APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The 30th Community First Fox Cities Marathon has been canceled over concerns of spreading COVID-19.
The whole weekend of events surrounding the Fox Cities Marathon will be put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers believe it was important to make the decision early.
“As an event whose centerpiece is physical performance, the ability to mitigate gathering limits, social distancing, protective equipment and heightened sanitation effectively proved to be insurmountable,” says Community First Credit Union Chief of Staff Amanda Secor, “An early decision also allows us to provide the best set of options for those who have already registered for our 2020 event. Which include the ability to defer their registration to 2021 or request a refund.”
All events scheduled for September 18th-20th surrounding the marathon – including the kids run, 5K, 10K, and Sunday distance events will not be held. Nearly 1,000 people had already registered for the run. The events usually see between 4,500-5,000 participants each year.
“I know for so many of our participants, this is really hard to hear. And believe me – we hear you and we understand and share the disappointment. However, we know that this is the right thing to do for the health and safety of our communities at this time,” Secor says, “We have immediately opened registration for 2021 and will continue to honor our discount codes for the 2019 distance events.”
While some may wonder if the event will survive another cancellation, organizers believe the quality and community aspects of the event will help it survive – or come back even stronger in years to come.
“As important as the anniversary is – there are other things that are much more important to us and to our communities. That’s why the decision was made to make the cancellation, despite the fact that it was our 30th,” Secor says, “Needing to push it back in the scheme of things is pretty minor…Over the course of 30 years, you go through a lot of different challenges and weather a lot of different storms. Some you can plan on, some you can anticipate, and some you can’t.”
Even once the state begins to slowly reopen, it’s unclear whether the full plan allowing for such gatherings would be in place by the end of September.
“The provisions of the Badger Bounce Back Plan wouldn’t allow us to hold the event in anything other than Phase Three,” Secor says, “Not understanding where we’re going to be from the spread of the virus at that point in time. The right thing to do right now is to make the right decision and to stand by that decision.”
The 2021 marathon is set for September 17th-19th.
