Canada Life Forest City Road Races

COVID-19 Update (March 16 2020)

In consultation with our sponsors, stakeholders and partners including health and emergency services, the Forest City Road Races Board of Directors has decided to cancel our in-person race event scheduled for April 26, 2020, and instead offer a “virtual race” due to concerns related to Covid-19.

This decision was challenging for our volunteer Board of Directors. As active people ourselves, we understand the work you’ve put into training and the excitement that builds for race day. However, it became abundantly clear in the past few days that we must do everything in our power to protect not only our event participants and spectators but also our broader community.

In our virtual race, which we are dubbing #FCRRstrong, runners will be encouraged to run their race distance (using social distancing of course!) the weekend of April 24-26 and post their finish on social media using the #FCRRstrong hashtag. While not an in-person experience, it is a great way to see your goal to the end, keep healthy, and protect the health and wellbeing of our community. Stay tuned for more instructions!

To celebrate your accomplishment, you will still be awarded a race medal, a “special edition” #FCRRstrong commemorative shirt and a discount code for next year’s race. We will keep you posted on details on pick-up/delivery instructions for your swag, and details about next year’s discount.

Additionally, we are working with our sponsors to ensure that Thames Valley Children’s Centre will still receive a contribution that will help kids with disabilities, developmental delays and communication and autism spectrum disorders to achieve the highest quality of life. We are so grateful for the understanding and generosity of our runners and event sponsors who are with us to make sure that it is the kids win in the long run!

Whether you are a first-time couch to 5km or a long-distance runner that’s been with us since our inception, we thank you for choosing to run with us. While this year our race will look different than events in year’s prior, with your help we can show our community that we are #FCRRstrong and will keep on running even when challenges come our way!

Wishing you health and wellness in the days ahead,
Board of Directors
Forest City Road Races

FAQ
Can I get a refund?
As stated during our registration process, we cannot offer refunds. Much of your race fees are spent before race day on everything from medals to runner amenities as we prepare for the race. Fortunately, because we have pivoted our race format early, we were able to preserve some of our capital so we can extend a discount code for next year.

Why not postpone the race?
Organizing an event of this scale is a massive undertaking with multiple stakeholders and considerations such as competing events, permits, policing, road closures etc. As a volunteer-led event, our Board of Directors agreed that it was not feasible to shift event dates and still guarantee the same quality of event you have come to expect from us.