The New York Times - USA (2020-06-25)

SCORES ANALYSIS COMMENTARY THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 B9

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A public health crisis that has proved
to be treacherous for large events
claimed two more of the world’s biggest
marathons on Wednesday, with organ-
izers in New York and Berlin canceling
their races this year because of the
spread of the coronavirus.
The cancellations left the sport with-
out three of its six most important races
in 2020 — the Boston Marathon was
called off in May — and increased con-
cerns that interruptions to the endur-
ance sports world would continue until
there was a medical solution to the cri-
sis.
The New York City Marathon, one of
the most prestigious and lucrative
events of its kind, would have celebrat-
ed its 50th anniversary in November. It
is one of the highlights of fall in New
York and a spectacle for endurance
sports, attracting more than 50,000 run-
ners, 10,000 volunteers and roughly a
million fans, who line nearly every ac-
cessible yard of the 26.2-mile course
through the five boroughs.
City officials and New York Road
Runners, which owns and organizes the
event, decided holding the race this
year would be too risky. Public health
experts have said mass events, espe-
cially those that bring people together
from across the globe, will remain a
danger until a treatment or a vaccine for
Covid-19, the disease caused by the vi-
rus, is widely available, a stance that
makes it difficult to envision major pub-
lic marathons coming back without one.
“At some point, we are going to be
waiting for runners on finish lines
again,” said Michael Capiraso, the chief
executive of New York Road Runners.

He said he and other organizers had

held out hope that their race could hap-

pen. They decided to cancel it before

having to spend more money to orga-

nize it.

“There was hope, but that turned to

uncertainty, and given what we have

seen the past months, this was really

the only decision,” Capiraso said.

White House officials have issued

warnings about another wave of infec-

tions this fall. And while infection rates

in the New York metropolitan area are

now among the lowest in the country,

the virus is spreading at concerning

rates in areas that have not heeded the

advice of public health officials to con-

tinue to practice social distancing, avoid

public gatherings and wear masks. As

of Wednesday, cases were rising in 27

states over the previous two weeks.

Following coronavirus health guide-

lines while holding a major race is sim-

ply impossible, leaving the endurance

sports business economically devastat-

ed this year.

“I worry about their ability to get

through the pandemic,” Rich Harsh-

barger, the chief executive at Running

U.S.A., an industry trade group, said of

the organizations that manage races.

“The question isn’t how do we respond,

it’s how do we get through this?”

Runners who had signed up for this

year’s race in New York will be able to

receive a refund or to defer their entry

to the race during the next three years.

They will also have the option to run the

race virtually from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1. Or-

ganizers said they would announce de-

tails of the virtual event in July.

In the New York marathon, the run-

ners and thousands of volunteers are

transported to a starting line village at

Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island,

where they huddle and wait for hours to

be called to the start at the foot of the

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The run-

ners then cram into a series of starting

corrals while they wait for a cannon

sound to signal the start of the race.

Remaining six feet apart simply can-

not happen.

Organizers canceled the race once be-

fore, in 2012, after Hurricane Sandy

hammered the region just days before

the race. They decided against having

only an elite field this year in part be-

cause they feared crowds would gather

on the streets and because of the uncer-

tainty of international runners being

able to travel to the United States.

The London and Chicago marathons

remain scheduled for the fall, but organ-

izers have yet to commit to holding

them. The Tokyo Marathon went for-

ward in early March with only elite run-

ners, but that is not a long-term solu-

tion; without ticket sales in the sport,

organizers need money from casual

participants to help pay for the elite

field’s appearance fees and prize

money.

New York Road Runners carries can-

cellation insurance for the marathon,

which will help ease a significant blow.

The marathon is the signature event

and among the main revenue genera-

tors for the organization, which collects

a little more than $100 million each year

but had to cancel two other major

events in the spring: the New York City

and Brooklyn half marathons. Accord-

ing to tax filings, those races accounted

for the bulk of the running organiza-

tion’s $41 million in race entry fees in

2018, the last year for which figures are

available.

When the race was canceled in 2012,

the organization infuriated runners by

insisting until just two days before the

race that it would take place. By then,

thousands of runners had traveled from

across the United States, Europe and

Asia, only to have to return home with-

out racing after training for months.

The cancellation was a major disap-

pointment for Aliphine Tuliamuk, who

won the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in

February. After the Tokyo Games,

which have been postponed a year, to

2021, she had planned to run New York,

where she proved to herself in 2017 and

2019 that she could be a world-class

marathoner. When the Olympics were

postponed, she wanted to use New York

to stay sharp ahead of the Games in

2021.

