Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, along with organizers of the 2020 Boston Marathon, announced on Friday morning that the 2020 Boston Marathon will be postponed until Sept. 14 due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19). The news is likely more heartbreaking that Heartbreak Hill itself for the 30k+ runners who have been training for months for the iconic 26.2 mile race. A few dozen Wellesley athletes were expected to be a part of the big day, some who had qualified by running fast times in previous races, others who got their bibs by raising big bucks for charities in Wellesley and beyond.
The BAA had doled out 22 invitational entries for this year’s Marathon to the Town of Wellesley which, like other communities from along the race route, is privy to these. Runners working with one of those charities raised $4,500 each. All is hopefully not lost for groups counting on those donations, or for those athletes in it to win it, now that the race has been rescheduled.
The Boston Athletic Association on its website says that it has been following “updates from organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Public Health, and World Health Organization” and has made decisions in partnership with policies put forth by the federal, state, and local governments.
Last year Wellesley came out in big numbers to give 2019 Boston Marathon runners and para-athletes a warm Wellesley welcome. From the scream tunnel at Wellesley College to Wellesley Square to Wellesley Hills and Lower Falls, people were out to cheer on the the runners as they made it through the halfway point in the Square. Then it was on to Newton, through Brookline, into Boston and, as they say, “right on Hereford St., left on Boylston St., done.”
What a difference a year makes.
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