March 13 update: the race is cancelled.
This message was sent to all participants on March 12 at noon. More information will be provided as more is known, as the situation may change.
The race is on! Our risk assessment based on Public Health information does not lead to the cancellation of this type of scheduled event in Waterloo Region. But group events and public spaces do present risk, and these are our steps:
1. Things that participants should already be doing are especially relevant here:
- Please do not come to the race as a runner/supporter/volunteer if you are sick or have traveled to high risk zones for COVID-19 in the past 14 days or have had any contact with cases.
- Hand sanitizer will be very present at this race. Please use it. There are also indoor washroom and handwashing facilities.
- Please avoid risky behaviour, such as touching your own face, coughing except into your elbow, or touching other people – no high fives!!
2. Our volunteers are also doing things they always do – clean hands, gloves – but also with a heightened sense of vigilance. Only volunteers will be operating water jugs, and giving out bibs and shirts, etc.
We are canceling our post-race food and canceling our post-race medal distribution. These will substantially reduce the crowd exposure time. Medals will be left at Runners’ Choice before the race, and will be available on race day as soon as results are online and official, which is just as quick as the at-event process! The store is 1,200m from the race. Thank you for understanding.
3. A special note on crowding: please avoid crowding wherever possible, and strive to maintain personal space (up to 2m). For kit pickup, please spend as much time queuing outside as possible (as opposed to inside), and have patience. We are asking relay teams to only send one person to kit pickup for this reason. At 11:00 a.m. on race day, in the start corral, please don’t pack together. Keep in mind: the 2.5k event (individual and relay) is not guntimed – your time only starts when you cross the start line.
As always, while we cannot completely remove the risk of a group event, we are taking tips from Public Health to reduce the chances of spreading illness. If anything changes, we will post and email you as soon as possible.
We know that many events have canceled, whether with different risk factors or from an abundance of caution. On Wednesday evening, Dr Hsiu-Li Wang, acting medical officer of health for Waterloo Region, told Waterloo regional council that “we do not have the evidence to support broadly recommending cancelling public gatherings.”
Assessments for our future events, the next being April 25, will be made and communicated in good time.
