Irrational panic over Delta variant cancels NJ marathon (Opinion)

It’s no surprise to any of you who may be reading this that I think that the fear of this new variant of COVID-19 is completely out of proportion. That’s why it saddens me every time I see a big New Jersey event being canceled.

When I said there were going to be a slew of cancellations over this Delta variant fear, I wasn’t wrong. And canceling a marathon is about the most ridiculous thing to do, because even though many people participate in it, it’s outside—in the fresh air—and people can easily maintain a distance from each other.

Even if you are the most unhealthy person in the world (and if you are, why are you running a marathon?) you can figure out a way to socially distance and breathe fresh air while running.

The cancellation of the event is mostly due to the fear of one town: Long Branch.

Since both the marathon and the associated half marathon that usually takes place begins and ends in Long Branch, that puts crowds of people in this one town and officials there are too scared to have so many people end up there. The organizers of this yearly event, which was supposed to have taken place in October, officially announced its cancellation.

Both the marathon and half-marathon would have started in Oceanport, with the marathon course passing through Monmouth Beach, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, Asbury Park and Ocean Grove before finishing in Long Branch.

When you see new cases of COVID-19 increasing as they are and death rates remaining as low as they are, it leaves you to wonder: What sense does any of this make?

Shouldn’t this prove that we don’t need to be afraid and go back into hiding again?

Look out for more Nervous Nellies and Chicken Littles waiting for the sky to fall and announcing more cancellations in NJ as the fall season approaches.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi Franco’s own.