The 2020 Athens Marathon, scheduled to take place on November 7-8, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS) announced on Thursday.

Organizers had discussed several measures to hold the annual event in a safe manner, such as staging only the full 42km race and not the shorter distances, reducing the number of participants and having all participants undertake a COVID-19 test before the race, explained a SEGAS statement.

"It seems that even such measures would not secure the absolute safety of runners' health, which is and will be the top priority in our minds," SEGAS said.

Registered runners will now have the choice to defer their registration into next year's event or receive a refund of their entry fee.

"We are very optimistic that, after this pandemic is over, we will all run together in our races in 2021," SEGAS said.

Instead, the federation will launch a virtual race, to be announced within the next days.

"It is going to be a race for all, full of surprises, that will allow you to test yourself either running alone on the route of your choice, or being joined by a small number of friends and/or family members," read the SEGAS statement.