The 38th Mexico City Marathon and the 14th Mexico City Half Marathon are returning to the capital, city government officials announced Monday.

The 42-kilometer foot race will take place on November 28, offering runners only a short training period to prepare. The 21-kilometer Half Marathon is set for December 19.

Both events will be held with COVID-19 safety measures and have a limit of 20,000 participants. The Marathon will begin at Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, in the south of the city, and finish in the capital’s symbolic central square, the zócalo. The Half Marathon will start at the statue of Charles IV of Spain near the Bellas Artes building in the historic center, and finish at the Monument to the Angel of Independence on Reforma Avenue.

Participants will have to pay 650 pesos (US $32) for a place in the Marathon and 500 pesos ($25) to take part in the Half Marathon.

Mexico City Education Minister Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez said health advances have made holding the event possible. “It was very exciting for me to participate for the first time in the organization of a marathon in 2019, then came the pandemic and in 2020 we couldn’t do it … the situation has changed, first because now we have vaccinations with a very important advance in the city, and we have rapid tests,” she said.

Ruiz also provided details of the sanitary measures which would be put in place: “The pandemic is not over, so all participants will be asked to present their proof of vaccination, and a test from no more than 72 hours before they participate … at all times, except when they are running, the participants and the organizers must wear masks … Some that have not been vaccinated, young people, can take a test and present their proof to be able to participate,” she said.

Mexico News Daily