Mankato Marathon announces new guidelines for 2020 events

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) — Just weeks after announcing much of the Mankato Marathon was going virtual, race organizers announced Thursday to move to 100% virtual for all of its races and events.

Obstacles kept mounting for organizers, making it difficult to see if any sort of in-person races could even take place.

Runners will now get to choose when and where to run their event between Oct. 12 and 26.

Visit Mankato President Anna Thill says safety for the Mankato community was at the forefront of the decision.

“We just cannot guarantee a safe race for our runners, staff, volunteers and community,” said Thill. “Of course, we do not want to be the reason that our school district has to go to 100% distance learning and that’s very important to us and our organization to make sure we are doing our part as well.”

Thill added the team is now putting their focus on producing a virtual event for runners to participate in across the nation and globe.

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