Montreal Marathon cancelled again, registered runners can get refund or wait until next year

The Montreal Marathon is cancelled once again as organizers say there is just no guarantee what sort of public health restrictions will be in place by the end of September.

"Even if the forecasts seem optimistic, the fact remains that there is uncertainty and that the nature of our event involves significant operational and human planning that cannot be resolved at the last minute," said Sébastien Arsenault, chair and CEO of Grand Prix Cyclistes de Montréal (GPCQM).

The GPCQM had partnered with Beneva, an insurance company, to host the event. Back in March, organizers said the Montreal Marathon had the green light and even opened registration for a activities to be held between Sept. 24 and 26.

Those activities included races for people of all ages and abilities, on up to the full 42.2-kilometre marathon.

Recently, Montreal was upgraded to a yellow zone under Quebec's colour-coded COVID-19 alert system as the Quebec government rolls back restrictions across the province. The number of new daily cases is dropping significantly and vaccination rates continue to climb.

Regardless, Arsenault said there is "no guarantee" that public restrictions won't return in the fall, reducing the size of events or cancelling them altogether.

"Agility has its limits, especially when occupying public space and involving a significant deployment of its services," he said.

Arsenault said it appears more respectful and responsible to postpone the event once again, holding it next year when the race will be able to live up to expectations.

Participants who registered for the 2021 edition have the choice between a full refund, including transaction costs, or postponing their registration to the event slated for Sept. 23 to 25 in 2022.

This news comes only a few days after the cancellation of the Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, which were to be held on September 10 and 12.