No Echigo in 2020

Echigo Country Trail in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan unfortunately has to throw in the towel for this season. The event was scheduled for the weekend of 20/21 June as usual, but in the light of the corona situation it cannot be held on government orders, as announced officially today by the event organisation.

This is no postponement, but a cancellation. The event will return on the programme in 2021. 

Echigo is one of the more colourful events on the calendar, which also in Japan itself has grown in popularity over the years. The area of Oguni and Nagaoka is pre-alpine and may be devoid of high peaks, but the green countryside is hilly enough for a challenging run. What makes Echigo especially nice, though, is the heart-warming support of all the villages and its inhabitants along the course. These are mainly elderly people, however, and as we all know they make up the most vulnerable population group in times of corona today.

In terms of the Asia Trail Master Championship, this is the third event cancellation so far. We fear there may be more to come. How this will affect this year's Championship and Grandmaster Quest remains hard to say at this moment, as we wait and see how the situation in various countries evolves in the next weeks and months.

We’ll have to wait one more year before we can witness a new start of this colourful race in Niigata