Tokyo Marathon, one of the World Marathon Majors (WMMs), has cancelled the race, which was to take place on March 1, 2020. The announcement was recently made on the official website of Tokyo Marathon. The decision was taken as a preventive measure to control further spreading of coronavirus as cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Tokyo.
Now, only marathon elites and wheelchair elites will be able to participate in the race. All other registered runners of Tokyo Marathon 2020 including semi-elite, general, charity and 10km will have to give the race a miss this year. However, the entry fee and donations received for the Tokyo Marathon 2020 will not be refunded.
Those who had registered for Tokyo Marathon 2020, this announcement comes as a huge disappointment. Most runners are likely to incur losses as organisers, airlines and hotels are not willing to offer any kind of compensation. We spoke to Pune-based runners, who were headed for Tokyo till about two days back, and now are doing other races to make up for the loss or taking it as it comes.
Amod Bhate, an amateur runner, who did sub three-hour in Chicago Marathon 2019, was training for Tokyo for the past three to four months. “Having completed Boston, Berlin and Chicago, Tokyo would be my fourth WMM. In a year, I plan one major international race and a few smaller ones across India. So this year, it was Tokyo, but now with the race cancelled, I have no other major marathon in my plan now. In fact, I was thinking of skipping Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) 2020 because of my ongoing Tokyo training. Thankfully, I did not as a fellow runner asked me to pace him. Now, looking back I feel it was a good decision because I became a part of his success story as my runner friend got a Boston qualification,” says Amod.
Amod had also planned a vacation with his friends post Tokyo Marathon. “We had planned a four-day holiday after the run. We wanted to visit Hiroshima and other places. All our plans have been ruined now,” he says, adding, “I am also miffed with the organisers because they haven’t sent any official mail to runners informing them about the cancellation. Being a World Marathon Major, I expected them to do so. I got the update by visiting their website,” he says.
Unlike a few other runners, who have now registered for IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon (NDM) 2020 taking place on February 23, Amod is not heading to Delhi. “This last minute call was turning out to be expensive so I did not register for NDM,” he adds.
However, Pune-based runners like Tanmaya Karmarkar and Kavitha Reddy will be running NDM this Sunday. Kavitha, who clocked 01:36:11, another Personal Best for her at the half marathon at TMM, says, “Tokyo Marathon would be my last WMM, as I have completed the other five races.”
Kavitha will be heading to London for the prestigious AbbottWMM Wanda age Group Championships in April. “But you never know with the virus outbreak and race organisers taking preventive measures, anything can happen,” she says adding, “I am disappointed that Tokyo Marathon is cancelled, however, both the organisers and runners are suffering losses. The organisers must have spent a lot on the preparations. That said, some compensation should have been allowed to the runners. I am looking forward to 2021 race in Tokyo but one year is a long wait.”
For Tanmaya, who clocked 1:39:26 at half marathon TMM 2020, Tokyo would be her fourth WMM. “The way the virus has been spreading and preventive measures are being put into place, I was kind of anticipating this outcome. In fact, there have been reports about the Boston Athletic Association carefully monitoring developments related to the coronavirus,” she says.
Boston Marathon 2020 is scheduled to take place in April 2020 and Tanmaya has registered for the race. Right now, however, she is headed for Delhi and will be running the full marathon. After Tokyo cancelled the race, NDM 2020 re-opened their registrations to accommodate runners.
It’s just a week ahead of the Tokyo race so it wouldn’t make much of a difference. However, I feel the organisers have done the right thing. The way the virus has been spreading, it is indeed an alarming situation. It’s better not to take any risks,” says Tanmaya adding that the organisers have allowed all registered runners to defer their entry to Tokyo Marathon 2021. “It should happen next year, but my son will be in 12th standard, so I don’t know whether I can make it to the race. This year was perfect for me,” says Tanmaya with Kavitha adding, “Looking at the bigger picture, I feel the Tokyo Marathon organisers have taken the right decision. And now that I am going to NDM, I am not letting my training go waste. ”
However, runners, who have deferred their entry, will have to pay the entry fees for Tokyo Marathon 2021. Many runners have expressed their shock and disapproval about this decision. “First of all, there is no refund and furthermore runners, who have deferred their entry, will have to pay again to take part in the race next year. This is not fair,” Amod concludes.
