CLEVELAND — After a year of virtual races due to the pandemic, runners from all over Northeast Ohio and beyond can participate in the 2021 Union Mortgage Cleveland Marathon which will the held in person from Oct. 23-24 in downtown Cleveland.
“We are thrilled to have a date for our in-person event and can’t wait to welcome our runners, volunteers and spectators back to Cleveland,” said Jack Staph, executive director of the Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon. “We remain confident in our health and safety plan that has been developed with local and state health officials and University Hospitals, and we thank our runners for their patience and understanding.”
Staph said he thinks people are ready to run with a group again and participate in a live event.
"We put on a virtual event last year and then our normal day is the 3rd weekend in May," said Staph. "This year, we had another virtual race, but we decided to postpone the live event to give us some time to prepare for whatever the COVID restrictions are, so essentially that has worked out for us because we do believe that the restrictions will be lessened."
Registration is now open for anyone who wishes to participate in either the full marathon, held marathon, 10K, 5K, kids’ run and challenge series.
For runners like Joel Genter, training starts now.
"Get the muscles going and strong again," he said. "A marathon is an opportunity to take on something a lot bigger than what you’re used to."
A specific route has yet to be determined. Marathon organizers are working with the City of Cleveland on a route.
Marathon organizers said it will continue to work with its medical partner, University Hospitals Sports Medicine, to hold an event that is safe for all participants.
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