Event postponements and cancellations (updated 13 July)

Due to the current situation regarding coronavirus, a number of large scale events, including championships and mass participation running events, are being postponed or cancelled by their organisers.

England Athletics often use existing events to incorporate our Road Race Championships and other initiatives such as our Masters Road Running programme. Following the postponement of a number of large road running events in England, we want to reassure our competitive members that we will be following the ongoing situation and aim to reschedule or re-allocate our championships as required.

We have listed the latest updates below for relevant event postponements or cancellations and will continue to update here and on our social media channels.

FASTFriday (inc. England 10,000m Championships)

FASTFriday, hosted by Orion Harriers, has been postponed (originally due to take place on Friday 10 July). The decision was made in recognition that athletes have not been able to train as planned and that it is currently not safe or practical to run the event considering the wider coronavirus pandemic. The organisers plan to review their options and will update if they can reschedule to a later date.  Click here to read the short update from Orion Harriers.

Commonwealth Youth Games 2021

The Commonwealth Games Federation have decided to explore rescheduling options for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games, originally scheduled to take place from 1-7 August 2021 in Trinidad & Tobago.  During to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics & Paralympics have been rescheduled to the summer of 2021 during the original dates of the Youth Games.  Click here to read the full statement.

England Athletics U20/U23 Track & Field Championships

We have announced the postponement of our U20/U23 Track & Field Championships, due to take place on 6/7 June in Bedford, as a result of the suspension period for athletics competition being extended until 30 June 2020. We continue to proactively plan for various competitions scenarios and will provide further updates as soon as possible.  Click here to read the full statement.

UK Youth Development League

In the light of the continuing uncertainty around the Coronavirus situation the YDL management committee held a Skype meeting on 29 March to look at all the possibilities for the 2020 season and have decided regretfully that all matches scheduled for the 2020 season will be cancelled forthwith. Click here to read the full statement.

Ipswich Twilight 5k (inc. England 5k Road Race Championships)

The organisers of the Ipswich Twilight 5k, due to host the England 5k Road Race Championships on Sat 9 May, have confirmed that they have had to cancel the event and hope to return in 2021. Click here to visit the official event website.

Great Bristol 10k (inc England Masters 10k representative race)

The organisers of the Great Bristol 10k have confirmed that they have had to cancel the event as there was no option to stage the event later in the year. Click here to read the full statement from the event organiser. For anyone who had qualified to run as an England Masters athlete, please click here to read a further update.

English Schools' AA Championships and Track & Field Cup

Update 28 March: The English Schools' Athletic Association has taken the very difficult decision to cancel its Track & Field Championships this year. Click here to read the full statement from ESAA Honorary Secretary, Chris Cohen (excerpt below).

"We had looked at a variety of possible contingency plans, but, in the end, the fact that this virus doesn’t look as though it will allow schools to open in the near future, that many of our officials may not be able to support us on a third day, and, in fact, some would not be able to take part as they have been told to stay at home for three months, we have been forced to accept defeat and look forward with even more enthusiasm to next year in Manchester. ESAA still hope to stage the Combined Events and Race Walk on the original date in September, but need to look at how to operate this with no preliminaries or regional rounds". Chris Cohen, ESAA

The decision is supported by all the Home Countries and British Athletics as we all understand the reasoning and for this decision. We recognise the disappointment that will be felt by many young athletes, their parents, coaches and schools. We are all planning to ensure that, if and when, the current situation lifts, we will be ready to respond as quickly as we can and will work with all the competition partners to ensure we can maximise what available time there is to enable young athletes to compete in track and field in 2020.

On 22 March, the decision was also made that this year’s English Schools' AA Track & Field Cup will be cancelled. All entries to this year’s competition will receive free entry to the 2021 Cup competition. As the competition is completely staffed by volunteers, as is the whole of the Association, ESAA will not be in a position to refund payments to schools that have entered, but these will be held over until next year’s competition. Click here to read the full statement.

MK5000 PB Special

The event organisers have confirmed that this event, set to feature the England Athletics 5000m Championships, has been postponed.  We will update with any further details when available.

England Athletics National Youth Development Conference

Based on Government directives and in line with our statement circulated on 17 March 2020, we are rescheduling this year's National Youth Development Conference (originally scheduled for 28-29 March).  The proposed rescheduled date is Saturday 19 - Sunday 20 September 2020 (but please note this date may be subject to change and we will follow all guidance provided by the Government and will update accordingly).

*UPDATE* In the meantime, a Youth Development webinar has been scheduled for 10:00 Saturday 28 March. Hosted by Scott Grace, our National Technical Lead for Youth Development, the free webinar is in place of the postponed National Youth Development Conference and will feature presentations on Long Term Athlete Development (10:00-11:00), Developing Training Programmes for Young Athletes (11:30-12:30), Creating an Effective Coaching Environment (13:00-14:00) and What is Athletics 365 and How Can I Use It To Help My Coaching? (14:30-15:30)
Click here to register online

Rightmove MK Marathon Weekend

The organisers of the Rightmove MK Marathon Weekend, scheduled for 2-3 May and acting as an England Masters Marathon qualifying event, have confirmed the event will be postponed. The new date is expected to be 5-6 September but this has not been fully confirmed.

Click here to read the statement from the organisers

Eastern Track and Field champs

The East AA Committee has, regretfully, decided that the 2020 Track and Field Championships has been cancelled. The Hibbard Trophy Meeting , planned for Peterborough, and the Combined Events meeting, scheduled for Bury St Edmunds - both with dates in September - have also both now been cancelled.

Area & National Road Relays

A joint statement from the Midland, Northern and Southern Athletic Associations has confirmed the cancellation of the Area Road Relay Championships due to be held on Sunday 22 March. Click here for more information and to read the official statement circulated by the SEAA.

The ERRA has subsequently confirmed the cancellation of this year's scheduled 4 April National Road Relays.

British Airways Run Gatwick Half Marathon

The British Airways Run Gatwick Half Marathon has been postponed until Sunday 18 October. This event, originally scheduled for 10 May, incorporates the England Half Marathon Championships and is also part of the Champions of the Road initiative.

Click here to visit the official event website and click on 'Postponement Announcement' for more information.

Virgin London Marathon

The Virgin London Marathon has been postponed until 4 October.  This marathon incorporates the England Marathon Championships and is also part of our Champions of the Road initiative.

Click here for current information from the organisers

Fleet Half Marathon

This event was due to host our England v Celtic Nations masters half marathon competition on Sunday 15 March but has been postponed.

Click here to download the statement from the organisers. For anyone selected to run as an England Masters runner, please click here for a further update.

Brighton Marathon

The Brighton Marathon Weekend, also set to act as an England Masters Marathon qualifying race, has been postponed until Friday 18th September - Sunday 20th September (Brighton Marathon, BM10k and BM Ride taking place on Sunday 20th September).

Click here to download the statement from the organisers