Without a race on the horizon, she

said she was “training for the love of

training.”

“I sort of knew this was coming,” Tu-

liamuk said. “After what we have been

through the past four months, it’s the

right call.”

1970 Gary Muhrcke, the first-place finisher, nearing the tape at the first New York City Marathon, which was run entirely in Central Park.

DON HOGAN CHARLES/THE NEW YORK TIMES

2019 Thousands of runners pounded their way across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the five-borough race.

BENJAMIN NORMAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Race Is Over Before It Begins

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

The Pandemic Forces New York

And Berlin to Cancel Their Marathons

Coronavirus testing every other day

for players and coaches. Wet rags for

pitchers’ pockets to prevent them from

licking their fingers. Masks in the dugout

and bullpen for any non-players. And no

public transportation to the stadium,

communal food spreads, saunas, fight-

ing, spitting, smokeless tobacco or sun-

flower seeds.

Got all that?

These are among the many new rules

that Major League Baseball teams will

have to follow for the shortened 2020

season. This week, after months of hag-

gling over pay and how many games to

play, M.L.B. and the players’ union com-

pleted their season plan, including a 113-

page operations manual that will govern

this unprecedented 60-game season

without fans in the stands.

“There’s a lot of stuff to get used to,”

Mets pitcher Seth Lugo said.

Unlike some other professional

leagues that will play in a single, seques-

tered environment, M.L.B. will play

games at teams’ home stadiums, with

the regular season beginning either July

23 or 24 after a second round of spring

training starting July 1.

Even before any players have offi-

cially reported to their camps, several

teams — including the Philadelphia

Phillies, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Col-

orado Rockies and the Yankees — have

reportedly had positive coronavirus

tests among their players and staff mem-

bers.

“This is a challenging time, but we will

meet the challenge by continuing to

work together,” read part of the introduc-

tion to the M.L.B. manual, a copy of

which was obtained by The New York

Times. “Adherence to the health and

safety protocols described in this manual

will increase our likelihood of being suc-

cessful.”

Dr. Michael Saag, an infectious dis-

eases expert at the University of Ala-

bama at Birmingham, commended base-

ball’s health and safety plan, calling it

“fairly detailed” in a telephone interview

on Wednesday.

“A player’s risk, based on what they’re

planning, is probably greater for acquir-

ing this infection in the community than

while engaged in baseball-related activi-

ties,” Saag said.

To facilitate testing, the Sports Medi-

cine Research and Testing Laboratory,

which normally helps run the league’s

antidoping testing, has converted a por-

tion of its space for virus tests, promising

a 24-hour turnaround on results.

Before arriving at spring training,

players and key staff members must be

screened for any symptoms and poten-

tial exposure to the virus, as well as a

separate examination that includes a sa-

liva or oral/nasal swab test and a blood

sample for an antibody test.

During spring training and the season,

players and select staff members will

have their temperatures and symptoms

checked twice per day at club facilities.

Those with temperatures at or above

100.4 degrees will not be allowed to enter

a team facility.

Players and on-field personnel will be

tested for the virus every other day,

while other key staff members will be

tested “multiple times per week.” Anti-

body testing will happen about once a

month.

If anyone tests positive for the virus,

he or she will receive medical attention

and be required to self-isolate. Contact

tracing will be conducted and the team

facility will be disinfected.

Teams’ medical staffs must identify

players and key staff members who are

at higher risk of contracting the virus —

because of age or medical history, for ex-

ample — or who live with someone who

is at a higher risk. Those individuals

could receive special treatment, like sep-

arate travel arrangements.

If a higher-risk player still wants to opt

out of playing this season after consult-

ing with the team doctor, he would be

placed on the “Covid-19 Related Injured

List” and would still receive service time

and pay. The Covid-19 list will have no

time limits and will also be open to play-

ers who test positive for the virus, were

exposed to a confirmed case or exhibit

symptoms.

The manual includes 11 pages of dia-

grams to ensure social distancing during

on-field drills and in dugouts, batting

cages and bullpens. Among the other

measures in the manual:

■Players should keep at least six feet

away from one another in the clubhouse;

■Players are “discouraged but not pro-

hibited” from showering in the club-

house;

■Clubhouse food must be served in indi-

vidual to-go containers;

■Players (or managers) who leave their

positions to argue with umpires or come

within six feet of them or an opposing

player or manager face ejection and dis-

cipline;

■Any ball in play or touched by multiple

players will be replaced;

■Hotel room visits are permitted for

only other members of a traveling party

or immediate family.

Now, There’s

No Spitting

In Baseball

By JAMES WAGNER