Will Fall Races Happen During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

(I originally shared this post in my weekly email newsletter last week. After positive feedback, I am publishing it here for a wider audience and easy sharing.)

I notice two trends on social media. One is despair: that this emergency state will be our new normal indefinitely. The other is presumption: that we will immediately return to completely normal life, without any precautions. For runners, fall racing is a hotly debated topic, especially now with Berlin prohibiting mass participation in its annual marathon.

Will fall races happen? We cannot know either way. It is out of our current control. But what we can control is our perspective and approach.

No one possesses a crystal ball. You cannot predict the outcome of the virus based on what the Spanish Flu did in 1918 or SARS did in 2003. History is not cyclical. We have medical advancements, we learn from the past, and we contend with different circumstances and shortcomings.  

We have absolutely no idea whether fall races will happen or not. Event size will certainly be a factor. Small, local races are more likely to occur than World Major Marathons. We have no idea what medical advances will occur, how transmission will proceed, what measures governments will take, etc.

We cannot succumb to fatalism and believe that absolutely no races will happen until 2020 or fall 2021, as I see some people do. This pandemic is hard enough to deal with. Despair will only make it mentally harder. I am not saying you should have an unmeasured presumption that life will be happy-go-lucky come September; presumption is as much as a vice as despair.

I do not think we should suddenly start gathering in large groups for impromptu races or even carrying on with some large summer races. However, each week we learn something new: possible breakthroughs in vaccines, more widespread testing in some places, and glimmers of hope that we have made it through the worst. 

There may be creative measures for hosting fall races as well. This article in Podium Runner examines various possibilities, including carrying your own fluids, face masks in starting corrals, and an absence of finishers’ celebrations. Essentially, racing may return to its old school roots (yet with chip times!) for a few months. 

My advice (which is simply that: advice you may take or ignore): have a little measured hope. We do not know if fall races will happen. We currently cannot predict or control that.* The progression of the pandemic is unknown. We also do not know what the hard work and creativity of scientists, policymakers, and even race directors will produce. However, we can control how we respond to a large unknown.

How can you respond to the uncertainty of fall races?

– You can continue to build a base and work on areas of weakness. Whenever you do start training, you will be fitter than before.

– You can train as normal, if the predictability and routine of training provide a sense of normalcy and mental relief. If the idea of training is stressful for you, then give yourself a break.

– If it provides you with comfort, you can develop a back-up plan for 2021. Do not set it in stone, but use it to give yourself something to anticipate, a glimmer of hope even if more races are cancelled. I have already done this: if my fall marathon (Indy Monumental) is cancelled, my plan is to run a March 2021 marathon (Go! St. Louis, my childhood hometown’s annual marathon). If my fall marathon proceeds, I intend to train for a road 50K instead.

– Just get out and run with joy and gratitude. In the grand scheme of the worldwide toll of this pandemic, cancelled races are minor. There is no sense in adding to the already high levels of stress we are all experiencing by succumbing to fatalism or even more anxiety.

– Do something positive with your free time. A couple weeks ago, we gave our time to shape laser-cut ear protectors for healthcare workers. If you can sew, make masks to donate locally or globally. 

If fall races are cancelled, then at the very least, you gained fitness and hopefully enjoyed your training.

I understand my personal belief system is informing my view. Personally, I strive to maintain hope – not presumption, but not despair. I very well may be wrong, in either direction. However, when it comes to something like races, where the risk of hope is low (the loss is the minor disappointment of not racing) and the reward is higher (a beacon of normalcy to guide through these troubled days), I choose hope.

*I will add that practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and taking care of your health are a small measure of control. The more we stop the spread of the virus, hopefully the better it fares for our future as well as (more importantly) for the common good.