By Gareth James
Organisers of the 2020 Cardiff University Cardiff Half Marathon have again put back the date of the race due to COVID-19.
This year’s race had been re-scheduled for 28 March 2021 but has now been postponed further, until 3 October 2021.
Run 4 Wales, which organises the event, says the decision means there will not be two editions of the CHM next year.
“Run 4 Wales has been closely monitoring the ongoing Coronavirus situation and the guidance issued by the Welsh and UK Governments, whilst making arrangements to deliver a COVID secure event in the Spring of 2021,” it says on the race website.
Sorry to see another major sporting event having to be rescheduled. The running community has been amazing for the past 6 months, showing incredible resilience and innovation. @WelshAthletics are working hard to provide new virtual options across Wales to keep everyone active https://t.co/2HmYxc4N0B
— James Williams (@jwilliams1500) October 27, 2020
“We had watched with optimism over recent months as lockdown restrictions had eased and successful pilot events across the UK have demonstrated that it is possible to safely deliver mass participation events.
“It is now clear however, against a backdrop of rising cases, freshly imposed lockdown restrictions and a turbulent winter period ahead that it will not be possible to deliver an event of this size and scale by March of next year.
“With regret therefore, we now need to inform you that the 18th edition of the Cardiff University Cardiff Half Marathon (CHM), originally scheduled for 2020 before being postponed until 28 March 2021 will need to be postponed further, until Sunday 3 October 2021.
“The knock-on impact of this decision means that the 19th edition of the CHM will also be held one year later, on 2nd October 2022, so there will not be two editions of the race in 2021 as originally planned.
“The health and safety of our runners, volunteers, event team and the wider population is of the utmost importance to us. We have therefore been working closely with the Welsh Government and other mass participation event organisers across Wales and the UK to chart a safe return to events.
“In 2021 Run 4 Wales will initially deliver a number of the smaller events within its portfolio, with additional hygiene and social distancing measures in place, building up to the much-anticipated return of the CHM in the autumn.”
Full details of the options available to runners can be found here: https://www.cardiffhalfmarathon.co.uk/march-2021-cardiff-half-postponed-until-october/