Sweden’s COVID-19 half-marathon championships race format

The Swedish half-marathon championships were set to be run in Gothenburg in May, but they were cancelled due to COVID-19. Luckily for Sweden‘s elite road runners, the event was revived and it will be run on July 29 at the the Anderstorp Raceway, a Formula 1 racetrack in southern Sweden. The track, which is also known as the Scandinavian Raceway, is 4K long, so racers will run a little more than five laps to hit 21.1K. There will be two heats (men and women) with up to 40 participants in each, and only best Swedes will be permitted to race.

37 men & 18 women entered in next week's Half Marathon Nationals that are CORONA-secured by placing the race in Sweden's former Formula 1-track, Anderstorp, in the woods, and with no audience allowed #scandinavianraceway pic.twitter.com/wCVQnisKUP

— Lorenzo Nesi (@CoachLN) July 23, 2020

On the event website, it states that the Anderstorp Raceway was selected so the race could line up with the country’s coronavirus guidelines, which prohibit mass gatherings or competitions from being held on public roads. Another benefit of using the racetrack is its location, which is just outside of the town of Anderstorp. The track is surrounded by forest, and no spectators will be allowed into the venue to watch the race. The closed course will make for the perfect race in the age of COVID-19 and social distancing, and only the athletes and race officials will be on-site the day of the event. 

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The race is set to go on July 29, and so far almost all of the men’s slots have been filled, while half of the spots in the women’s field are still up for grabs. Even though there are spots open, not anyone can sign up for this race. To qualify for the championships, athletes had to meet certain standards within the last two years. The men had to have run a 2:39 marathon, a 1:12 half or a 32-minute 10K at some point since 2018, and the women needed times of 3:05 for the marathon, 1:25:30 for the half and 37 minutes for 10K.

Another Scandinavian track is headed your way: Anderstorp Raceway! https://t.co/ItVY1rqpfK pic.twitter.com/cUSCugq2Y3

— RaceRoom (@raceroom) March 6, 2017

With these times set in place and a quick course on an F1 track, the Swedish national championships should see some fast racing, and if all goes well in Anderstorp, it could help other race directors find creative ways to hold their events in other countries, too. 

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