Greater Manchester Marathon 2020

36 watchers

KeithL Jul 2020 1:23pm, 13 Jul 2020 220 posts	0 KeithL I still cant see a path (no matter what EA do this week) to getting 20,000 together in one place. Even with waves and staggered start times etc (and doesn't the half cause problems with that?) I think it would be a hard sell that this is the "right" thing to do. EA are likely (IMO) to sanction small gatherings for running clubs and small scale events. Would be surprised if they can find a way to permit the large events but we can live in hope I guess
jda Jul 2020 1:42pm, 13 Jul 2020 7,853 posts	0 jda Agree. If the EA thing doesn't map out a pathway to modest events then it will knock any thought of the marathon on the head, but even if it does point the way to some small-scale racing, 20k through a city centre in a mass start race with crowds of supporters is a different matter entirely. Easy for me to say cos I gave up on it back in March of course.
larkim Jul 2020 1:54pm, 13 Jul 2020 11,501 posts	0 larkim With the prospect of 13m with 8 at MP at end of next week contingent on their decision, I'm keenly interested! A wise man would still bet against it taking place, but the acceleration of so many restrctions over the last 3-4 weeks does suggest that 12 weeks into the future is quite difficult to predict. Though that unpredictability might actually be the key factor.
jennywren Jul 2020 2:09pm, 13 Jul 2020 15,691 posts	0 jennywren Apparently Athens Marathon has been given the green light for September. Capped at 10,000 runners in two waves an hour apart and no elites.
PK Jul 2020 2:48pm, 13 Jul 2020 303 posts	0 PK That was part of my thinking too Larkim. All went very slowly, but things have been moving fairly quickly lately. But then others get cancelled (Chester being a prime example), but others go ahead. I keep changing my mind about what I expect to happen. I should just tell myself to shut up and wait for the announcement.
jda Jul 2020 2:56pm, 13 Jul 2020 7,857 posts	0 jda I've no idea what the time scale is for committing to rental of portaloos, organising road closures and paying for policing etc, but if I was an organiser I'd find it hard to commit to any up-front expenses until I was very sure there was a clear route to running it.
BexleyKev Jul 2020 3:31pm, 13 Jul 2020 629 posts	0 BexleyKev Proposals under discussion for the new football season include a 50% attendance so, a return to reasonably large crowds gathering in one place and close contact. Quite a few smaller events are already being approved. A lot can ( and will ) happen between now and September one way or the other. Not saying that I would be 100% comfortable with a crowd environment and nobody can say for certain what the situation will be but until they postpone I am still living life assuming that I will be running at VLM, Manchester and Beachy Head in October. If they later cancel so be it, nothing we can do about it and I will have enjoyed some good running and two weeks in the Alps.
whiteflash Jul 2020 5:41pm, 13 Jul 2020 321 posts	0 whiteflash I think the current UK govt restrictions are for no more than a group of 30. That is some shift to go from that to multiple thousands of runners. That’s before you get to spectators. The easing of restrictions are accelerating which is good news but I just think we will run out of time (that’s without a second spike).
jennywren Jul 2020 5:43pm, 13 Jul 2020 15,693 posts	0 jennywren I think there will be a lot of objections from local residents too. Wilmslow Half got cancelled at the last minute because the residents threatened to blockade the route (apparently)! I marshalled the Half last autumn and there was no end of trouble - and that was way before all this!
BexleyKev Jul 2020 5:57pm, 13 Jul 2020 630 posts	0 BexleyKev 30 is the limit for a private event In England but, businesses are permitted to have more provided necessary precautions are taken. In the case of sports, the club/business/national body would have to submit detail of how they would deal with all issues related to COVID-19. All could change of course at any time in the future and I expect that there are a lot of discussions taking place between large event organisers, councils and Government.