Two major marathons in Oklahoma will go virtual this fall.
The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and The Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa made their announcements on Wednesday.
The Oklahoma City marathon normally takes place in April, but was postponed until October due to COVID-19. But now race organizers say with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state, that it would impossible to bring tens of thousands of runners together.
"We just cannot responsibly organize a race of 25,000 runners on the streets of Oklahoma City," said Kari Watkins, Race Director, Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. "If there was a way either one of us could have run the race in person, trust us we would have done it."
Other major marathons across the United States, such as the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon previously announced virtual races.
Registered runners for both events can choose to participate in the virtual events or defer their registration to next year's event.
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