So today I was supposed to run the Chasing the Unicorn Marathon. That did not happen. 

At 4:30 pm on Thursday afternoon — less than three days out from the start of the race — it was canceled. 

Runners still have no idea why. I mean, obviously we know it was due to COVID. But the race directors had done so much to put such extensive COVID mitigation protocols in place. So I don’t know what the state of Pennsylvania thought was missing, but officials decided not to grant the race permit at the 11th hour. I was shocked when I got the email. Mind you, earlier in the day all the registered runners had gotten multiple emails from the race director about parking instructions and other race-related details. So this totally came out of left field! 

I said from the beginning that I knew this could happen. But once I started tapering and we were down to just days until the race, I figured we were safe. I had my packing list all ready to go and was ready to drive up to Pennsylvania Saturday, check into my hotel, explore Newtown and do a shakeout run on the trail where the race was supposed to happen. 

Instead, I canceled my hotel room immediately and was able to get a full refund. 

The race directors are now saying they have rescheduled for Halloween (a Saturday this year) and that they think all their issues will be worked out by then– of course, we have no idea what those issues are! I think what I’m going to do is keep rolling with my training — that’s only six weeks out anyway, and part of that will be another taper, so it’s not like I’m looking at another three months of intense training. Trust me, I don’t think I mentally have that in me right now. I printed out a fresh plan with an Oct. 31 race date, and according to that, I was supposed to run 20 miles one day and 10 miles the other this weekend. I ended up doing 15 yesterday and 5 today. That was good enough for me right now. Will re-start the plan for real tomorrow.

I do love the idea of a Halloween race (not that I would run in costume) and the weather at the end of October is generally pretty good for running. But I’m not holding my breath that the race will ever happen this fall. But training is never wasted …. right?

I understand that these are unprecedented times, and that there are more important things happening in the world. It’s just a race. BUT STILL. For those of you keeping track at home, I have signed up for five marathons in 2020 and all five have been canceled. This is the second marathon that was canceled within days of the race. Back in the spring, when I had an inkling Coastal Delaware would be canceled, I impulsively signed up for the B&A Trail Marathon, which I had already done two years earlier. It was supposed to take place on March 15 — it was canceled March 11, which was the day everything really started to go to hell. 

I am very much in favor of taking precautions and following guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID. I wear a mask when in public. I social distance. I have been avoiding crowds since all this started. I think we all should be doing these things. However. The inconsistencies in enforcement are really irritating. This race was supposed to take place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I grew up in Pennsylvania, so I have a bunch of family, friends and acquaintances who live all over the state. I see the things they post on Facebook. Somehow, plenty of weddings (even indoor weddings!) were allowed to happen this summer — weddings where people were not wearing masks, dancing, drinking, not social distancing. Plenty of political rallies went on, with crowds and zero social distancing. All that was totally fine, apparently. 

But a marathon where runners were starting off individually, 40 feet apart from each other (above and beyond social distancing guidelines), where spectators were not allowed and runners had to carry their own hydration to minimize the number of volunteers …. That was deemed to be too dangerous. 

Makes absolutely zero sense.