Emporia, KS, April 5, 2020—Life Time, the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand which owns and produces the Garmin Dirty Kanza, today announced that the event, notably known as the “World Series of Gravel”, will be rescheduled from May 29-31 to September 10-13 in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and in an effort to provide a safe event experience for all. The Dirty Kanza team announced the news during a live Zoom video conference on Facebook Live.
In the video, Jim Cummins, Dirty Kanza co-founder and Chief Gravel Officer at Life Time, said, “We’ve been working very hard to look at what the current world situation is going to mean for Dirty Kanza 2020 with the health and safety of our participants, local community, emergency responders and everybody who is touched by Dirty Kanza in mind. At the end of the day, we didn’t feel it was appropriate to hold Dirty Kanza on our original date. We’re very excited to announce the rescheduled date and feel that the September 10 – 13 weekend is going to bring an amazing experience. ”
As the impact of COVID-19 continues to evolve, Life Time remains steadfast in its commitment to positively support the Emporia community and participating athletes. Cyclists will be able to choose from three options: they may keep their current entry and participate in the rescheduled event in September, defer their current entry to the 2021 event with a waived deferral fee, or receive a refund for their 2020 entry.
“We know that our athletes have trained hard for Dirty Kanza, so we wanted to maintain the event on our 2020 calendar,” says Kimo Seymour, president of Life Time Events and Media. “In choosing the rescheduled date, we applied careful consideration to avoid interfering with other scheduled races. While delayed from our typical timing, we believe this new date will allow athletes, promoters, sponsors and partners to come together for a fantastic event. Working together will be vital to ensure the health of our cycling community both on and off the bike.”
The full announcement video can be viewed HERE. For more information, visit dirtykanza.com.
The Garmin Dirty Kanza is owned and produced by Life Time, the premier healthy lifestyle brand. It is among more than 30 premier athletic events owned and produced by the company across the nation, which also operates more than 150 athletic resort and spas in the U.S. and Canada. Life Time strives to produce exceptional event experiences for both participants and spectators as an extension of its Healthy Way of Life philosophy.