2020 Grand Teton & Yellowstone Events
Have Been Cancelled
June-5-6, 2020 & June 12-13, 2020
To all runners registered for the 2020 Grand Teton Half Marathon & 5K and the 2020 Yellowstone Half Marathon & 5K:
It is with great disappointment that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 Grand Teton Half Marathon and Yellowstone Half Marathon events.
This is obviously a challenging time for everyone and there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. We hope this news finds you safe and healthy. This is a bit of a lengthy explanation, so if you want to just jump to the part where we go into detail about what cancellation means for you and what your options are click here.
We DEEPLY appreciate your business and the trust you've put in us through the years. We always do our best to do right by you in the face of unexpected challenges even at great cost to us. We have been watching the development of COVID-19 very closely and are trying to do the best thing for our runners, volunteers, and the community where we hold this event. Because of the rapid way this has developed, we didn’t feel it was prudent to cancel these events much further in advance than this. We wanted to wait as long as possible to make sure we were making the most informed decision, while not waiting too long and making it impossible for you to change your plans.
While the landscape for running events is certainly changing, it is unclear to what extent it will impact races and events and for how long. That being said, we are actively exploring ways in which we may be able to hold events that will comply with local guidelines and safety restrictions. For both Wyoming and Montana it is still too early to attempt to hold an event like this and it is unrealistic that we would be able to comply with current restrictions. Out of state travelers are asked to complete a 14 day quarantine upon entering the state of Montana, Jackson County is *hopefully* lifting the restriction of gatherings larger than 10 but both West Yellowstone and Teton County have been unable to give us clear guidelines or restrictions to base our adjustments and plans off of. Unfortunately, postponing isn't really feasible for our events, because the overwhelming majority of attendees have meaningful travel as part of their plans. Furthermore, our events take place when they do in order to optimize for weather, traffic, tourism patterns, etc. In a nutshell, most of the town we run in wouldn't be able to host us later in the year, and most of the runners can’t reschedule.
This leaves us having to cancel. We know you’ve put in the miles to train and had plans to explore Teton and Yellowstone. We feel that disappointment alongside you. Our preference in this situation would be to offer 100% money back refunds. If it were only one event we might be able to pull that off even though it would mean significant losses for us. However, this is our fourth and fifth cancellation this year and the future is uncertain. Offering full refunds means we would likely need to lay off staff or close our doors forever. I know the pandemic is impacting everyone differently. I don’t know what medical, financial, or other burdens this news might find you dealing with, but I hope you know we are mindful of you and all the individuals in our community and hope you have the strength, support, and resources you need to get you through this time. This isn’t forever. We will run again.
We plan to continue to operate, and we have put together a few options for you to choose from.
You will need to make a choice by May 25th.
**regardless of which option you select, anyone who paid extra to have their bibs shipped to them early will be refunded that money 100%.
HERE ARE YOUR OPTIONS:
(Please click on the option(s) below to see an explanation and detailed instructions on how to select that option)
Virtual races allow you to join the fun without the crowds. Simply run on your own and report your results - we’ll send your shirt, bib, and medal before race day and have you report your time upon completion (honor system). You will also receive a coupon code from us, in an email after the May 25th deadline. This coupon is a race credit that may be used toward any of our future events. The value depends on which event you are currently registered for:
Grand Quad = $100
Moose Double/Bison Double/Grizzly Double = $75
Half Marathon Only = $50
5K Only = $15
Expect a coupon code from us to be emailed to you after the May 25th deadline good for the corresponding amount.
How do I do this?
To transfer to the Virtual Grand Teton or Yellowstone Event just follow these simple steps:
- Sign In to RunSignUp
- Go to your Profile
- Click My Registered Races
- Click Manage next to the event you are registered for
- Click the Defer menu item
- Click Confirm Deferral
- Find the 2021 Grand Teton and Yellowstone Virtual event and click Start Transfer
- Complete registration for that race
*The process of deferment breaks into two main parts: deferring the race, and claiming the deferment by identifying which race you want to apply registration fees to. Please read these instructions thoroughly before deferring.
The value of your registration will roll over to a future event of your choosing (2021 Grand Teton and Yellowstone Half Marathon or any other event that registration is open for). You will also receive a coupon code in an email from us after the May 25th deadline good for $50 towards another race in the future. All deferment fees have been waived.
