Queens Marathon (Photo: Queens Distance Runners)
March 13, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
The fifth annual Queens Marathon has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.
The 26.2 mile run around Flushing Meadows Corona Park was scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 26 but has been put back until Nov. 15, although this date is subject to change, organizers Queens Distance Runners announced.
The inaugural half marathon, which the Queens Distance Runners was also organizing as part of the March 26 event, will also be been put back to Nov. 15.
“Following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement to ban gatherings of over 500 people, and with the cases of coronavirus growing by the day we felt it was in the best interests of everyone involved to postpone both races,” said race director Kevin Montalvo.
“We were prepared to implement highly aggressive strategies in an effort to save the races, but ultimately we could not guarantee a fully sterile environment for our runners, volunteers, and staff,” he said.
Nearly 1,000 runners were registered to take part–up from around 300 last year–and 300 volunteers were also set to help out.
The Queens Post is a sponsor of the event this year.
Registered runners will not be refunded but will automatically be signed up–without charge–for the Nov. 15 date. They will also get a discount on the 2021 marathon and will be offered free entry into one of the organizer’s other events this year.
The Queens Distance Runners is hosting a virtual run option for those wishing to run the race independently on March 22, or over the coming days.
Runners wishing to participate can click on the link here and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.
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