Covid-19 claims 2020 Great Scottish Run as event cancelled

The decision was described as “disappointing news” by the chief executive of the Great Run company.

The Great Scottish Run for 2020 has been cancelled

The 2020 edition of the Great Scottish Run has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the organisers announced today.

The event was scheduled to take place on Sunday October 4 but its cancellation was announced today by the Great Run Company.

Runners will be given the option to roll over their entrance to next year’s Great Scottish Run, due to take place on Sunday October 3, or receive a refund.

Everyone who had signed up will be contacted by the company with further details and options.

The Junior and Mini Great Scottish Run, which was due to take place on Saturday 3 October this year, has also been cancelled with a full refund of the entry fees.

Paul Foster, chief executive at the Great Run Company, said: “We understand this will be disappointing news to all those who were planning to take part, but the safety of participants, spectators and of all those associated with the staging of the events is always our number one priority.

“Over the past few months we have worked hard to try and find a way to stage the Great Scottish Run while observing social distancing rules, and most importantly, not adding to the burden of public services.

“However, as things stand, and even as the situation improves, it's not going to be possible to meet these goals with any certainty, and so we have concluded that the best course of action is to cancel this year’s event. We are delighted to be able to offer our runners the opportunity to roll their place over and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2021.

“We want to thank all of our participants and partners for their continued support and understanding.”

Mr Foster also suggested that the money raised for charities should be passed on if possible.

He said: “Event day is only a small part of the challenge our runners take on, they put in a huge amount of preparation and training in the weeks and months before.

They should be able to celebrate that achievement. We encourage those who were signed up to run the event to recognise all the hard work they have already put in and consider still passing on the money raised to the charity if possible."

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