The 125th Boston Marathon, initially scheduled for April 2021, will be postponed until at least fall of next year — the 124th edition was canceled due to the pandemic. Massachusetts’ reopening plan currently restricts road races and large gatherings — this year’s race was slated to have more than 31,500 runners.
Races have suffered in the U.S. during the pandemic, with a 95% year-over-year drop in timed race finishers between mid-March and mid-October. It’s not just in the U.S. as four of the six designated World Marathon Majors were canceled and the two others were scaled back — including Tokyo, which hosted just 200 elite runners on March 11 compared to nearly 38,000 the year prior.
This weekend, more than 50,000 runners were expected to take part in the New York City Marathon; instead there is a virtual race allowing participants to complete 26.2 miles on any day until Nov. 1.
Finishers in Timed Events:
2020: 1.8 million
2019: 11.8 million
2018: 12.1 million
2017: 12.5 million
2016: 13.0 million
