The 2020 edition of the Lewa Safari Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, event organisers announced yesterday.
This year's event was slated for June 27 with participants from all over the world expected.
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, CEO Mike Watson termed the decision very tough.
“Despite our great willingness to push on, we have come to the very difficult decision to cancel this year’s race having weighed all factors, ” said Watson.
He added: “Hosting a race in a wildlife conservancy comes with a unique set of challenges. For the past 20 years, we have worked to mitigate these challenges and offer all our annual runners what we hope is an optimum running experience. Having all of you at Lewa has always been the highlight of our year.”
"A significant number of marathoners, whose contributions are key to the success of the event, are overseas runners from the UK and USA. In light of the new travel restrictions and the severity of the situation, they will be unable to participate.”
Watson added: “ While we’re sure all efforts are being made by the Kenyan government to contain the spread of the virus, it is paramount we heed the presidential directive to avoid all non-essential public gatherings and play our part in flattening the curve until all of this is behind us,” he noted.
Tusk CEO Charlie Mayhew said the importance of the Lewa Safari Marathon to Tusk’s operations in Kenya can't be overstated.
“It is our flagship fundraising initiative and undoubtedly the highlight of the Tusk calendar for the hundreds of international runners we host every year at the event.
"This event regularly generates over US$500,000 (Sh50,000,000) for numerous conservation, education and community projects across Kenya, so its cancellation this year is a massive blow.
"However, the safety of runners, supporters and local communities amid this global crisis is paramount. We will return next year, stronger than ever and meanwhile we are committed to continue supporting our partner projects as best we can,”noted.
The event organisers will offer the participants the chance to defer their entries, as well as claim full or partial refunds.