WEBVTT 00:01.200 --> 00:03.783 (upbeat music) 00:07.390 --> 00:08.680 - Hey everyone, I'm Brandon Huff, 00:08.680 --> 00:10.380 the Director of the Air Force Marathon, 00:10.380 --> 00:12.000 and as you may have recently heard, 00:12.000 --> 00:15.490 we have canceled race day for 2020. 00:15.490 --> 00:18.770 I wanted to briefly discuss what drove that decision 00:18.770 --> 00:21.050 and who helped us make that decision 00:21.050 --> 00:23.450 and what the options are going forward. 00:23.450 --> 00:25.290 We have an incredible responsibility 00:25.290 --> 00:29.000 to not only our participants but to our entire community, 00:29.000 --> 00:33.320 our 45 sponsors, our numerous partners on and off base, 00:33.320 --> 00:35.830 the runners, as I mentioned, and ultimately, 00:35.830 --> 00:37.500 to all Airmen. 00:37.500 --> 00:41.300 We met a lot with public health officials, safety officials, 00:41.300 --> 00:45.170 our fire department, Air Force leadership, 00:45.170 --> 00:47.630 and we all walked through the variables. 00:47.630 --> 00:49.260 And as we walked through those variables 00:49.260 --> 00:51.490 it became clear that there was no way forward 00:51.490 --> 00:54.330 to produce a safe and fun event, 00:54.330 --> 00:55.970 which is what we expect of our self 00:55.970 --> 00:58.200 and what our participants have come to expect 00:58.200 --> 00:59.450 at our event. 00:59.450 --> 01:01.710 Further, 50% of our runners 01:01.710 --> 01:03.680 come from more than 50 miles away, 01:03.680 --> 01:05.650 so there's a lot of travel plans 01:05.650 --> 01:07.190 and flights that have to be purchased 01:07.190 --> 01:09.620 and hotel nights that need booked. 01:09.620 --> 01:12.537 And a lot of those aren't often refundable. 01:12.537 --> 01:14.300 And so we're doing a disservice to our own participants 01:14.300 --> 01:16.640 and spectators who come from afar 01:16.640 --> 01:19.230 if we continue on like it's business as usual 01:19.230 --> 01:22.858 and then cancel just two to four weeks out from the event. 01:22.858 --> 01:25.720 That said, while we won't all be at the start line 01:25.720 --> 01:28.040 on September 19th this year, 01:28.040 --> 01:30.810 we will be offering some options 01:30.810 --> 01:32.010 for those who are already registered 01:32.010 --> 01:34.350 or those who weren't registered and want to be involved. 01:34.350 --> 01:36.590 You can switch to our virtual event. 01:36.590 --> 01:39.135 You an do that with 5K, 10K, 01:39.135 --> 01:41.289 Half, Full or Fly! Fight! Win! Challenge 01:41.289 --> 01:43.951 and we will mail you your shirt and medal and bib and patch. 01:43.951 --> 01:46.360 You can defer, if you were already registered, 01:46.360 --> 01:50.170 to 2021, 2022 or 2023, 01:50.170 --> 01:52.000 and you don't have to choose which year right now. 01:52.000 --> 01:53.310 You just simply let us know 01:53.310 --> 01:55.390 that you would like to defer your entry 01:55.390 --> 01:56.570 and in a future year, 01:56.570 --> 01:58.410 when you decide you're ready to come back, 01:58.410 --> 02:01.610 we will compliment your entry so that's free. 02:01.610 --> 02:04.773 You can also gift your entry this year 02:04.773 --> 02:05.606 to an Airmen for next year. 02:05.606 --> 02:08.060 So we will be offering free entries next year 02:08.060 --> 02:11.500 so we want to encourage people to consider donating 02:11.500 --> 02:12.940 or gifting us their entry 02:12.940 --> 02:15.670 so that we can give more entries to our Airmen, 02:15.670 --> 02:17.960 so they can participate in this event. 02:17.960 --> 02:20.290 We hope you understand that this was a tough decision 02:20.290 --> 02:22.300 and everyone on our team is heartbroken 02:22.300 --> 02:23.133 by this decision. 02:23.133 --> 02:25.670 We all want to join you all on race day. 02:25.670 --> 02:27.030 This means so much to all of us 02:27.030 --> 02:29.090 and to our entire community, 02:29.090 --> 02:32.010 but we ultimately want to produce a safe and fun event 02:32.010 --> 02:34.210 and we felt we could not do that this year, 02:34.210 --> 02:35.650 but we know we will do it next year 02:35.650 --> 02:38.770 for the 25th anniversary Air Force Marathon 02:39.733 --> 02:41.856 on September 18th and we hope you'll join us then. 02:41.856 --> 02:44.439 (guitar music)