After months of going back and forth, the Honolulu Marathon Association announced today that the 48th Honolulu Marathon scheduled for Dec. 13 would not be held.

Organizers said that after consulting with City and County of Honolulu and state officials, they decided that the race will not happen this December.

“We are of course very disappointed to have to cancel the race due to the ongoing COVID situation,” Jim Barahal, CEO and president of the Honolulu Marathon said in a news release. “The team has worked hard to find ways to conduct a safe and socially distanced event, but all stakeholders agree that the appropriate and safest course of action is not to conduct the 2020 Honolulu Marathon, Start to Park 10 and Kalakaua Merrie Mile in December.”

Marathon officials said they are instead planning a virtual experience this year.

The focus will shift to the virtual beach-fest, organizers said, allowing runners and walkers around the world to complete the race from wherever they live.

The experience also includes an online festival area featuring training videos, cooking demos, and music from Hawaii. Runners can earn the official race and finishers shirts by Mizuno as well as the finisher medals.

Runners can select one or any combination of the race distances (Kalakaua Merrie Mile, Start to Park 10k, and Honolulu Marathon), organizers said.