(ONA) — The organisers of OMAN by UTMB®, Oman Sail, have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the Middle East’s premier trail running event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the advice of the Omani Ministry of Health, the third edition of the event, which was due to take place from 5-8 December, will now be postponed until 2021, with the date to be announced in the coming weeks.

Of the participants already signed up to the 2020 event, 83% are international runners. UTMB® Group are currently working closely with the organisers to finalise the date of the 2021 edition, as well as the terms of refund and transfer of entry for registered runners, which will be confirmed soon.

Catherine Poletti, UTMB® Group President, commented, “We fully support the organisers of OMAN by UTMB® in their decision to cancel this year’s event. The health and safety of participants, staff, spectators as well as all the people and communities working on all UTMB® Group events are of the highest priority to us and it is our responsibility to do what we can to contain the ongoing threat the virus poses.

“Our efforts are now focused on the next edition in 2021, and on providing trail runners with the opportunity to discover the incredible landscapes of Oman, which are unlike anywhere else in the world.”

OMAN by UTMB® offers 3 distances for runners who wish to experience an epic and technical adventure, including a 150km ultra. In 2019, 2,000 runners from over 60 countries had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the natural beauty of Oman, experiencing trails that took them through deep wadis, high ridges, ancient villages, and more than 2,200M of elevation gain onto Jebel Akhdar, the Green Mountain.

OMAN by UTMB® is part of UTMB® Group family of events, that includes Asian events Thailand by UTMB®, Panda Trail by UTMB® and Gaoligong by UTMB®, as well as European events Val d’Aran by UTMB®, and the pinnacle event, UTMB® Mont Blanc.