Apr 15, 2008 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Chicken Pox Cancels Annual Boston Marathon Event
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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A Kenyan runner waves to kids at a rally for marathoners at the Elmwood Elementary School in Hopkinton last year.
WBZ
Chicken pox has forced officials to throw in the towel for plans of a Boston Marathon tradition at the Elmwood Elementary School in Hopkinton.
For the past 16 years, Kenyan athletes have visited the school one week before the marathon to run with the kids and answer some of their questions.
Several students have come down with mild cases of the chicken pox, and school officials don't want any of the elite runners to get sick, so they are canceling the event.
The initial plan was to move the event to the high school and the elementary kids would not be able to participate.
However, Tuesday evening officials announced they have decided to cancel the event entirely after school officials met with physicians and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Because chicken pox is an unusual disease in Kenya and people there aren't vaccinated for it, adults who become exposed to it could get very sick. Thus, it was decided to cancel the event as a precaution.
The Adopt-a-Marathoner Program will continue next year, officials said.
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