The 2021 Boston Marathon has been postponed from its usual late April race date until at least next fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A specific planned date for the race is expected to be announced by the end of this year.
“By shifting our focus to a fall date, we can continue to work with stakeholders to adjust the in-person experience for runners and supporters alike,” Boston Athletic Association CEO Tom Grilk said in a press release. “Prioritizing the safety of participants, volunteers, spectators, and community members, we continue to assess all elements of the race including a potential reduced field size or weekend date.”
The in-person Boston Marathon was canceled this year due to the pandemic, ending a streak of 123 straight years of holding the world’s oldest annual marathon. In March, it was postponed from April 20 to Sept. 14, then called off altogether in May.
The world’s other major spring 2021 marathons, in Tokyo (race technically happens in the winter) and London, were previously postponed until the fall.
The only major marathon held this fall -- the London Marathon on Oct. 4, postponed from April -- now marks the last major marathon until the Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. Olympic marathon team was determined at a Feb. 29 trials -- Galen Rupp, Jacob Riley, Abdi Abdirahman and Aliphine Tuliamuk, Molly Seidel and Sally Kipyego.
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