Low coronavirus-risk trail races should be ‘facilitated and encouraged’ by authorities, says HKU epidemiologist

The chances of spreading Covid-19 at a trail run are low, but the overall health benefits warrant a return of racing for a physical and mental boost

In time, a vaccine should be enough to enter a race rather than waiting on a negative test

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Social distancing and masks at the start of second trail event since Covid-19 began. Photos: Action Asia Events

Published: 8:00am, 28 Apr 2021Updated: 3:15pm, 28 Apr 2021

Trail racing should be allowed to return after a year of cancellations and postponements, because it is low risk for Covid-19 and has other health benefits, said Professor Ben Cowling, head of the division of epidemiology and biostatistics at Hong Kong University.

Two recent races by Action Asia Events suggested a return to normalcy for the trail running community, but even with stringent Covid-19 measures in place and no infections as a result of the events, the racing calendar remains empty.

“I think it’s something [the government] should allow and even facilitate. Outdoors, with minimal crowds and minimal close contact, even if a competitor did have Covid-19, it’s unlikely that there would be any transmission anyway,” Cowling said.

At the Action Asia Events, runners needed to provide a negative tests within 48 hours of the race’s start, they wore masks at the start area, finish area and the first and last 100m of the course. There were no checkpoints, so there was no bottleneck or gathering midcourse. The start line was socially distanced, and on the second event when there were more competitors, there were two waves to spread the runners.

Lining up 1.5m apart before the race – trail races present minimal risk and should be encouraged.

“People should be encouraged to do these activities,” Cowling said. “It’s good for people’s physical and mental health generally, not just trail running but all outdoor activities.”

“I don’t think [doing outdoor activities] would reduce the risk Covid-19 infections, the risk is already very low. The only thing that would reduce the risk is getting everyone to stay at home, but that has other consequences so its preferable for people to go out and about in the countryside, being active, as its good for there health. It’s definitely less risk than going shopping, drinking in a bar, taking public transport, sitting in shared offices even with masks or doing karaoke.”