This year's Dublin Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers say they have made the decision "with great regret".

The 2020 National Marathon Championship scheduled within the event has also been cancelled.

All entries for the 2020 KBC Dublin Marathon and the Race Series will be valid for the 2021 races.

For those who do not wish to do this, a full refund is available.

In a statement, the organisers said they "considered many alternative approaches in event planning to make running the KBC Dublin Marathon and Race Series with appropriate social distancing possible.

"However, after careful consideration, the difficult decision was made by the organisers to cancel both the KBC Dublin Marathon and Race Series."

Jim Aughney is race director: "We know this is extremely disappointing for all runners, especially those who secured marathon entries.

"We made the difficult decision in the best interest of the health and well-being of all those involved in making our events such a success from runners, supporters, volunteers, sponsors, to suppliers.

"We explored many alternatives for running the events safely but ultimately none were viable."

However organisers are currently exploring options, such as a virtual run, and will make an announcement in the coming weeks.

Aidan Power, director of marketing of KBC, added: "This is the right and responsible decision that the event organisers of the Dublin Marathon have taken and KBC as sponsors remain committed to its support and look forward to welcoming runners again in 2021."

Our organisers are sorry to announce that the 2020 #KBCDublinMarathon & #KBCDublinRaceSeries will no longer be going ahead. Read the full statement & FAQ’s here 👉🏻 https://t.co/bZXAvtdHnv pic.twitter.com/PJ936tjMwj

— Irish Life Dublin Marathon (@dublinmarathon) May 19, 2020

Main image via @dublinmarathon on Twitter