Dec. 20 Mie Matsuzaka Marathon's Inaugural Running Canceled

With regard to the inaugural running of the Mie Matsuzaka Marathon scheduled for Dec. 20 this year, after careful examination of the situation surrounding the ongoing coronavirus crisis we have come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved with the race. As such, we regret to announce that the first running will be postponed to Dec. 19, 2021.

Although the coronavirus crisis has subsided somewhat on a national level, there are still concerns about a second and third wave of infections, and there is still a need to develop and adapt to a new social lifestyle and to continuously employ infection control measures. It is uncertain what the future holds, and in that regard it is not possible to completely eliminate the risk of infection, which makes a safe and secure event impossible.

Additionally, going ahead with planning the race amid these circumstances would place many of our sponsors and event partners in a difficult situation. Based on these facts, after extensive discussion the executive committee made the decision to move this year's edition to the same weekend next year. We will make that a race to remember, but in the meantime we will hope for a swift end to the coronavirus situation.

We extend our apologies to everyone who had looked forward to seeing Mie prefecture's first full marathon, and we thank you for your support and understanding.

Masato Takegami
Mayor of Matsuzaka
Mie Matsuzaka Marathon Executive Committee Director

Translator's note: A breakdown of the current situation among Japan's 29 main marathons from October through December, representing over 300,000 finishers total among each race's previous edition:

Oct. 4: Tohoku Miyagi Fukko Marathon (7,457) - canceled
Oct. 4: Matsumoto Marathon (6,455)- canceled
Oct. 11: Niigata City Marathon (6,784) - canceled
Oct. 18: Chiba Aqualine Marathon (9,541) - canceled
Oct. 25: Kanazawa Marathon (10,408) - canceled
Oct. 25: Mito Komon Marathon (9,995) - canceled
Oct. 25: Shimada Oikawa Marathon (6,589) - canceled
Oct. 25: Iwate Morioka City Marathon (5,729) - canceled
Nov. 1: Yokohama Marathon (25,195) - canceled
Nov. 1: Toyama Marathon (12,603) - canceled
Nov. 1: Shimonoseki Kaikyo Marathon (8,650) - canceled
Nov. 8: Okayama Marathon (13,491) - canceled
Nov. 8: Fukuoka Marathon (11,349) - canceled
Nov. 8: Ibigawa Marathon (5,818) - canceled
Nov. 15: Kobe Marathon (19,444) - canceled
Nov. 22: Tsukuba Marathon (11,461) - canceled
Nov. 23: Fukuchiyama Marathon (6,429) - canceled
Nov. 23: Ohtawara Marathon (1,697) - canceled
Nov. 29: Osaka Marathon (31,594) - canceled
Nov. 29: Fujisan Marathon (7,200) - entries suspended, decision whether to go ahead by July 31
Nov. 29 Nagasaki Peace marathon (1st running, field of 10,000) - canceled
Dec. 6: Shonan International Marathon (16,821) - entries suspended
Dec. 6: Naha Marathon (14,660) - entries suspended until August
Dec. 6: Fukuoka International Marathon (370) - TBA
Dec. 13: Saitama International Marathon (13,340) - canceled
Dec. 13: Nara Marathon (11,137) - canceled
Dec. 13: Aoshima Taiheiyo Marathon (8,043) - entries suspended until August
Dec. 20: Hofu Marathon (2,724) - entries suspended
Dec. 20: Mie Matsuzaka Marathon (1st running, field of 7,000) - canceled

source article:
https://bit.ly/2CQWqp7
translated by Brett Larner

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