2021 event to be virtual, April 3-17, 2021
ALBANY, GEORGIA—MARCH 2021—Each March, runners fill the streets of Albany for the SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon, which tours many of the city’s iconic sites. The Albany race is ranked as one of the top Boston qualifiers in the country. With over 20 percent of all marathon finishers qualifying, this is one of the nation’s fastest marathons.
This year, the events will be virtual, taking place April 3-17, in order to abide by COVID restrictions.
To prioritize health and safety, the 15th annual SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon events are moving to a virtual format to avoid the potential spread of COVID-19 and allow runners to safely participate while achieving their personal goals.
“The move to a virtual SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon event helps to ensure the health and safety of our community, runners, and volunteers,” said Rashelle Beasley, Race Director of the SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon. “Additionally, it is our responsibility to follow CDC guidelines and our local healthcare community recommendations that do not make in-person events of this size feasible at this time. Without the support of our medical volunteers, we cannot safely host a race of this magnitude in our community.”
In the past week, we have been informed we will not be able to have the amount of medical support needed, plus a couple of sponsors have notified us they cannot support a live in-person event. While our medical community has been supportive through the process, they received new CDC information listing “an event or large in-person gathering where it is difficult to remain spaced at least six feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area to be the highest risk for community transmission”
While we contemplated reaching out to other sponsors and recruiting individual medical volunteers, it seemed reckless to quickly try and replace the relationships we have built over the past 15 years just to be able to host an in-person race. It would also be unfair for us to work hard at hosting a live race, only to have a COVID outbreak happen causing us to cancel at the last minute.
Unfortunately, our COVID-19 policy does not allow for refunds. For runners to not miss the opportunity to receive the 15th commemorative medal, we are offering all registered runners the opportunity to run our virtual race AND defer your registration to 2022 or 2023 at no additional charge.
The virtual event time frame will be April 3-17, 2021. It will include the SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon, participants will be able to upload their results via the SNICKERS® Marathon and Half Marathon website in partnership with Race Day Events and RunSignup®. Once registrants complete their run or walk at their preferred location and we receive their results, we will mail their race bags which will include a race medal, running shirt, SNICKERS®, Combos® and other swag.
In addition, social media will be used to connect runners virtually, share photos, post personal records and provide support and encouragement leading up to and during the 14-day event window. As additional details of the event are confirmed, updates will be posted to the race website at AlbanyMarathon.com.
Thank you for your support of the Snickers® Marathon and Half Marathon and its mission to support the Willson Hospice House. We look forward to seeing you in person on March 5, 2022, or March 4, 2023!