Sun and Sand? Candelaria? Flamingo Beach Marathon? All of those seem like names too far away now that we're about to mark a year since the last massive race held in Costa Rica. How far are we from experiencing a race of that magnitude in Costa Rica again?
People are already ready and feel safe to participate in massive events. At A Buen Paso we conducted a survey in which we asked: "If today the government approved a race with 2000 people, would you dare to run it?". At the time of writing this note, 77% had answered yes, "outdoors and with protocols there's no problem", while 16% said they didn't feel safe yet and 5% would have to think about it.
Beyond people's perception, what do the facts say? Perhaps the most significant data we have on hand so far is that of a Japanese study conducted between July and October 2020. In those three months, 787 running races were held in Japan (how we envy that) with more than half a million participants in total (685,000), and of all of them, there was only one case of COVID-19 among participants two weeks after participating in the event.
The Japanese research certainly suggests that outdoor athletics events held following certain basic protocols are very safe and will not cause massive virus spread. The protocols that most international races are implementing today include staggered starts, stricter participant limits, use of masks in the start and finish areas, and widespread use of protective equipment and disinfection among support staff.
In Costa Rica, for now, only trail events are being held, an immense joy without a doubt and a much-needed escape for many in times of pandemic. The reason is that they are open spaces where you can better control the public entering the area, companions, etc. and events generally with much lower participation than road events.
Oscar Delgado, head of the road racing division of the Costa Rican Athletics Federation (Fecoa), explains that they have been working for months on a protocol for road events, but so far the documents have not been approved by the Ministry of Sports (MD) and Health (MS). The latest version of the protocol was sent two weeks ago to MD and if it receives approval, it will then be sent for approval by MS. Campos clarifies, though, that the return will be limited: "The resumption will not be as we're used to, it's being proposed that it be in completely enclosed places, where you can control the entry of people and visitors, events in the streets will not be allowed yet, they won't be massive races, possibly it will be by wave".
Since approval depends on various ministries, there is still no defined timeline for the return of road events, despite the fact that bars, casinos and other enclosed places and with much greater risk have already been open for months. Costa Rican bureaucracy, for now, has us tied up and with no option to win our longed-for medals.
