Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon Canceled

BERKELEY, CA —Marathons, half-marathons and other athletic events in the Bay Area continue to be canceled this week as the air quality remains at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County.

Organizers of the Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon announced today that their races, which were scheduled for Nov. 18, have been canceled.

The event organizers said that in addition to the unhealthy air quality, they also decided to cancel the event so as not to further strain local, regional and state resources.

The Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon Expo at Sports Basement, however, is not canceled. A portion of the sales generated during that event will be donated to fire victims in Butte County.

Due to the forecasted poor air quality, the North Face Endurance Challenge Championships, scheduled for this weekend in the Marin Headlands and San Francisco, has also been canceled.

Organizers of that event said they are donating the entire $30,000 event prize purse to the Camp Fire Evacuation Relief Fund, facilitated by the North Valley Community Foundation.

They are also donating clothing to the Oroville Hope Center for victims of the fire, as well as food and snacks for the event to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, which is providing meals to fire victims and fire responders in Butte County.

Last weekend, air quality concerns forced the cancellation of the Napa Valley Harvest Half Marathon, 10k and 5k races and even canceled the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, located over 250 miles south of the Camp Fire.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is advising residents of the Bay Area to avoid outdoor activity due to heavy smoke from the wildfires.

While most of the Bay Area had air quality classified by the district as "Unhealthy" this week, parts of Livermore and Pleasanton this afternoon had air quality classified as "Very Unhealthy."

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— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock