The 2020 Royal Parks Half Marathon presented by Royal Bank of Canada, originally scheduled for Sunday 11 October, has been postponed until 11 April 2021.
Confirming the news today, event organisers issued the following update on the race:
“In light of the ongoing crisis surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Royal Parks Half Marathon presented by Royal Bank of Canada will not be going ahead on 11 October.
“The organisers have been preparing for this possibility and have confirmed a rescheduled date of 11 April 2021, subject to final permissions. All registered runners should have received an email regarding their race place. If you did not receive an email, please contact info@royalparkshalf.com
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We share the disappointment of all those involved, but the safety of the public, event participants and employees must be our main priority.
“We want to thank everyone for their continued support of the Royal Parks Half, especially our partners and stakeholders who we are working closely with regarding the rescheduled date. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved in partnership with so many incredible charities, runners, sponsors and supporters over the years and we look forward to continuing that work in 2021.”
The Royal Parks Half Marathon celebrates the best of London’s spectacular green landscapes and iconic city landmarks. The spectacular 13.1-mile route takes runners past many of the capital’s world-famous sites; all on closed roads and through four of London’s eight Royal Parks – Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens. Since the race’s inception in 2008, nearly £50 million has been raised for over 1,000 charities.
Project Lead at The Royal Parks, Persephone Deacon-Cole, added: “We are so very grateful to our whole community for their ongoing understanding and patience during this uncertain time. Our commitment first and foremost is to the health and safety of runners, the public and the entire event team.
“The complexities surrounding social distancing at mass participation events are such that we are not able to go ahead as planned in October. We are very pleased, however, to have secured a new rescheduled date and look forward to welcoming all of our brilliant runners in 2021.”
