Tokyo Marathon postponed until 2022

The Tokyo Marathon scheduled for Oct. 17 has been postponed until March of 2022. Tokyo is still under a state of emergency, and race organizers cited the difficulty of delivering a safe and secure event for all participants.

2021 Tokyo Marathon postponed from its rescheduled Oct. 17 date to Mar. 6, 2022. 2022 Tokyo Marathon, scheduled for Mar. 6, 2022, canceled. https://t.co/JwXP8iBI91

— Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) September 17, 2021

This is the third time the event has been postponed since last hosting the elite-only race in March of 2020. The 2022 Tokyo Marathon, which was supposed to take place in March, has been outright cancelled. The postponed race will take the place of the 2022 race scheduled for Mar. 6.

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“We have been preparing to deliver an enjoyable event while ensuring safety for all runners and every individual involved,” said Tokyo race organizers in a press release. “We have explored various ways on how we can deliver this event, however, in consideration of the current status of the outbreak, we have made a regrettable decision to postpone the 2021 event and give up on the 2022 event.”

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The country of Japan is trying to flatten the curve against COVID-19 after an influx of cases this summer unrelated to the Olympic Games, which only saw a total of 312 positive cases. The country is dealing with over 5,000 new cases per day, down from the 10,000-plus new cases they saw several weeks ago.