500 Festival Mini-Marathon Becomes ‘Virtual Race’ Because Of COVID-19 Restrictions – WFYI

The 500 Festival announced Wednesday it is suspending all planned, in-person events scheduled through May 9, including the mini-marathon and 5K races scheduled for May 2.

Instead of the traditional gathering that draws tens of thousands of runners in downtown Indianapolis, the two events will become virtual races. This means, runners will complete the race distance remotely and submit their times. The 500 Festival says it will contact those registered for the races with details on how to particpate, and other options.

The move to suspend the in-person events comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to cancel, postpone or provide virtual options for all large events for the next eight weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The 500 Festival says it will attempt to reschedule its Kick Off to May event, originally scheduled for April 29, as CDC guidelines permit.