How do I do this?
To defer your registration just follow these simple steps:
- Sign In to RunSignUp
- Go to your Profile
- Click My Registered Races
- Click Manage next to the event you are signed up for
- Click the Defer Registration menu item
- Click Confirm Deferral
At this point your registration has been deferred and there is nothing more you need to do. You can select your race now or later. Read on.
The page you are brought to allows you to select the race you would like to apply your registration to. If you want to defer to the 2021 Grand Teton or Yellowstone event, you should select the race at this point. If you are not sure at this time which race you would like to defer to (or you want to defer to a race that registration has not yet open for) you can do that at any time. Just follow the instructions below when you are ready to make that selection.
How do I claim my deferment?
Once you are ready to choose which race you would like to apply your deferred race registration towards, you can do so by following these steps:
- Sign In to RunSignUp
- Go to your Profile
- Click My Deferrals
- Click Complete Deferral next to the event you have deferred
- Find the event you want and click Start Transfer
- Complete registration for that race.
How much money will be deferred?
All of your registration fee will be deferred. We will not defer add-ons (training shirt, hydration pack, etc.) as these have already been shipped to you. If you used a coupon code to register for the race it will be reactivated for you to reuse. Only the amount you paid in addition to a coupon will be deferred.
You understand that events are expensive, even when canceled, and you want us to keep your registration fees to help cover our costs. ❤️ We deeply appreciate your generosity and look forward to seeing you at an event soon. Once it’s safe to do so, we will give you the highest of fives, or biggest of hugs if you’re a hugger.
Please click this link to fill out a very short form to let us know this is what you would like to do.
We understand. We hope you can join us next time. You'll get a refund of 50% of the amount paid for your registration.
How do I request the refund?
To request a refund just follow these simple steps:
- Sign In to RunSignUp
- Go to your Profile
- Click My Registered Races
- Click Manage Registration next to the registration that you would like to request a refund for
- Click the Request Refund menu item
**Follow the provided steps and continue
How much money will be refunded?
50% of what you paid to register for this race will be refunded. We will not refund add-ons (training shirt, hydration pack, etc.) as these have already been shipped to you. If you paid for your bib to be shipped to you early or paid for a campsite those fees will be refunded to you separately 100%. If you used a coupon code to register for the race it will be reactivated for you to reuse. Only 50% of the amount you paid will be refunded.
Why only 50%?
We understand you may be hurting right now and frustrated with these circumstances, but we encourage you to remember that we are a small, relatively new business.
Putting on a race has serious expenses. Some of those aren’t paid until the race happens, but a lot of them are paid in advance: race medals, race shirts, permits, venue deposits, service deposits (shuttles, toilets, police), marketing efforts, salaries of employees, etc. We are not by any means the victims here, but we are all working to make it through this unprecedented time. We are trying our best to do right by our runners. In order to continue putting on races in the future, we can only refund 50% at this time. We hope you understand.
Reminder: You will need to make a choice by May 25th.
Please reach out if you have any concerns and please be patient as we navigate things at this time. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner as you have come to expect, but as you can imagine the email and call volume is very high at this time. Please read through these instructions carefully, most of your questions are answered here.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to running with you again soon. Hang in there!
Dehn Craig and Lyle Anderson
Grand Teton and Yellowstone Half Marathon Event Directors
What does this mean for me? With things continuing to change daily, we are taking each race on a case-by-case basis until the pandemic is resolved. We've had the need to cancel the following events: the 2020 Zion Ultras, Yosemite Half Marathon, Grand Teton Half & 5K, Yellowstone Half & 5K, and the Glacier Half Marathon.
We figure most people have a 30-day window to receive full or partial refunds on lodging and other travel expenses. Because of this, we will make our official decision to hold or cancel each race on the corresponding dates below, roughly 35 days before the event. All registered runners will receive communications outlining their options at that time. Until then, assume the race is on unless you’ve heard differently from us.
What does this mean for the 2021 race season? We will be opening registration for our 2021 race season just as we do every year. While we are doing our part to follow health and safety recommendations and contain the spread of COVID-19, our plan is still to bet against the apocalypse.
We expect to still be here in 2021. We plan to make some adjustments in the short term, but are looking forward to a return to normalcy as soon as possible. We have extended some of our price jumps, and will continue to adjust those and communicate to you as needed.