RUNNERS who were set to take part in the Colchester Half Marathon will still get their medal but won’t get a refund.

More than 3,500 runners were set to take to the streets again for the tenth annual event.

The milestone race was due to be held on Sunday, March 29.

In a statement the organisers said: “A half marathon is hundreds of miles in training, with the last 13.1 recorded on race day. As an acknowledgement of all that hard work, we will be distributing medals and technical t-shirts to all entrants.

“The logistics to do this right now would break the sanctions imposed by Covid-19 and the health and safety of everyone is out main priority. Once the sanctions are loosened/lifted, we will make it a priority that this takes place.

“We decided to cancel the event rather than postpone as it is incredibly complex to organise a race of this size using a volunteer team and usually takes a whole year to plan.

“Along with that we have no idea how long the current situation will last and more importantly we could not, in good conscience, plan an event which would place further demands on the medical profession at a time when all their energy is still likely to be required for the vulnerable in our society.

“A lot of costs have been incurred before cancellation, and we still want to support our charities at this time when we feel they need our help more than ever.

“Last year we raised £65,000 for our chosen charities so we’d love to do all we can this year despite the current situation we find ourselves in.

“Due to this we are unable to offer anyone a refund or deferral into the 2021 event.

“However we are offering a £10 discount to the 2021 event for all paid entrants of the 2020 event.

“Details of how to obtain this discount will be shared once entries open later in the year.”