There were only ten days left until the start of the Olomouc Mattoni half marathon, but instead of the starting numbers, the competitors received another e-mail. The organizer RunCzech was forced to cancel the races in Olomouc, Karlovy Vary and České Budějovice due to the latest restrictions.
Already in the spring, the state of emergency caught them just a few days before the planned marathon. The organizer of the RunCzech cross-country race has moved all its main routes to the autumn dates. But the runners won’t see it now.
There are only ten days left until the Olomouc half marathon. From Monday, however, the Czech Republic will fall into a state of emergency again. Among other restrictions, the ban on outdoor events for more than twenty people will also come into force. “It is as if we have returned to the time when we were sitting in the office in the spring and waiting for a press conference.… Then, as now, there was a bigger restriction than we expected,” said RunCzech event director Tomáš Coufal.
4,000 people registered for the half marathon in Olomouc and it is not in the organizer’s power to carry out the race in this number. The only race will be Sunday’s Liberec Nature Run trail race. “We thought that we were ready now, in Ústí nad Labem we tried the start in the waves and the mandatory curtains. We are also able to prepare Sunday’s Mattoni Liberec Nature Run and we are very much looking forward to it, ”said Coufal.
Due to the planned restrictions, RunCzech decided to cancel two other planned events in addition to the Olomouc half marathon. “Unfortunately, with a limit of 20 participants in outdoor events, it is not possible to organize a Mattoni 1/2 Marathon in Olomouc, České Budějovice and Karlovy Vary this year,” he added.
In addition to the marathons, all accompanying activities were also canceled. “It was not an easy decision for the organizers, they were ready to organize the race until the last moment. They were in talks with local hygiene stations, representatives of cities and regions, as well as World Athletics, and tried to find possible solutions. Unfortunately, the current situation does not favor large cross-country races, ”the organizer explains his decision in an e-mail to the runners.
However, runners will not lose the entry fee. They will have the opportunity to transfer it to 2021 or 2022.
.
