Employees of the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation tried to get creative in developing ways they could stage the Pole Pedal Paddle this May in a safe manner.

In the end, though, they determined that it was impossible to significantly limit participants, prohibit spectators and support crews, and still maintain the spirit of Central Oregon’s popular multisport race.

The Pole Pedal Paddle has been canceled for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MBSEF announced on Wednesday.

Until last year, the race had been held in Central Oregon each May for 43 years. This year’s race had been tentatively scheduled for May 15.

“We would have had to really limit participation,” said race director Molly Cogswell-Kelley. “It just wouldn’t be the same without having support and spectators. What the PPP is all about is the entire community coming out to support the event or to see their friends race, or people coming from outside of the area to race.

“We understand the disappointment of the competitors and our volunteers; however, MBSEF wants to ensure that the community, volunteers, racers and all other entities that are involved in the event are kept safe and healthy.”

The PPP includes teams, pairs and individuals racing in alpine skiing, nordic skiing, road cycling, paddling and running on a course from Mt. Bachelor ski area to Bend.

The race typically draws 2,000 to 3,000 participants and thousands more spectators who congregate near the finish area in Bend’s Old Mill District.

“We wouldn’t have been able to have spectators,” Cogswell-Kelley said. “We wouldn’t have had anyone in the transition areas. We thought of many different scenarios we could do to put the race on, but they would all just completely diminish the spirit of the race. It wouldn’t have been fun for anybody.”

The next PPP is scheduled for May 21, 2022, and MBSEF will roll over all paid 2020 registrations to the 2022 race, Cogswell-Kelley said. Refunds will not be offered.

“We tried to get pretty darn creative,” Cogswell-Kelley said. “Ultimately, it just wasn’t worth the risk. And it just wouldn’t be the same experience for racers. Next year we will be in a better position to have a traditional Pole Pedal Paddle.”

MBSEF is a nonprofit race training organization that relies on the PPP as its main fundraiser. The PPP allows MBSEF to subsidize race and program training fees for more than 650 youth athletes each year. Having to cancel its main fundraiser for two consecutive years is certainly a financial hardship for MBSEF, which runs youth skiing, snowboarding and cycling programs.

“We’re going to take a big hit for the second year in a row,” Cogswell-Kelley said. “But we have so many great families in our programs, and our enrollments have been stronger than ever. We we will be fine. We will be great, because we have so much support from our membership.”

She added that MBSEF is planning to organize a cyclocross event at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond Sept. 11-12. The event will serve as a fundraiser for MBSEF.

“It’s part of a cyclocross series,” Cogswell-Kelley said. “We’re hoping we’re able to gather and have larger event sizes in Central Oregon by then. That will hopefully be a good fundraiser for us.”

For more information, visit www.mbsef.org.