, was supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. The commemoration will now take place in 2021.
“New York Road Runners [NYRR], the event organizer, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of the City of New York, has made the decision to cancel the world’s largest marathon due to coronavirus-related health and safety concerns for runners, spectators, volunteers, staff, and the many partners and communities that support the event,” said the organizers in a statement.
The ongoing health crisis also saw the cancelation of the Boston Marathon. The race was first postponed from the original April date to September 14th, before being canceled altogether.
New York City Marathon has been held each year since 1950, with the exception of the 2012 edition, which was skipped due to Hurricane Sandy. It is considered one of the World Marathon Majors, and close to 100,000 people apply each year. The race in 2019 set the world record when 53,627 participants managed to make it to the finish.
