Want to Participate in On-site Running Events? Get Vaccinated First!

A vaccination card may soon join your list of requirements for participating in offline running events

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It’s likely that COVID-19 will stick around for longer, and it’s time we considered the possibility that running events may require you to be fully vaccinated before you can participate.

And that’s not just us throwing the theory out here for the sake of rhetoric, especially as sporting events around the globe are beginning to resume so long as health protocols are complied to. But with athletes testing positive for COVID one after another, you have to ask: Are these still enough for sports organizers to prevent super-spreader events if held at large-scale?

Sports in the pandemic

Sporting events that push through without requiring participants and spectators to be fully vaccinated have so far been a miss; even for distanced sports like golf.

In golf, the Barbarsol Championship saw a number of players test positive mid-tournament. Ted Purdy and Chris Couch testing positive recently brings up the total tally for the event to four.

In much recent news, the upcoming Tokyo Olympics has also been met with a fair amount of athlete withdrawals due to COVID. USA tennis representative Coco Gauff is the recent headliner.

Zooming into our own local scene, we look into the postponement of Perlas Spikers’ matches after one of their players tested positive. Just a few weeks following the incident of seven members and one coach testing positive just last June.

Those considered, you could expect that race and sporting events organizers are taking notes on how to better improve their safeguards against the virus in future events.

‘No vaccination, no participation’

Given the rising count of athletes testing positive, some would say that you should be glad rather than surprised at the dropping of ‘no vaccination, no participation’ directives for sporting events.

On an international scale, we saw the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games impose the same requirement for country delegates, prior to its postponement. Locally, the NCAA Management Committee also eyed a requirement for student-athletes to be fully vaccinated prior to participating in games, according to reports back in June.

To date, there have been no recent reports of student-athletes testing positive for the virus.

Those considered, there’s little room for doubt that this is the likely direction all sporting events will go. The next question you should be asking yourself at this point is: How are you preparing for this imminent reality for races?

Preparing to race again

As sports event organizers ourselves, we at Pinoy Fitness see full vaccination as the most effective countermeasure against on-ground transmissions as well.

Although there are still a ton of details to iron out, we foresee that our races and that of others, will also include full vaccination records as part of registration prerequisites. This is a requirement we hope you in the running community will welcome as we seek to race together safely once again.

So if you haven’t registered to get in line for a vaccine, we urge that you consider it, and find the resources below helpful in getting yourself a shot at a jab:

Local vaccination guidelines

Resources on where and how to register for a vaccine and other helpful information

Fact checks and explainers on vaccines and COVID-19 treatment

Once you’re fully vaccinated, all that’s left for you to do is to make sure the details on your vaccination record are accurate, and that it’s kept safe at all times. Don’t lose your vaccination record, and have it ready for presenting whenever, and wherever required.

Who knows, in a few months, “wherever” may just be on the starting line of the racing grounds. Found this information helpful? Share it with a runner who needs to know about it. Join or start a discussion on how you think organizers can best guarantee the safety of racers on the Pinoy Fitness Community Facebook Group. We’d love to hear your thoughts.