Shizuoka Marathon Got Cancelled

I sort of knew it was coming. Although Kyoto ran as usual, as soon as they’ve announced cancellation of Tokyo Marathon, all smaller events started to follow. On Thursday 20 February, 2.5 weeks before my marathon I got the email… Cancellation of Shizuoka Marathon 2020.

It is all due to this Coronavirus outbreak. There are growing number of cases in Japan and the officials worry that any events including big crowds can make the situation worse. There are now just over a hundred cases in Japan (that has population of over 126,000,000 people) but nobody wants it to spread.

I won’t lie, even though expected, the news just broke my heart and I just couldn’t hold my tears. Mentally and physically I put a lot into each and every race I run, and this one was no exception. I took only a week and a half break after Osaka Marathon in December, and even though it wasn’t easy to train on holidays I spent any possible free time I could find to get ready to run in Shizuoka.

Now I’m hanging in a limbo. I have everything booked and ready to go, but I don’t have a race to run. I love Japan, and would love to just go and sight see, but then just for holidaying I would prefer to go with my family. Should I worry more about this whole Coronavirus situation? I am always very careful with my health, especially before races, so as usual I will take all possible precautions, and Japan is the cleanest country I know with people wearing masks all the time…

My head is exploding from questions with no answers, overthinking every possible scenario… see you soon Japan, or see you later?