Live events resume in the South this weekend
Organisers are quick off the mark as lockdown ends on 2 December
With England's second Coronavirus lockdown ending in tiers on Wednesday 2 December, we take a look at the opportunities to participate in real events available again in the South region this weekend.
Organisers have sprinted from the blocks to offer races in accordance with the government's new tiered approach to containing and reducing the virus. England Athletics has published its updated guidance regarding the safe return of road, cross-country, trail, fell and multi-terrain running competitions and this will be adhered to explicitly in all licensed events.
There are at least a dozen events listed in runABC South's comprehensive race listing for the weekend 5-6 December, the first time we can lace up those racers in earnest since Lockdown 2.0 started in England a month ago. Thankfully, that sea of red 'CANCELLED' labels has been replaced with some more hopeful indications that races may be going ahead as planned.
Experienced race organisers with events scheduled this weekend include The Race Organiser; DB Max; RunThrough; Maverick Race; Endurance Life and Nice Work. In all cases, runners are advised to check with the organisers for the latest updates to ensure their races are still going ahead and whether any late entries are available.
As there are new travelling restrictions within the three tiers of Coronavirus control measures introduced from 2 December, prospective competitors should also check how they might be affected. Full details are available from England Athletics.
It is an almost impossible task to keep up to date with all the cancellations and postponements at present but it does seem that the long-distance trail races are the most likely to go ahead as planned. However, for a completely different challenge – a true breath of fresh air – Nice Work has a seafront mile on a point-to-point course at Gosport on Sunday 6 December. The Gosport Golden Mile start line is open from 08:00am to 10:00am followed by the Gosport Golden 5K that starts between 11:00am and 1:00pm.
Visit runABC South race listing for December here
Image: Maverick Race on Facebook