March 23, 2020

Dear Run Like a Mother participants (please read all and read closely), 

Sometimes, the best planned parties get foiled. It is with very heavy hearts that we have to cancel the in-person Run Like a Mother races at all of our locations because of the social distance mandates. We want every single one of you to stay safe and keep our communities safe.

Running however, is not cancelled. In fact, running can be the gamechanger to your outlook and sanity. We are always training for whatever life throws at us, and we need to keep that up for our own peace of mind and to show our children that caring for ourselves in the midst of crisis is paramount. Run Like a Mother’s mission has always been to help women take care of themselves, so that they may take care of life! We need that now more than ever.

If you've already registered for the in-person race, you’ll have choices for your registration. You do not need to take any action now. By the end of this week, please check your email for instructions. The choices will be:

• Switch to the Virtual Race. What is a Virtual Race? You get to run the 3.1 miles at any point on Mother’s Day weekend, anywhere it’s safe to do so (including a treadmill). You will receive:Run Like a Mother tech tee
  • race bib
  • fabulous eco-friendly packable tote
  • beautiful finisher’s medal
  • Run Like a Mother training program
  • Be  part of the virtual running community to support you as you train.
  • All will be mailed to you the week before Mother’s Day weekend. THEN, you’ll be able to upload your results to show that you finished the race. The price for Virtual is $19.99. You will be refunded any difference in the price you paid for the in-person race. There will be no refunds given, for any reason, after you choose this option.
• Defer to 2021’s race. There is no cost to defer, and you will not have to pay again next year. (Note that if you choose this option and ultimately don’t run the 2021 race for any reason, there are no refunds from what you paid in 2020.)
• Full refund.

Producing the Run Like a Mother Race Series is a labor of love. We are runners and we understand the disappointment of having a favorite race cancelled. We want this race to continue for years to come and have 2020 just be a “blip” in the past. Being a Mom & Pop operation (really a “Mom, Mom & Mom” operation, literally 3 people), and not a large business or corporation, canceling the races is a huge logistical and financial challenge for us, with hundreds of hours put in already. By the time races are 8 weeks away, we have sunk 70%-80% of the costs into the races that we likely will not get back, endangering future races.

We like to joke that producing a race is a bit like planning a giant wedding: You plan months (sometimes years) in advance, pay vendors up front, hope for good weather, and you want everyone to have a great time. The one difference is, we never truly know how many guests will attend. The wedding is now canceled but we’re still on the hook for many of our vendors. Not to mention the various charity partners that our races support, they’ll be taking a hit, too. The ripple-effect of event and race companies being shut down indefinitely will be painful, no doubt.

We kindly ask for your patience as we update our different cities’ sites and registration platforms to get ready for you to make your choices. There is no playbook for this, and some races out there are not even offering refunds. 

We hope that no matter what, you stay well and when all of this is over, you’ll come back to us.

Keep moving forward, 

Megan, Nancy, and Erin

The Run Like a Mother Team (National)