We are concerned about the hundreds of thousands of people who will be traveling to Los Angeles for the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon March 8 when the new coronavirus is spreading globally.

Many large scale events all over the world have been cancelled due to the new coronavirus. For example, the French canceled the Paris Half Marathon last week in an attempt to control the further spread of the disease. In Italy, the historic Venice carnival has been canceled and various fashion shows over Milan Fashion Week did not go ahead. Tokyo Marathon urged spectators to avoid the course and limited its race to elite runners. The Arnold sports festival in Ohio will have athletes competing but there will be no spectators.

Italy had 20 confirmed new coronavirus cases on Feb 21. As of today, less than 2 weeks later, there are 3927 cases confirmed in Italy. The Los Angeles Marathon will bring 25000 runners, not counting in numerous spectators. This will significantly increase the risk of Coronavirus spreading in Los Angeles.

Please consider our petition of postponing/canceling the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon for the safety of Los Angeles residents, especially the children, the elderly, the pregnant, and people with the weak immune system and pre-existing conditions.

Thank you!