Trail Mix | Coronavirus: Runners should take social distancing seriously and ditch the ‘anything is possible’ attitude in the face of unknown risks
- Trail and ultra runners have a dogged attitude to overcome any issue, but do not let that become hubris in the face of the coronavirus
Trail runners are a hardy bunch. We push through pain and discomfort, then have a good laugh about how much “fun” it was. Then we do it all over again the following weekend.
Sometimes, however, that rugged determination morphs dangerously into misplaced stubbornness. Our dogged belief that anything is possible can blind us to risks and vulnerabilities far beyond our control.
This much should be obvious: Covid-19, the disease caused by Sars-CoV-2, is a massive threat about which we still know very little, and the least we can do as individuals is to try to minimise all risks as much as possible.
That means taking social distancing seriously, refraining from social gatherings like group runs and the few races that haven’t been cancelled. Yes, you can take precautions like making sure runners are spaced out and doing staggered starts so people aren’t bunched together. But we have no idea what those measures actually do in terms of reducing the risk of exposure and transmission.
Why risk finding out? By all means (at least for now, anyway) go for runs on uncrowded trails with a friend or two, provided you know that they and their contacts have been careful. But until the risk of an imminent widespread community outbreak subsides, the responsible thing to do is to avoid groups and crowds.
