Demi-marathon de l’Acadie organizers hope to host small field for in-person run

Run New Brunswick officials have moved their 40-person race to February 21 with the hope that an in-person event will be permitted by then

Photo by: Demi-marathon de l'Acadie/Facebook

Ben Snider-McGrath February 4, 2021

Run New Brunswick’s annual Demi-marathon de l’Acadie was scheduled to run on February 7, but event organizers have postponed it until February 21 in the hopes that the province’s COVID-19 restrictions will loosen in the coming weeks. Most of New Brunswick is currently classified as an “orange zone,” but if the province can improve to yellow by race day, the in-person event — which is at capacity with 40 runners — will be able to go ahead. RunNB is also offering a virtual event that is set to start on Saturday and remain open until February 28.

As Donald Wade, RunNB chairman, explains, runners registered for the in-person race have been added to the virtual event now, too. “They have a few weeks to do the race,” he says. “But if the restrictions are lifted before February 21, we’re going to go ahead with the in-person race. If people have already run their virtual race, they can come try to beat that time on our official course.”

The race is held in the north of New Brunswick in Tracadie-Sheila, which is in an orange zone right now. Moncton and Edmunston regions are both red. “We of course want to have an in-person race,” Wade says. “It all depends on what public health decides.”

In total, there are close to 80 runners registered for the event as a whole, with 40 locked in for the in-person race. If the run can go ahead, Wade says it will look much different than races held in past years. “We cannot do like we normally do and gather before or after the race,” he says. Runners will pick up their race packets the day of the race, and then they will head to the start.

If runners want water, they’ll have to carry their own. At the finish, the winners will be directed to the awards table, where they will be told what medal to grab. “There will be medals and water at the finish,” Wade says. “That’s pretty much it. Once the race is done, people will get in their cars and go home. It’s not ideal, but that’s how it has to be.”

There are more RunNB events scheduled for March and April, but they are 100 per cent virtual. “We haven’t decided on our May race yet, just in case we’re in the yellow zone at that point,” Wade says. “We’re anxious to get people on a real course, so we hope to see runners at in-person events soon.”

To learn more about the Demi-marathon de l’Acadie or other RunNB races, click here.

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