California International Marathon canceled this year due to the pandemic

The California International Marathon has officially been canceled for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In Friday morning posts to the event’s website and social media, organizers said they “turned over every stone, working through all possible options and considerations” to go through with a socially distanced version of the race, but that there were “too many hurdles” to proceed this year given the contagious virus still being prominent statewide.

The yearly 26.2-miler, the route for which spans an expanse of Sacramento County with a finish line in front of the Capitol building downtown, had been set for Dec. 6 this year. It will return Dec. 5, 2021, instead.

The Sacramento Running Association, the nonprofit that hosts the annual marathon, says it will be giving all 2020 CIM registrants a voucher for one free entry into any future California International Marathon from 2021 through 2023.

The cancellation announcement didn’t mention COVID-19 by name, but organizers thanked county and state health leaders who “worked so hard to create an avenue for us to still potentially hold the event in recognition of its immense importance to our community,” and noted that those health officials have “procedures to bring in-person running events back to our community very soon.”

Because of the pandemic, the running association created a digital running platform, called Project 26.20, to allow runners to have a virtual “race day experience.”

“Take on the challenge of the 26.2 marathon distance on your own hometown route by yourself or socially distanced with friends” Dec. 4 through Dec. 13, the event description reads. Participants in Project 26.20 can upload their times manually into an online leaderboard, or upload them through a GPS enabled device.

The CIM started in December 1983 and is a Boston Marathon and U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier.

Michael McGough

The Sacramento Bee

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Michael McGough is a sports and local editor for The Sacramento Bee. He previously covered breaking news and COVID-19 for The Bee, which he joined in 2016. He is a Sacramento native and graduate of Sacramento State.