runners in detroit free press marathon now required to have arrivecan receipt, vaccination proof
competitors in the international leg of the detroit fre...
sep 7 2022
3 minute read
the detroit free press/chemical bank marathon is shown in 2017.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
competitors in the international leg of the detroit free press marathon will have some extra obstacles to contend with next month — vaccination documents and arrivecan receipts.
marathon organizers announced wednesday that in addition to having proof of vaccination against covid-19, which has already hurt registration numbers, runners must also carry an arrivecan receipt to enter canada.
“we originally were hopeful to get some sort of exemption from utilizing arrivecan based on the controlled area in which we’re running, the length of time that we are in windsor when we’re running ,” said aaron velthoven, the marathon’s vice-president and executive producer. “but we were unfortunately unable to do that. we’ve always been more than willing to make sure we’re following all the requirements of the canadian government. so we made the decision to announce that requirement today.”
the detroit free press marathon will return to windsor in october after a two-year hiatus.
the 45th annual test of endurance and determination starts oct. 14 with three days of events including the full marathon, the international half-marathon, the u.s. half-marathon, the five-person marathon relay and several other races. the full marathon and international half-marathon run oct. 16.
the 2018 detroit free press/chemical bank marathon was held on sunday, oct. 21, 2018. the international race always features a run through the heart of windsor. runners make their way onto goyeau street from riverside drive during the race.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
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for the windsor part of the race, runners will cross the ambassador bridge, head north toward the river down huron church road, then east on riverside drive to goyeau street and south toward the detroit-windsor tunnel.
“runners are typically only in canada for roughly 20 minutes on average,” said velthoven. “we’re over the bridge and back through the tunnel by 10 a.m. our race starts at 7 a.m., so it’s a pretty short trip.”
to cross the canada-u.s. border, runners must carry a western hemisphere travel initiative (whti) document such as a passport, enhanced driver’s licence or nexus card; a digital or paper copy of their proof of vaccination; and a digital or paper copy of their arrivecan receipt.
arrivecan, which can be accessed online or through a mobile app, collects a traveller’s vaccine status, recent travel history and other information. it must be submitted within 72 hours of entering canada.
the need for proof of vaccination was announced before registration began. the requirement to carry a passport or other whti document has been in place for years.
the 2018 detroit free press/chemical bank marathon was held on sunday, october 21, 2018. the international race always features a run through the heart of windsor. a group of runners are shown along riverside dr. w.
dan janisse
/
winwp
negative covid-19 tests will not be accepted as alternatives to proof of vaccination or arrivecan.
velthoven said he isn’t concerned the extra covid-19 restrictions could lead to the end of the race’s international component. but he added that the previously announced proof of vaccination requirement has affected registration numbers.
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“we certainly understand that the more restrictions put in place, the fewer registered runners that we have,” he said. “and we’ve seen that this year. it certainly impacts registration. having said that, we certainly understand that crossing an international border is a privilege, not a right. we work very closely with the border agencies both on the u.s. and canadian sides, the canadian government, to make sure that we have a safe and secure race.”
velthoven said nearly 20,000 runners have registered this year. in 2019, the last race before the pandemic, there were more than 26,000 runners. last year, when the marathon route stayed in the u.s. because of border closures, there were 12,000 participants.
“we’re not where we were pre-pandemic, but we’re certainly moving toward that direction,” said velthoven.
he said most of the race participants are from the windsor-detroit area, so many have likely already used arrivecan.
“although there are more restrictions than there was in the past for our runners, i think our runners are still really excited to race in october,” said velthoven.
“we greatly appreciate all the agencies involved because this takes a lot to get thousands of people over the border and back in a safe and secure way. we’re all looking forward to returning to international come october, and we’ve got thousands of people ready to do it. so we’re pretty excited about it.”
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