From Lloyd Schmidt, Race Director
Long Post – I have been working on this for months.
The original concept and vision of The ENDURrun was to create a uniquely individual test of strength, determination and will. A solitary journey designed to take you to your physical and mental limit, and then demand more. Once you reach that limit, the battle is within.
But The ENDURrun evolved into something much different than I envisioned. From training together in preparation for the event, pacing with other participants during the event, pre and post race support and encouragement, social activities throughout the week, and a close, caring, celebratory awards ceremony with those who shared your pain, The ENDURrun is very much the opposite of social distancing.
To mandate social distancing during this event, and to eliminate pre and post race gatherings including food and awards, I think would undermine what’s at the very core of The ENDURrun. As much as I stubbornly held out hope for the remote possibility of at least holding the run-only aspect of The ENDURrun, the event just wouldn’t be the same without the social aspect.
And, I can only base my decision on facts.
Fact:
- COVID-19 is serious.
- Gatherings of more than 10 are prohibited at this time.
- No one can predict the future.
- Provincial and Local rules and regulations can change quickly.
- Participants require an assurance that the event will take place and require adequate lead time to prepare.
Based on the facts, and without further direction or assurances from authorities, it is with great regret that The 2020 ENDURrun will be cancelled.
I very much appreciated your patience during this delay, and if you have continued to train, at least you are in great shape now because of your efforts and commitment.
We are deferring all Ultimate entries to The 2021 ENDURrun and hope that your interest, enthusiasm and support remain for our event. With this extra year of training and preparations, we are expecting big things from you in 2021. For Relay Teams and Guests, we will be offering a full refund or deferral to 2021.
For our new Sport event, we will be offering a full refund or deferral to 2021.
As mentioned above, my original concept of The ENDURrun was entirely an individual challenge. Decades ago, I ran something like this by myself in training blocks – no cheering, no aid, no fanfare. Maybe this is an opportunity to go back to that concept this year. We are in the process of forming a working group which will establish a framework for staging a smaller participation Ultimate and Sport event that complies with all official regulatory rules and regulations with respect to safety. More details to follow. Maybe keep up your training just a bit longer, just in case.
Thanks again, stay safe, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Participants will be emailed with actionable instructions.