LONDON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 London Marathon organizers "will not give up hope" of staging the 40th edition of the race in October, said event director Hugh Brasher on Friday.
Earlier this week, the organizers of the Great North Run half marathon event announced the cancellation of this year's race, which was scheduled to be held on September 13.
"There has been much speculation that this means the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon will also be canceled. However, it doesn't," said Brasher in an open letter to all the runners.
Brasher admitted that they still don't know whether the event could be held on October 4, "almost every day we hear hopeful news from other countries and we hear tales of despair."
"However, what we do know is that we have hope, desire and ingenuity. Hope that the world will have found a way through COVID-19 by October. Desire to show the positive effects of running a marathon, running for communities and good causes. Ingenuity of thought, technology and people."
Brasher urged all the runners to "focus on your own health and the health of those around you. Focus on running and exercise. It is great for you physically and mentally."
"There is still plenty of time to train and there is neither a need, nor should there be a desire, to be at your peak fitness yet," he said.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this year's London Marathon has been postponed from April 26 to October 4.
Brasher revealed that their team has been looking at the logistics of the event and coming up with innovative ways to socially distance during the event. They have also been working with other mass participation event organizers to make recommendations to the British government on how mass participation events can return.
Elite sport events have been allowed to resume behind closed doors in Britain since June 1. Football's Premier League, snooker and a few other sports have restarted their respective seasons. Enditem
