Could the New York City Marathon be canceled? Mayor Bill de Blasio says it's 'too early' to decide but options like virtual runs are being explored for the November 1 race

  • On Wednesday Mayor Bill De Blasio said it was 'too early' to decide whether to cancel the iconic annual New York City marathon set for November 1
  • He said he is in talks with race organizers and they are exploring other options
  • He praised the New York Road Runners clubs for their adoption of virtual races
  • 'The thing we’re going to be most conservative about is large gatherings of people,' De Blasio said on the race that gathered over 53,000 runners last year 

By Marlene Lenthang For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Mayor Bill De Blasio says it too soon to tell whether the annual New York City Marathon will be canceled or not - but has revealed that alternative options such as virtual runs are being explored.

On Wednesday the mayor was asked if the annual race, the largest marathon in the world that courses through all five boroughs, will still take place on its scheduled date Sunday November 1. 

'The marathon itself is obviously a ways off so we’re talking to them but it’s too early to come to any conclusions,' De Blasio said. 'But they are right at the table with us as we consider what to do.'

De Blasio expressed concern over maintaining social distancing at the race that gathers thousands of athletes. Last year there was a record 53,627 runners who crossed the finish line. 

On Wednesday Mayor Bill De Blasio said it was 'too early' to decide whether to cancel the iconic annual New York City marathon set for November 1

On Wednesday Mayor Bill De Blasio said it was 'too early' to decide whether to cancel the iconic annual New York City marathon set for November 1

'The thing we’re going to be most conservative about is large gatherings of people,' De Blasio said on the race that gathered over 53,000 runners last year. Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor and the rest of the leading pack in action at the New York City marathon on November 3, 2019

'The thing we’re going to be most conservative about is large gatherings of people,' De Blasio said on the race that gathered over 53,000 runners last year. Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor and the rest of the leading pack in action at the New York City marathon on November 3, 2019

'The really big events are the last piece of the puzzle so we really have to think carefully about any large gathering and I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be a while until we’re comfortable with any large gathering.

'The thing we’re going to be most conservative about is large gatherings of people because that’s where you have the most negative impact with the resurgence of this disease,' De Blasio said. 

He noted that in light of the crisis some organizations, such as the New York Road Runners club, have initiated virtual marathons as a way to keep big events going while maintaining social distancing after canceling all in person races through August 15. 

Marathons bring millions of dollars to America’s biggest cities. The most recent analysis of the TCS New York City Marathon found that the 2019 race injected $415million  into the local economy, as per CNBC.

The marathon's organizers haven't released any statement on the future of the race yet. 

Marathons bring millions of dollars to America’s biggest cities. The most recent analysis of the TCS New York City Marathon found that the 2019 race injected $415million into the local economy. Thousands of runners pictured crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during last year's race above

Marathons bring millions of dollars to America’s biggest cities. The most recent analysis of the TCS New York City Marathon found that the 2019 race injected $415million into the local economy. Thousands of runners pictured crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during last year's race above 

During Wednesday’s daily coronavirus press conference De Blasio said the city would step up support for nursing homes and will provide free, onsite coronavirus testing for all 169 nursing home facilities in the city.

The Mayor added that there are 10 outbreak response teams to help these facilities especially as they suffer a shortage of staff.

As of May 18, there were 5,630 coronavirus-related deaths at nursing homes statewide, with 3,050 in the city alone, including both confirmed and presumed cases.

There are over 191,000 cases of COVID-19 in New York City and over 16,000 deaths with an additional 4,828 probably deaths, according to government statistics released Tuesday. There are currently 50,618 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

Across the country there are over 1.5million cases of the virus and over 93,000 deaths. 

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