Rearranged Sunderland 10k and half marathon 2020 cancelled completely due to crisis

The Sunderland City Runs weekend was originally due to take place on the weekend of May 9-10.

It was then quickly rearranged for September 26-27 after the coronavirus outbreak in March.

Now, however, organisers and their partners and sponsors have decided that “safely delivering mass participation races in September will not be possible” given latest official guidelines.

They are instead concentrating on next year’s event, which will provisionally take place on Saturday, May 8, and Sunday, May 9, 2021.

Event founder Steve Cram said: “We’re incredibly disappointed that we now can’t go ahead with this year’s Sunderland City Runs.

“But this is absolutely the right decision in the current situation.

“Sadly, due to the planning involved for major occasions such as this, the timescales required to deliver a successful and safe event are not in our favour.

“We’re removing any uncertainty or speculation now, for the sake of all of our runners and volunteers, and every other person and organisation involved in the event.

“This also allows us to focus all of our energy and effort on working with Sunderland City Council and our partners to ensure a spectacular return in 2021.”

Entries have been deferred to next year with runners receiving emails explaining how they can claim refunds or donate their payments to the event’s chosen Sunderland charity, St Benedict’s Hospice, if they cannot take part.

The Events of the North weekend attracts thousands of runners to compete in races ranging from the Sunderland BIG 3k to the Sunderland City Half Marathon.

Its cancellation comes just a week after the 40th Great North Run, which was due to take place a fortnight earlier on September 13, was also delayed until 2021.

Councillor John Kelly, portfolio holder for vibrant city at Sunderland City Council, said the decision was “extremely disappointing news” and added: “We are very pleased to say that the planning for next year’s Sunderland City Runs, including the Active Sunderland BIG 3k run, has already started and we look forward to welcoming runners back to our vibrant city in May 2021.”

Further information about the 2021 event is available from www.sunderlandcity10k.com.

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