Lewiston-Auburn’s Triple Crown running series canceled in 2020

The coronavirus claimed another victim Monday.

The organizers for the Greater L-A Triple Crown 5K Series canceled their slate of three road races through the streets of Lewiston and Auburn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three races are held in June, July and August.

“We are very sad to announce that in light of the current pandemic and adhering to federal and state regulations, we have canceled the 2020 Greater L-A Triple Crown 5K Race Series. We look forward to running with everyone in 2021,” according to the message posted on their Instagram account.

The Triple Crown series began in 2007 when the organizers of three separate road races in the Twin Cities — the YMCA Fit Fest, Emily’s Run and the L-A Bridge Run joined together.

The YMCA Fit Fest, which was scheduled for June 7, had already been postponed, but race organizers had hoped to move that race to later in the year, while still holding Emily’s Run on July 19 and the L-A Bridge Run on Aug. 23.

There was no word yet on refunds. When the Fit Fest was postponed a month ago, a news release at the time said, “if there is a situation where we have to cancel the YMCA Fit Fest, we would then at that time begin offering a refund minus the cost of a processing fee, or allow for a deferment into the 2021 event(s).”

The L-A Bridge Run, the oldest of the three races, began in 1998. Emily’s Run is named for Emily Fletcher, a standout runner from Edward Little High School, who died in a car crash at age 21 in 2004.

All three races are 5 kilometers long, or 3.1 miles, and are run on three different courses.

The Triple Crown annually attracts more than 2,000 runners to the Twin Cities. Proceeds from the race go to the Auburn-Lewiston YMCA, the Fletcher Foundation and the Bridge Run Foundation.