Cardiff Half Marathon postponed for third time because of Covid-19
- Published
Kenyan Leonard Langat won the 2019 Cardiff Half Marathon men's race in a new record time
The Cardiff Half Marathon in October has been postponed for a third time, with the event now scheduled for Sunday, 27 March, 2022.
Organisers Run 4 Wales say the decision has been made due to "uncertainty" over social distancing rules in Wales.
The decision to postpone the race again was taken after discussions with the Welsh government and Cardiff Council.
It is now hoped that two Cardiff Half Marathons will take place in 2022, with the second race on Sunday, October 2.
Since its foundation in 2003, the Cardiff Half Marathon has become the UK's third biggest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.
It typically sees more than 拢4m raised for charities and in 2019, 27,500 runners and 100,000 spectators attended the race.
The 2019 Cardiff Half Marathon saw men's winner Leonard Langat from Kenya finish the 13.1 mile course in a new record time of 59 minutes 29 seconds.
The 2021 event was due to be run on Sunday, October 3 and was to form part of a new SuperHalfs Series taking place across Europe, with other races in Lisbon, Prague, Copenhagen and Valencia.
Matt Newman, Run 4 Wales chief executive, said: "Run 4 Wales has been working closely with the Welsh government and Cardiff City Council to understand the potential timeline for the safe return of events in Wales, including the Cardiff Half Marathon.
"Whilst the vaccine rollout in the UK continues to provide cause for optimism, the situation in Wales remains uncertain, with the Welsh government currently setting a maximum outdoor event capacity of 4,000, including event-related spectators.
"At present there are also no plans to relax the two-metre social distancing rules, which provides significant operational challenges for mass-participation event organisers.
"The health and safety of race participants, their supporters, event volunteers and the Run 4 Wales staff team is at the forefront of our decision-making and we hope that everyone understands the reasons for this decision."
Run 4 Wales have announced a 'virtual' event will take place on Sunday, 3 October 2021 to mark the latest postponed date.
"A new 'Virtual Cardiff Half' event will provide an opportunity to celebrate everything that is great about the CHM," said their statement.
"This free event will give everyone a chance to walk, jog or run the 13.1 mile distance ahead of the return of the live event in March 2022."