CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (AP) One of Maine’s most beloved road races will again be a virtual event this year.

Organizers of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K are concerned about holding the race during the coronavirus pandemic and have chosen not to have an in-person event this year, the Portland Press Herald reported. The race typically takes place on the first Saturday of August.

This year’s virtual event will allow participants to run 10 kilometers on the route of their choice in late July or early August.

An in-person event would have required changes that prevented the event from being “the celebratory, gala event that people are accustomed to,” race president David Backer said in a Thursday statement.

Olympic gold medal winner Joan Benoit Samuelson founded the Cape Elizabeth race, which began in 1998.