«Rimi» Riga Marathon will definitely take place, there will be a popular race in the Latvian «bubble» / Article / LSM.lv

“Rimi” Riga marathon will take place according to plan on October 10 and 11, gathering participants in all planned races, the organizers said on Monday. Foreign marathoners will mostly participate in absentia, registering their race in the mobile app, but a few elite class runners could run in Riga and take care of the competition for the best domestic marathoners.

The organizers estimate that approximately 15-20 thousand participants will take part in the Riga Marathon events in two days, who will be scattered at the starting point at the Freedom Monument and various races will start at different times. Aigars Nords, director of the Rimi Riga Marathon, said that another three to four thousand runners would participate virtually in their approximately 60 home countries. The opportunity to run in absentia is intended only for those participants whose travel regulations prohibit them from coming to Latvia without additional requirements.

Thus, the competition will practically take place in the “bubble” of Latvia, but there will also be a few invited elite athletes,

who will try to reach the qualification level of the Tokyo Olympic Games in Riga. Nords hopes that the conditions will be favorable for good results, although the standards are very high and the men are more than 3 minutes ahead of the Latvian record.

When the International Athletics Gold Label was awarded to the Riga Marathon a couple of years ago, no one had any idea what changes the world was waiting for due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nords admitted. He emphasized that Riga would be the first such high-level marathon to resume international competitions. The international athletics umbrella organization “World Athletics” also considers the Riga Marathon as a ray of hope not only for running events. Nord acknowledged that in such a difficult year, it would certainly not have been possible to hold a marathon without the support of sponsor Rimi.

The organizers take into account the need to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spread, therefore the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC), as well as the Ministry of Health have also been involved in planning the event.

The start for the participants will be divided into several waves and corridors to thin out the flow of runners and reduce the risks.

In turn, all drinks will be prepackaged at the drinking points on the track. For the safety of participants in the shortest distances, there will also be no storage facilities intended only for half marathon and marathon participants.

As the numbers will be delivered to the participants by courier this time, the application will close on September 30. The children’s marathon is scheduled for October 10, while all other competitions will take place on October 11.

Many elite runners from European countries have shown interest in the opportunity to start in Riga, but only in a few weeks it may become known who will actually come to Latvia. In turn

It is currently not even possible to leave the always strong African countries in the marathon, therefore such distant guests are not expected in Riga this time.

In a conversation with LSM.lv, Nords predicted that no more than 10 high-class runners could come from abroad. Elite runners will be subject to Cabinet regulations that allow high-end athletes to give up self-isolation, but at the same time provide other requirements to reduce the risk of Covid-19 proliferation.

The prize fund of the competition is also adjusted to the situation that most elite athletes cannot participate. The winners of the marathon for men and women will receive 1000 euros each, but the half marathon will provide half the prizes.

In his turn, the head of the temporary administration of Riga City Municipality Edvīns Balševics called the Latvian School Cup competition planned for the marathon an important event, which opens an opportunity to popularize running among the youngest participants.

The most titled Latvian gargoyle Jelena Prokopchuka and her family will gather in the children’s day marathon.

She invited all the families to join the race, where speed is not important, but physical activity and being together is important. Prokopchuk will also keep his thumb on Latvian runners because he wants the country to be represented in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.

Prokopchuk has finished his career as a professional runner, but has not yet given up on the idea of ​​running a marathon. Throughout his life, Prokopchuk has been promoting running and has founded a running school that involves both children and high-level runners.

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