Man runs virtual Boston Marathon in the Valley, on the day the marathon was originally scheduled

Man runs virtual marathon on the day the Boston Marathon was originally scheduled

The Boston Marathon may have been rescheduled, but that didn't stop a Valley man's quest to run.

PHOENIX - The Boston Marathon, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has been postponed until September 14 from its original date of April 20.

While it wasn't exactly Copley Square, 100th Street and Via Linda was the closest thing to the Boston Marathon for Austin Schnabel.

Schnabel, who was set to run in the Marathon, took part in a virtual half-marathon instead.

"Very upset that it had to be pushed back to September, but I’m glad they rescheduled it," said Schnabel. "As of now, it’s September 14, so I’ll be ready for that when it happens"

Schnabel trained and qualified for the marathon, only to see the marathon pushed back as a result of the pandemic. The delay, however, didn't stop him from lacing up and hitting the road

"Did you picture fans and the whole thing?" Schnabel was asked.

"I did," Schnabel replied. "I pictured Boylston and the whole thing. The whole scream tunnel. It felt good to visualize."

Schnabel is a Massachusetts native, and he was raising money for first responders there, a cause close to his heart

"Just growing up, knowing about the cause and knowing how important it is to raise money for firefighters who’ve been effected by injuries, work accidents," said Schnabel.

The silver lining of the postponement is more training and more time to raise money for Schnabel, and making the marathon in September extra special, even if it’s a step further away.

"I can raise more money than allotted, which I’m super happy about, and I think with help from people at work, people at home, the community, I can do that and it’s such a great cause. I’m happy to be a part of that,” said Schnabel.

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