Not much to post lately as I have been adjusting to my new normal of reporting on both sports and news, next to nothing to cover and working 65 to 70 hours per week since April due to taking on a second job for additional income in this pandemic. Area meet officials and event organizers are adjusting to their new normal, too, as I learned while writing this story.
A modified summer: Recreation schedules adjusted due to COVID-19
mhereford@postregister.com
By this time of year, Vector Timing and Race Management would be almost two months into one of the busiest stretches for their business.
COVID-19 has brought sports to a standstill since late March, starting with the suspension and ultimately cancellation of high school sports by the Idaho High School Activities Association on April 17. Road races and triathlons have been the latest to be postponed, canceled or modified, making the summer look much different for race directors and timing companies like Vector.
Rather than juggling timing races with teaching and coaching track, Janson Jardine of Vector Timing said he and father-in-law, Sugar-Salem track coach and Vector Timing owner Brett Hill, have spent the last couple months teaching students via online learning and building Hill’s new house.
“We’re still busy … it’s just a different kind of busy,” Jardine said. “Normally by now, I would’ve been timing at least 15 or 20 races in the last two months. We would’ve been pulling two different races every single weekend. Once they made the decision to close school, races started dropping like flies.”
Due to the numerous cancellations and postponements, the first event of the summer Vector will be timing is the 30th annual To Bone and Back 40-mile Relay and Ultramarathon on June 27 at Summit Orthopaedics. The status of the ultra race was in question until May 27, when the city of Ammon approved a permit for the race.
Jardine said the race will be modified to comply with local and state COVID-19 measures. While there will be no changes to the course itself, the start will be in waves like what the Boston Marathon does and aid stations will be minimized to reduce contact. The modifications also include making as much of the race as ‘grab and go’ as possible, from packet pickup to aid stations to fewer post-race food and drinks, and possibly scrapping the awards ceremony.
Big plans were originally in place for To Bone and Back, which turns 30 this year, but Jardine said the health of the community is top priority.
“It’s gonna be a memorable one, but not it the way were were really hoping,” Jardine said. “We’ve been appreciative of everybody’s patience. We want to be good community citizens and adhere to following local policies. We don’t want to be the cause of any spread.”
Registration for To Bone and Back is still open, and completing registration by midnight Wednesday with the promo code COVID will reduce the entry fee by $10.
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