Home > Trail Running

LIVE UPDATE: How coronavirus is affecting trail events

We will update this story daily with news of coronavirus-related race cancellations and postponements

The rapid spread of coronavirus has already caused numerous changes in the 2020 road and track racing seasons. News of events being cancelled or postponed is breaking daily. This live blog will be updated with news of how coronavirus is affecting the trail running world. 

Thursday, May 14, 2020–postponements and cancellations to date

The Leadville 100 was scheduled for August 22 and 23, but it has been cancelled. Runners already registered for the event have several options regarding their entry fees. Runners can donate to a lunch program in Colorado’s Lake County School District or to the Leadville Trail 100 Legacy Foundation, which funds scholarships for Lake County high school graduates (runners who choose this option will be given “non-complimentary entry” into the 2021, 2022 or 2023 races). There is also a deferral option, and runners can wait to race until 2021, 2022 or 2023. Finally, there’s the option for refunds.

Sinister Sports, organizers of several trail and ultra races in B.C. and Alberta, have yet to cancel or postpone any events—the first of which is in July—but they have plans for postponement dates if necessary. The Sinister 7, an event with 50 and 100-mile races set for July 4 to 5, will be moved to August 22 to 23. The 125K Canadian Death Race will keep the original dates of August 1 to 2. The Black Spur Ultra will move to September 19 to 20. The final event in the series, Run the Rocks, will be rescheduled accordingly if the first three events are forced to postpone.

North America’s most prestigious 100-miler, Western States Endurance Run, is cancelled for 2020.

The Nimble Bear 50K in Kelowna, B.C., originally set for April 25, has been rescheduled for October 17.

The Ultra-Trail World Tour announced several event cancellations and postponements. So far, the UTMB Mont-Blanc is still a go for its August 24 start date.

The Skyrunner World Series announced that none of their events would be run until late July. This means eight of the series’ events will be affected (some cancelled, some postponed). The list can be found here.

Coast Mountain Trail Running, the race series organized and founded by Gary Robbins, announced that the rest of their events this year will be cancelled. The full list is below.

The Cap Crusher trail race in North Vancouver was set for March 14, but it has been postponed. The new date has yet to be determined.

The 100 Miles of Istra trail race in Croatia was scheduled for April 17, but it has been postponed until September 24.

It was announced on Wednesday, March 11 that the Chuckanut 50K will be postponed. The race, held in Bellingham, Wash., was scheduled for March 21. No date has been determined for the rescheduling of the race.

The Marathon des Sables has been postponed until September 8 to 18. The multi-stage ultramarathon across the Saharan Desert in Morocco was originally scheduled for April 3 to 13.

The Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji has been cancelled. It was set to start on April 24. Entrants from this year’s race will be given priority registration and a discount for the 2021 event.

Hong Kong’s Fast 50 Ultra, which Jim Walmsley won last year, was cancelled ahead of its planned March 7 run date.

 

 

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The best trainers in Canada under $150

We curated the best performance trainers under $150 to meet your 2024 running goals, while staying on budget