Five Stages of Grief (or Coping with a Cancelled Event)
That dreaded email (or, possibly unexpected post on social media): Your race has been cancelled.
It can be a real gut punch, to say the least, and absolutely devastating for an athlete who has trained for an event, putting in hours of toil and making sacrifices (social, professional, and financial) to arrive at the start line ready to perform their best. There are a myriad of reasons that can lead to the cancellation of a race in the days and weeks leading up to it. Bike races, due to the general downward trend in participation over the years that we’ve written about, have seen last minute combinations of fields or outright cancellations due to low registration numbers. Major running events like the NYC Marathon have been forced to cancel due to unexpected factors outside of their control like the impact of 2012 Superstorm Sandy.
Currently, the COVID-19 (also referred to as coronavirus) pandemic is changing the face of sports (and large events in general) on a global scale. Collegiate and professional basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer, among many sports, have seen suspended seasons or major adjustments to how games are played. The Olympics are in question. Professional bike races are being cancelled, postponed, or cut short. Amateur bike races are largely being put on hold for the spring. And running races are being postponed or cancelled outright.
Scott after the conclusion of last year’s NYC Half Marathon. Unfortunately, his training for this year’s edition came to an end with the event’s pandemic-related cancellation.
Admittedly, cancelling events is the right call in a number of circumstances (especially when it may prevent the spread of disease), but it is fully reasonable for an athlete to experience a wide range of emotional responses when faced with the loss of a race, match, or game. Mourning its loss is downright expected:
Denial.
There’s no way this race is getting cancelled. We can’t bring ourselves to believe what is, or may be, happening. We may even avoid looking for race updates, hoping that things are proceeding normally in the absence of any majorly shared updates. We may plan harder than ever in the days leading up to the event and post pictures on Instagram of packed bags. #raceready. Hey, they’d let me know if there was an issue, right? While it’s certainly, okay to hope that your event will go on as planned, hopefully you can also be mindful of what’s happening surrounding the event (or in the world at large) that may impact it. Bad weather forecast? Pleas from the promoter for increased participation or race sponsorship? Global pandemics? Be aware to avoid being surprised.
Anger.
Ugh! Why me? This isn’t fair! Anger is a fully natural reaction and completely acceptable given the time athletes put into preparation for an event, especially those we may have planned as an “A” race. Hours, days, weeks, all for nothing. As much as that anger is acceptable, be mindful of where you direct it. It may be natural to blame the race organizers for cancelling an event (“How could they not have a contingency plan?!”), but the reality is, the cancellation is likely due to factors (financial, municipal, emergency, health, etc.) beyond their control. They want to hold the event just as much as you’d like to be able to take part.
It may be a while before we’re doing this again (from “So, how was your race? A look at the 2019 Dave Jordan Central Park Classic”)
Bargaining.
What can we do to make this race happen? Facing the cancellation of a race athletes care about, there may be a sudden influx of community spirit. Let’s do this thing! If it were as simple as a race organizer needing more volunteers or registrations, they likely would have asked long before pulling the plug on an event. In fact, they probably already did ask; were you listening? Behind the scenes, event organizers do plenty of bargaining of their own to prevent outright cancellation. The NCAA and NBA both made plans to play basketball games in empty arenas in response to coronavirus concerns before ultimately suspending their seasons. Bike races have made considerations ranging from encouraging fans to stay away to eliminating podium ceremonies. At some point, though, no amount of last minute adjustments are reasonable or helpful. You can post all the “prayer hands” emojis you want, just don’t expect a miracle.
Depression.
I hate everything. I’ll never be fit again. With an event definitively cancelled, what’s the point in even training anymore? I get it, it’s tough to find the motivation to pedal on after having your race “taken away” from you. (Heck, if you’re giving up on bikes and cutting some awesome, fire-sale deals, I may even be interested.) This feeling may be even more prevalent in current, pandemic times given that it’s hard to tell when events will return to some shade of normal. But also, here’s the thing, at the end of the day, when all that’s said and done, when push comes to shove, remember why sport matters to you. I can’t say that it’s the same for everyone, but cycling (and running) for me are their own reward; everything else is just a bonus.
Acceptance.
It’s going to be okay. It really is; I promise. Your event isn’t happening, but life still is. Things have changed, there’s no denying that, but the changes don’t have to be your downfall. Embrace the little things. You’re not travelling four hours (or more) to race a 45-minute crit? Great, ride your bike anyway. Base training never goes out of style. Still have the urge to race? Hop into a Zwift race and be prepared to question the accuracy of everyone’s self-reported watts-per-kilogram. Was it a running race that got cancelled? Run the distance solo anyway and treat it like a time trial. Then, spend the extra time with friends and family you definitely neglected when preparing for your event. Thank and support event organizers for their efforts in making your race happen, put it back on your calendar for next year (or later in the season if it is getting rescheduled), and embrace your new chance to prepare for an event that you were probably questioning your fitness for anyway.
And perhaps most importantly, if you need to take time away from the sport to support friends, family, and community through this pandemic don’t hesitate to do so. We’re all in this together and bikes will be there for us when we get through this.
I am a New York City based cyclist who hasn’t found a way to quit the sport in the 10+ years since I moved to the East Coast from the Midwest. Former, and occasional, runner, full-time high school teacher, bourbon and cat aficionado.
Instagram (especially if you love cats): @myvelolife
