“This paper offers interim guidance on safely operating running events in the time period between the beginning of vaccine rollout in the United States and prior to full epidemic control,” writes Dr. Nichols, who has worked with numerous U.S.-based races on safety protocols for resuming live events.

“As vaccination rates increase across the country, eventually the likelihood of severe diseases and mortality will decline, as will the likelihood of transmission events. However, during this transition period between a pandemic phase and endemic phase of the epidemic, many mitigation requirements are still required to keep participants, staff, volunteers, and spectators safe.”