Tough road to recovery

Even with the country downgrading COVID-19 emergency levels to boost the economy, the struggle for race organizers doesn't look like it will ease any time soon, according to Song Hongfei, a senior vice-president of Wisdom Sports.

"Actually, there is not much time left for the entire year of 2020 to get our business back on track," Song was quoted in a recent Xinhua report.

"It takes at least three months to organize a running race, but we still see no signs of the government easing restrictions on mass sporting events like marathons at the moment.

"We've prepared for the worst-case scenario of having no races allowed to be held throughout this year."

Beijing was among a number of major cities to last week announce that certain types of public and commercial outdoor sports venues will gradually be reopened－on condition that operators maintain strict virus-prevention measures and guarantee at least 2.5 square meters of space for each exerciser.

However, facilities for activities involving body contact and big crowds won't be allowed to open for business any time soon, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau has stressed.

"Any irresponsible action found against the epidemic control and prevention policies will result in severe penalties. The health of the public is the top priority," Yang Haibin, a deputy director of the bureau, said at last week's media briefing.

Last Thursday's cancellation of the 2020 Chengdu Panda Marathon showed that local governing bodies and organizers remain vigilant against the virus despite a growing urge among the running community to get back to normality.

"It's been a tough waiting game for everyone and even fatal for some of the smaller players," said Liu Wei, general manager of Jiangsu Sports Marketing Co Ltd, one of the biggest marathon operators in Jiangsu province.

"The epidemic caught the business in the traditional peak season for road races. Our loss over the past two months is estimated to be as big as half our entire year's revenue."