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The 2020 Boston Marathon has been canceled.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced the news Thursday. The marathon had originally been rescheduled from its traditional April date to Sept. 14.
It’s the first time since the event began in 1897 that the marathon has been canceled.
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Walsh implied in later tweets that the Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the marathon, would attempt to hold a remote version of the event.
“We’ll be joining and supporting the BAA in an alternative approach to the Marathon that allows runners to participate remotely, and allows all of us to celebrate the meaning this race has for our spirit, for our charities, and for our local economy,” Walsh wrote.
The @BAA has announced that the 124th Boston Marathon will be held as a virtual event, following Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s cancellation of the marathon as a mass participation road running event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/tlIdvsU9sq
— Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) May 28, 2020
Around 30,000 people run the race each year on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday in April, which commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
All large city events in Boston had previously been canceled through Labor Day.
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