Newport and Middletown officials are urging runners who had planned on participating in this weekend’s Newport Marathon and Half Marathon to stay close to home and avoid running in groups amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Over the last several days, it has come to the attention of local authorities that a number of participants in the now cancelled Newport Marathon have expressed an interest in traveling to Aquidneck Island this weekend to run the previously established course, which runs through parts of Newport and Middletown.
Runners, however, are being reminded that Rhode Island remains under a strict mandatory Stay at Home Order and any group of five or more people is expressly prohibited.
Newport and Middletown police will be conducting open-air compliance checks for groups of runners over the coming days and will be working closely with race organizers to discourage organized group runs while the Governor’s Executive Order on public gatherings remains in place.
