TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Another major Tallahassee event is canceled because of COVID-19.
The Tallahassee Marathon, an event that normally brings thousands to the Capital City has been canceled for 2021.
The Gulf Winds Track Club, who holds the marathon every year says this decision was a hard one.
Organizers say the health of their runners and this community was a top priority in their decision making.
The annual run is heading into its 47th year next year. Normally, the event has around 2,000 participants including spectators, volunteers and people coming from outside the Tallahassee area, something the organization had to take into consideration.
The large group of people and the amount of contact, people handing water out to runners, and awarding medals could be a conductor to spread the virus.
But the financial impact of not having it doesn't go unnoticed.
"The race is an economic driver for a lot of our local businesses in town," said Sheryl Rosen, the director of the Tallahassee Marathon. "We order shirts like these from our great local vendor, have them designed order our medals locally, order our signs locally order the food for our event locally and encourage our vendors to be patrons of our local restaurants."
Rosen says canceling early allows those who would be training for the event to know so they won't waste that time and energy.
Something to note, although there won't be a major marathon in 2021 Rosen says they are working on doing something around that same time frame on a much smaller scale.
