AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine Marathon will not happen this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The annual event, officially titled the Gorham Savings Bank Maine Marathon, had been scheduled for Portland in October. Organizers have scaled the event down to a virtual one that will include a 5-kilometer race, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The marathon typically attracts runners from 10 countries and most U.S. states, race director Bob Dunfey said. Organizers hoped the fall date would allow the race to go forward, have decided it would be unwise because of surges in coronavirus across the country.
“But it’s better to err on the side of safety than have something go wrong,” Dunfey told the Press Herald.
Some 1,200 runners had signed up to run the race.
In other news related to the pandemic in Maine:
NEW CASES
Maine officials reported 12 new cases of the virus and one more death on Tuesday. The state has reported more than 3,700 cases of the virus in Maine. They’ve also reported 118 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause more severe illness and can lead to death.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that four new “swab and send” sites will help expand the state’s testing capacity. Rural hospitals in Maine are also receiving $1 million in federal funding to increase lab capacity to process coronavirus tests, state officials said.
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CYCLING FUNDRAISER
A virtual fundraiser held by the American Lung Association has raised more than $550,000 for coronavirus research.
The association said it raised the money via The Trek Across Maine, which attracted 1,261 cyclists from California to Maine. The trek is usually a three-day, 180-mile (290-kilometer) cycling event. This year, because of the virus, there was no physical event.
The American Lung Association said money from the fundraiser will also be used for lung disease prevention efforts. Jeff Seyler, chief division officer of the American Lung Association, said organizers “certainly weren’t going to let a lung-related virus stop our event.”
The riders in the event ranged in age from 7 to 84. L.L. Bean was the top fundraising team at more than $36,000, while the top raising individual was Shawn Sabine of Lexington, Massachusetts, at more than $15,000.
The cycling event itself usually happens on Father’s Day weekend.
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