Since our 2020 cancellation, we have been hard at work to make changes for 2021 that will improve your experience and follow the State and Federal guidelines regarding COVID-19. We will be implementing the following procedures in order to operate a safe and successful event. All of these details will be available in the Final Runner Instructions on April 15th.

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REMEMBER THAT WE MUST FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES TO HAVE AN IN-PERSON EVENT.

SHOULD THINGS IMPROVE WE WILL MODIFY THE EVENT ELEMENTS.

THE FINAL DECISION ON THE LOOK OF THE EVENT WILL BE MADE ON APRIL 2ND.

AS OF RIGHT NOW, HERE IS HOW THE EVENT WILL WORK:

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48 Hour Health Waiver

We will require that ALL participants complete an online Health Waiver 48 hours prior to the event. Detailed instructions and a link to the Health Waiver will be mailed to you on April 15th and will be available at www.hofmarathon.com

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No In-Person Race Expo

We will mail everyone their race bib along with race weekend instructions on April 15th. If you have MOVED since you registered please send us your new mailing address - racedirector@hofmarathon.com

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Limited Race Capacity

We are only allowing 700 Marathoners, 2000 Half Marathoners, 200 Five Person Relay Teams, 50 Two Person Relay Teams, and 1100 Draft Day 5K participants for the IN-PERSON race. We have a limited number of VIRTUAL spaces as well.

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Parking on Saturday

All Draft Day 5K runners will park in Downtown Canton using public parking. A diagram and directions for all garage and surface lots will be sent to you on April 15th, and will be available in the Final Runner Instructions.

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Parking on Sunday

All Marathoners and those who purchased Preferred Parking will park next to the race site. We do not have additional preferred parking passes available. Half Marathoners will park at Belden Village Mall and be shuttled to the race site. Shuttles will run in a loop all day long. Team Relay parking will be announced in February.

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Runner Drop Off

We will have a designated drop off location / route if you are being dropped off rather than parking. Details will be in the Final Runner Instructions.

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Wave Starts / Assigned Corrals / Assigned Start Times

We have devised a system to keep the number of runners starting and finishing at the same time to a minimum. Remember we HAVE to follow these COVID-19 rules.

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How it will work for the SATURDAY Event:

• All runners will be placed in corrals based on Pace Per Mile

• Waves will be released every 2 minutes

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How it will work for the SUNDAY Events:

• All runners will be assigned a Stadium Entry Time and a Starting Time.

• All Marathoners and the FIRST Person in the Team Relays will start between 7:00am and 7:15am.

• All Half Marathoners will start between 8:10am and 10:00am.

• Half Marathoners CANNOT start before 8:10am.

• NO Spectators before or after the race are allowed in the Stadium.

• NO Family Finishers in 2021. Proceeds from the 2020 Family Finisher bibs have been donated to the Timken Family Cancer Center.

• Runners will only be allowed in the Stadium at their ASSIGNED ENTRY TIME and not before.

• Those who are running BOTH the Half Marathon and 5 Person Team Relay must be runner #4 on their team. Detailed Team Relay information will be posted in February and in the Final Runner Instructions.

• Those who are running BOTH the Marathon and 5 Person Team Relay must be runner #1 on their team. Detailed Team Relay information will be posted in February and in the Final Runner Instructions.

• Those who start as a Marathoner and drop down to the Half Marathon during the race will finish at Exchange Zone #3 and NOT in the Stadium.

• Marathoners, Half Marathoners, and Team Relay runners will slowly MERGE together at Mile 13.3 over a staggered period of time. For example, the 2 hour Half Marathoner will join the 4 hour Marathoner at Mile 13.3.

• The Half Marathon course will be run on the Second Half of the Marathon Course.

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Modified Water Stations

We will utilize contact free water stations along the course. Each station will have 8 ounce bottles of water for you to take. Bottle deposit containers will be placed 200 meters past each water station for you to deposit your bottles.

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Gatorade / Gel Stations

We will NOT have Gel Stations along the course. We recommend that you carry the nutrition that you used during your training. We will ONLY have TWO Gatorade Stations. One will be after Marathon Mile 11 and one will be after Marathon Mile 20 / Half Marathon Mile 7.

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Neighborhood Cheering / Spectators

Letters will go out to all homes on the course requesting that they come out and cheer for you AT A SAFE DISTANCE. We will ask them to keep at least a 12 foot distance from the course. We will provide Course Entertainment in as many places as possible.

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No Post-Race Party

After crossing the finish line you will receive a bottle of water. You will then proceed out of the Stadium. Along the way be given a box containing your finisher medal, fleece blanket (Sunday events), event shirt, snacks, and a beverage.

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Masking and Physical Distancing

• All runners MUST wear a mask to enter the Stadium prior to the start.

• All runners MUST keep their mask on in the corral area UNTIL 30 seconds before your individual start.

• We are asking that you carry your mask during the race.

• All runners MUST wear a mask after you cross the finish line until you exit the Stadium.

• We will provide a mask to you if you lost your mask during the race.

• We reserve the right to refuse entry into the Stadium if you refuse to wear a mask.

• We reserve the right to NOT recognize your finish if you refuse to wear a mask.

• We will provide a safe, physically distanced plan at the start, on the course, and at the finish.

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Additional Procedures

We reserve the right to modify the race environment, based on COVID-19 conditions, that will allow us to safely run in-person. We will continually monitor and comply with State and Federal Guidelines. 

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In-Person vs Virtual

All In-Person participants have the opportunity to participate Virtually. Virtual runners who wish to change to the in-person option must contact us and will only be granted access if we have space based on our in-person capacity.

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