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Engadin Ski Maraton Cancelled
The Engadin Skimarathon 2021 will not take place Samedan, January 6, 2021.
The Engadin Skimarathon fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic for the second time. Due to the uncertainty about the development of the pandemic and the future regulations for events, the largest cross-country skiing event in the Alps cannot take place this winter either.
However, fans of the “Engadiner” can cover the distance from Maloja to S-chanf individually during the Engadin marathon week. The Engadin Skimarathon provides timekeeping for this.
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The largest cross-country skiing event in the Alps has to be cancelled this winter.
The Engadin Marathon Week 2021, with the Engadin Skimarathon, the Engadin Women's Race, the Engadin Night Race, and the ST.MORITZ SUPERSPRINT has to be cancelled for the second time due to the pandemic.
The registrations that have already been made will automatically be carried over to the following event in 2022.
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Since the summer, the organizers had developed comprehensive protection concepts and examined alternative implementation formats, such as a race over several days or with a massively reduced number of participants.
Two months before the start of the event week, however, there is still a considerable risk that the races will still not be approved. «We need at least two months' lead time in order to be able to hold the events of the Engadin Marathon Week in the usual quality, atmosphere and safety,» explains Menduri Kasper, CEO of the Engadin Skimarathon.
He very much regrets the cancellation: «Our hearts bleed, but the health of the participants and our volunteers is our top priority. Unfortunately, it is still unclear how the pandemic and government protective measures will develop. That is why we had to decide at the turn of the year to cancel our popular marathon week races again.»
Individual run with timekeeping and possible elite race Despite the regrettable cancellation, the Engadin expects many cross-country skiers in the first two weeks of March - and they shouldn't have to do without the Engadin entirely.
From March 5th to 14th, the organizers will therefore operate permanent timekeeping in cooperation with Datasport. With the “Engadin Skimarathon-individual”, the original marathon route from Maloja to S-chanf can be run individually without large crowds of people.
If you want to take advantage of the offer, you can register on the Engadin Skimarathon website and a receive timing chip. A contribution towards expenses of CHF 20 is required for participation.
For the marathon Sunday, March 14th, the implementation of a pure elite race is also being examined. This would not be affected by the currently applicable ban on events and could be broadcast worldwide in the media.
A decision on the implementation of a pure elite race is expected in January.
The largest cross-country skiing event in the Alps An elite race is of course no substitute for the real Engadin Skimarathon, says Kasper: «The Engadin Skimarathon is a popular race, but it is also very popular with many athletes of the world's elite and receives worldwide media coverage.
So we are looking into whether we can run a race for professionals. But without the many thousands of people's runners and the tens of thousands of spectators along the way, the Engadin Skimarathon won't be the same for them either.»
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The Engadin Marathon Week with its four races and almost 20,000 participants and volunteers is the largest cross-country skiing festival in the Alpine region. «Nothing can replace the marathon week for the participants, their families, friends and our more than a thousand volunteers,» says CEO Menduri Kasper.
«With the "Engadin Skimarathon-individual" we still want to try to create a marathon atmosphere without forgetting the safety of the participants.»
The next “real” Engadin Skimarathon will take place on Sunday, March 13th, 2022.
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Information and registration for the Engadin Skimarathon-individual