"Following an emergency meeting of board members of The Two Oceans Marathon NPC on Saturday, it was unanimously decided that all Two Oceans Marathon events scheduled for [April 8 – 11, 2020] would be cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the global spread of the coronavirus," the organisers said in a statement.

“We have been monitoring the status of the novel coronavirus pandemic as events have unfolded internationally and locally and we’ve consulted with public health experts and authorities,” race director Debra Barnes said in the statement.

“The health and safety of the competitors, staff, sponsors, and the global community are paramount and an event of this scale poses far too great a risk to continue. Guided by this priority and global best practice, the TOM NPC has made the difficult decision to cancel the world’s most beautiful ultra marathon for 2020.”

Two Oceans Marathon acknowledged that many runners would be disappointed at the cancellation and was committed to ensuring a spectacular race experience for all role-players at next year’s event.

"Further information will be made available in due course and we will be in direct communication with the runners who had entered the 2020 Two Oceans Marathon," the statement said.

African News Agency (ANA)