Race marketplace, findarace.com argues that the UK’s 2 million annual run race participants will need to rack up at least one extra 10k race and one extra 5k race each this year to help save the nation’s race organisers.
findarace.com estimates that UK race organisers have missed out on £65 million in entry revenue alone due to event cancellations since the pandemic hit… ‘amounting to a whopping 20 million missing miles.’
findarace.com Founder, David Wearn, said “Recent research commissioned by parkrun shows that there is minimal risk of catching COVID at an organised outdoor sport event such as a running race. We’re seeing that a large proportion of runners do feel that it’s safe to race again with all the COVID protocols in place.”
Despite these findings, parkrun is having difficulty getting permission to return from local authorities and landowners, especially in London.
Wearn added, “What’s less well known is that many race organisers are already open for business both in London and across the UK, with hundreds of UK Athletics licensed events approved for the next couple of months, all with COVID secure protocols in place.
“Race organisers are often small outfits, putting on races to serve their local running community. Some have already shut down permanently due to the impact of COVID and lockdowns; others have warned that they could follow if they don’t have a successful summer and autumn in 2021.”
He continued, “Being a Race Director is a labour of love, and now more than ever they need our love in return. If you are training for a specific race that has been postponed because of COVID, factor in a couple of local build-up races into your training plan.”
findarace.com points out that race cancellations since March 2020 have also had a huge impact on charity fundraising. The London Marathon alone can help raise £66 million for charity. It’s estimated that the UK’s charities are facing a £6.7 billion drop in income since COVID, despite many switching to virtual races and successful one-off campaigns like the 2.6 Challenge.
‘Filling that fundraising black hole would require the UK’s 2m annual race participants to raise just over £3,000 each.’
