Portland Pacing – to be or not to be? That was the question. If you were operating on the premise that the majority of major fall marathons would be canceled, you were right. The Portland Race Director, Brooksee, was monitoring and evaluating the local health guidance before making the tough decision to cancel the 2020 Portland Marathon. It is understandable that the race wasn’t going to be able to happen safely.
The good news is that Brooksee excited to have TRL on board to pace the next Portland Marathon tentatively scheduled for Sunday, October 3, 2021. As for the future for large races, they will need to address physical spacing recommendations when races resume. How will they rework the set up in the future? How will they deal with thousands of participants that utilize wave starts in corals and then how pacing groups create packs of runners.
A quick note to past and prospective racers/pacers; know that I feel your pain of not being able to race or pace for the past six months. Since the COVID-19 protocol started, I have missed running more than 20 Half Marathons, of which I would have paced 12 of them. As of now, all 15 of the races for the balance of my 2020 schedule appear to be canceled or changed to virtual.
While our TRL group runs are canceled, what we can do is continue to log our miles in an effort to keep ourselves physically fit and assist with processing this “new normal” mentally. You may have to go solo or decide it is safe to head out with a good friend or two while maintaining healthy distancing and wearing masks where applicable.
Surely, one day we will be able to gather in groups again. Until then – stay fit, stay healthy, stay positive, and stay strong!