Ironman Lake Placid triathletes exit Mirror Lake while transitioning from the swim leg to the bike leg in July 2019. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID — For now, two major races are still on the calendar in this village for 2021: the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon on July 25 and the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sept. 12. The same race director for both events says if state health officials allow Ironman to be held here, he may use some of the same COVID-19 restrictions for the marathon.

“We’ve got some pretty impressive distancing and safety and health protocols in place at other Ironman events that are operating now,” said Greg Borzilleri, race director for Ironman Lake Placid and owner/operator of the Lake Placid Marathon and Half.

Ironman usually brings about 2,500 competitors and their families to town, while the marathon attracts about 1,000 runners and their families. Ironman Lake Placid is sold out, and registration for the marathon opened on Friday, March 12. This year’s Lake Placid Ironman 70.3 triathlon was canceled last year.

Borzilleri moved the marathon from its typical date — the second Sunday of June — to later in the season, with the hope that more pandemic restrictions will ease by late summer and early fall, allowing larger events to be held.

The same is happening around the country. The 125th running of the Boston Marathon, for example, is scheduled for Oct. 11 instead of its usual date on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April.

In recent years, the Lake Placid Marathon has been a qualifying event for the Boston Marathon and certified by USA Track & Field.

At their February meeting, members of the North Elba Town Council approved the dates for Ironman, the marathon, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk on Sept. 19 and the Lake Placid Classic half-marathon and 10K on Oct. 9. Supervisor Jay Rand stressed that the approval was contingent upon the go-ahead from state and county health departments.

In a letter to the Lake Placid marathon community, posted on Facebook shortly after the town’s approval, Borzilleri was honest that the event still may not happen, and it will all depend on government approval.

“We cannot guarantee that the race will take place on September 12 if these entities don’t allow us to but we are confident at this time, looking at the data and trends, that it is possible,” Borzilleri wrote.

In a March 3 interview with the News, Borzilleri conceded that it’s a gamble. But it’s no more of a gamble than most event coordinators for Lake Placid’s major events took in the 2020 in the early months of the pandemic. Many early-season events were pushed to late summer and early fall, only to be canceled due to COVID safety guidelines.

“We’re hedging our bets, but hopefully it will work,” Borzilleri said. “And if we have to do restrictions, we’ll do restrictions.”

Even during a non-pandemic year, Ironman is a hot-button issue with many locals who have grown tired of the crowds and traffic. Yet it brings millions of tourism dollars to the local economy. Borzilleri said the restrictions Ironman has put in place at other races may work well in Lake Placid.

“Hopefully the townspeople will see it and say, ‘Hey, they’re being careful and being cautious,'” he said. “It’s all up in the air right now whether we’re even going to operate those two events, but there’s mechanisms in place to make it as safe as we possibly can.”