Modified P.E.I. Marathon in works

Organizers of one of Canada's top five qualifiers for the Boston Marathon are still planning to hold the event next month.

Myrtle Jenkins-Smith, race director with the P.E.I. Marathon, said a final decision hasn't been made yet on the Oct. 15-17 event, but she's cautiously optimistic.

“We are definitely rowing in the direction of having a modified weekend,'' Jenkins-Smith told The Guardian on Sept. 22.

She said discussions have been ongoing with the province's Chief Public Health Office as to what guidelines organizers would have to meet for a modified marathon to be possible.

Jenkins-Smith said she can't comment yet on what a modified event would look like or how many runners the event could accommodate.

She said say that the safety of the participants and the volunteers is organizers' biggest concern.