Beijing Marathon Canceled for Second Year Straight

The 2021 Beijing Marathon, which had been postponed last month, has now been canceled outright, according to a statement released by the event’s organizing committee on Nov 26.

In the statement, organizers say the cancellation was carried out to minimize the risks posed by COVID-19. Runners have been given the option to either cancel their spot and get a refund, or to have their spot carried over to the 2022 marathon.

This year’s marathon was meant to operate within a closed loop, and would have required its 30,000 participants to submit daily health reports over the three weeks leading up to the event. Runners would have also been required to submit the results of nucleic acid tests taken 72 hours before the marathon to be given the OK to run.

This is the second time the Beijing Marathon has been canceled since the inaugural event took place in 1981.

As with last year, COVID-19 is still the culprit, but we're willing to bet this year's cancellation has also got something to do with the fast-approaching Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics set to kick off on Feb 4, with some areas of the city already preparing for the closed-loop management associated with that event.

READ: Beijing News You Might Have Missed this Week, Nov 27

Images: worldmarathons.com Inside the Games