The Brighton Half Marathon has been postponed until the autumn after the final stage of lockdown easing was delayed.
The organisers said the council had moved quickly to suggest a new date of Sunday, October 10 for the event.
All June race places will now be automatically moved to that new date – and places can either be transferred to another runner, to next year’s event or to The Sussex Beacon.
Alternatively, you can run a virtual half marathon on the original June date or September or October and receive a 2021 medal.
The organisers said: “An event the size of our race takes months of planning and our June date was selected back in the autumn of 2020 to allow sufficient time for this planning to take place.
“When the roadmap was announced, our planning was focused on delivering an event against the roadmap timetable for moving from Step 3 to Step 4 on June 21.
“The size and open access nature of our event plus the number of crowds we attract does not fit the criteria to allow us to proceed.
“The regulations under Step 3 are that no events can be held that include more than 4,000 people. This includes staff, volunteers and spectators. It simply is not possible for us to run the event on that basis.
“Our priority is always to ensure that runners, volunteers, staff and the wider community in the city are safe at the race. As an event, we are governed by national guidelines and agencies, which takes decisions out of our hands in unusual times such as these.
“We understand just how disappointed you will be at the postponement so close to the race – all of us working on the event share this disappointment and we thank you for your patience and understanding during these uncertain times.”
