It looks like spring marathons won't be a thing in 2021
Boston, Halifax and Manitoba among the latest to postpone to the fall
Hello!
Still not a lot happening on the Canadian running front, as most of the country is experiencing some level of lockdown. We are getting news about what 2021’s racing schedule will look like — and let’s just hope we are on the backend of this pandemic come fall, because that’s when all the races are scheduled.
Let’s get to it!
Andrea Seccafien runs 31:45, a 10,000m PB, at Australia’s national championships
Andrea Seccafien, the Canadian half-marathon record holder who lives and trains in Australia, ran the Zatopek 10,000m in Victoria, Australia, with one goal in mind: to nab the Olympic standard.
The race was part of Australia’s national track & field championships. It was originally scheduled for December, but was pushed to January because of the pandemic.
Andrea ran 31:45.95 to place third overall, missing the 31:25 standard by 20 seconds.
Andrea’s time is the third-fastest 10,000m in Canadian history, and is off Natasha Wodak’s record-setting mark of 31:41.59 by four seconds.
The performance does give her points in the World Athletics rankings, which could earn her a spot — you can qualify for the Olympics by world ranking as well as via time trial.
“We set a high goal last night. We didn’t quite get there, but I’m proud of the pursuit,” she wrote on Instagram after the race.
Andrea already has the Olympic standard for the 5,000m, which she ran at the 2019 world championships. According to CBC Sports, Andrea hopes to run both the 5,000m and the 10,000m in Tokyo.
Boston announces 2021 date, all world major marathons now in a six-week window
The Boston marathon has announced that the 2021 edition will take place on Monday, Oct. 11. The date is Columbus Day, which means the race will still be held on a holiday Monday.
It is also the day after the scheduled Chicago Marathon, which is set for Sunday, Oct. 10.
Boston has not released any more information, including how to register, how big the field will be and what COVID protocols will be in place. It has said there will be a virtual option alongside the in-person race. The FAQ is pretty funny because the answer to almost every question is “We don’t know yet.” Marathon times run after Sept. 15, 2018 will be eligible to apply for entry.
With Boston announcing this October date, all six world marathon majors will be taking place in a six-week period (if, you know, races are actually happening by the fall):
Sept. 26: Berlin
Oct. 3: London
Oct. 10: Chicago
Oct. 11: Boston
Oct. 17: Tokyo
Nov. 7: New York
I think it’s too soon to know what any races will look like this fall. Uncertainty sucks, but it’s what we’ve got until this pandemic is over.
It will be interesting to see how this compressed schedule impacts the elite fields. I do think that even if in-person mass participation events are still not OK by the fall, these races will all put on some sort of modified elite-only event. Tokyo, London and the Marathon Project all proved this was possible.
Halifax, Winnipeg marathons move to fall for 2021
The major marathons aren’t the only ones rescheduling in hopes that the world is safer and closer to normal in the fall. Both the Manitoba Marathon and the Blue Nose Marathon in Halifax have announced their 2021 races will not be held in the spring, as they usually are.
The Blue Nose Marathon is normally held on Victoria Day weekend. It will now be held on the Nov. 6-7 weekend. Blue Nose race weekend is the biggest running event in Atlantic Canada.
The Manitoba Marathon is usually held on Father’s Day in June. It will now be held on Labour Day weekend, Sept. 5.
Both races are planning for virtual options to complement the in-person race. What, exactly, the in-person races will look like is TBD. It depends on how the pandemic goes.
The Olympics conversation continues
There are no updates on the Olympics yet, but lots of people are talking about the Olympics: Talking about vaccinations, whether there will be fans, and and how much money will be lost if the Games are cancelled.
He said that the COC has spoken to the federal government about athlete vaccinations and that he’s optimistic the Games will take place this summer.
You can watch the full segment below:
At CBC Sports, Morgan Campbell looked at the billions of dollars tied up in the Games and how cancellation would impact those for CBC Sports:
The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to collect a reported $1 billion in broadcast rights fees tied to this summer's event (the CBC holds the Canadian broadcast rights), and tied to that sum is a long list of broadcasters eager to recoup that money through ad sales or streaming app subscriptions.
Cancelling or delaying Tokyo 2020 again might make sense while we grapple with a global pandemic, but staging the Games makes too many dollars for too many people to consider anything else. So, if you're worried the Olympics will press ahead during a public health emergency, you should decide whether you'll object on ethical grounds, or watch despite reservations.
And Japan Running News looked at the billions of dollars the Japanese economy will lose if the Games are cancelled outright. Going ahead in a reduced capacity will still result in lost income totally billions, but fewer billions will be lost if the Games take place versus the Games getting cancelled.
Strides: other stuff to read, listen to and know about
📕 Andre De Grasse is writing a kids book. Race With Me! will be a motivational book for kids aged 6-10. It will tell Andre’s life story, share photographs and encourage kids to pursue their dreams. It is coming out in July, just before the Olympics.
📗 Perdita Felicien is another athlete adding author to her resume. Her memoir My Mother’s Daughter is set to come out in March. Perdita is chronicling what it’s like to be a first-time author on her IGTV, calling the series “New Author, Who Dis?” The first episode is up now.
🌟 Sprinter Crystal Emmanuel was profiled by Doug Harrison at CBC Sports. The piece focuses on Crystal’s work on her mental health and performance psychology and how these tools are helping her get ready for Tokyo, where she hopes to represent Canada in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. Crystal has been struggling physically and mentally since the 2019 world championships and has been doing this work to re-focus and re-assess.
👟 Athletics Canada profiled marathon Melanie Myrand, who has been balancing training with working as a frontline nurse fighting COVID in a long-term care facility. Melanie’s big goal is breaking the Quebec marathon record of 2:29:28 , which was set in 1983 by legend Jacqueline Gareau. From the piece:
Commitment is the key for Myrand. Juggling a demanding career with the hours dedicated to training and competition can be difficult. “I’m lucky because my job can be a distraction from elite running and running can be a distraction from my job,” she said.
As we all deal with the effects of the pandemic, Myrand shares some advice. “Find a little bit of joy every day. Take care of your physical health. Take care of your mental health. Take care of your family. This is harder than a marathon, because we don’t know where the finish line is.”
🎧 Dinée Dorame, a runner and citizen of the Najavo nation, has launched a podcast called Grounded. Grounded will focus on the relationship between runners, community, culture and the land we live on. The first two episodes have been released, they are with Jordan Maria Daniel, who uses her racing to bring awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and marathon icon Meb Keflezighi, who spoke about how coming to America as an Eritrean refugee and finding his place in American shaped his approach to running and life. Both conversations were insightful and informative and this is a good podcast to add to your listening rotation if you’re dedicated to doing the work of anti-racism and reconciliation as it pertains to your running life. I’d also recommend learning more about Dinée before diving in: she was on the Ali on the Run podcast and the Morning Shakeout podcast.
That’s it for this week!
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Thanks for reading, and for sticking with me during this time of not a ton of running news. I hope you’re staying safe and taking care of yourself and your loved ones.
I’ll see you next week.