The pandemic-delayed London Marathon are going to be staged on October 4 employing a different route than usual and with only elite runners participating.
Rather than starting in Greenwich in east London, there’ll be a looped 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course featuring 19.8 laps around St James’s Park within a biosecure bubble with spectators excluded. it’ll finish within the traditional place ahead of Buckingham Palace.
Times are going to be eligible for qualification for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which had to be rescheduled until 2021 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele are expected to feature within the men’s race. The women’s field is headlined by record holder Brigid Kosgei. Manuela Sch r and David Weir will feature within the wheelchair event.
The London Marathon usually takes place in April, but organizers have already pushed back the 2021 event until Oct. 3 to maximise the likelihood of a mass race returning after being deemed impossible this year.
“The biggest challenges weren’t those involving participants,” London Marathon event director Hugh Brasher said.
“But the multiple problems with managing spectators, ensuring the emergency services had access across London with the recent changes to the roadscape, the increased likelihood of a second spike that has led to the recent cancellation of spectator trials at major events and therefore the ongoing concern about the pressure even a reduced size mass participation marathon might placed on the NHS (National Health Service).
“Despite all our efforts, the superb support from all of our partners and therefore the progress that has been made on planning for the return of smaller mass participation events that aren’t on the roads, it’s not been possible to travel ahead with a mass socially distanced walk or run.