The Covid-19 pandemic has taken many experiences from people, but instead of giving up, the running community is taking the reins and changing things up.

El Paso Marathon has chosen to take a hybrid approach to hold the 2021 El Paso Marathon.

El Paso runners will still get the opportunity to participate in the El Paso Marathon, whether it be on their own or in person.

Due to social distancing guidelines, the three runs- 5K, half-marathon, and marathon- will be spread out over three days.

The number of physical participants per race will be capped off at 500 runners, however, this is still a large number of entries.

Race director, Mike Coulter said, “Of the three distances, our half marathon is quickly filling up and very likely to hit capacity soon.  The marathon and 5K still have plenty of space. There are no limits on the virtual events so we hope people will take advantage of that opportunity.”

The 5K race will take place on Friday, Feb. 12 evening at 5:30 pm, followed by the half-marathon on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 7:00 am, and the marathon on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 am. 

If participants do not want to risk exposure, they can run the required distance on their own time and still receive a medal of accomplishment.

Race Director, Mike Coulter said, “After much research and polling of runners, we wanted to be able to offer an opportunity for those comfortable participating in a live event the chance to do so.  While there is a demand for live events, there are those not ready to take part in group events. The virtual event helps keep the event going and affords runners the opportunity to still be part of the El Paso Marathon tradition.”

If for some reason, the in-person race gets canceled, runners can change their registration to virtual or push it to a later year.

While the new precautions ensure safety for the runners, it also provides new challenges runners must overcome. 

El Paso Marathon regular, Perla Retana said, “This year the route changed and now we are doing loops, which mentally harder to repeat a loop twice than point to point. We will have to get our own water cups which, believe it or not, takes energy and distraction from pushing the pace that you want/need.” 

While everything right now is very new, it is nice to know that there is still a sense of normalcy in the running world.