Thursday, April 2nd 2020, 6:08 pm
Officials in charge of the Tulsa Tough racing event have yet to determine whether the race will go on in light of Oklahoma’s coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Tulsa Tough has been one of the nation's fastest growing group of bike races. Fans have played a part in that too. The crowds at "cry baby hill" are proof.
"It’s always been such a great celebration of bringing the community together and to not be able to do that cuts pretty deep for some of us,” said Malcom McCollam, the executive director of Tulsa Tough.
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McCollam knows crowds aren’t happening at the moment and there are other things to consider.
"81 percent of our racers and 61 percent of our athletes overall come from outside the state of Oklahoma. It’s a huge factor that we have to take into account,” McCollam said.
There's also a financial side. Sponsors help Tulsa Tough pay more prize money to racers than almost every other event in the country.
"Look at us here in Tulsa. We are in the heart of the energy belt. Oil prices have gone from $60 to $20 dollars and we haven't heard from any of our sponsors that they’re going to pull out yet, but obviously it’s something that everybody will have first in their minds,” McCollam said.
He said they haven't decided yet on this year's races set for June 12 through the 14, but he's hoping for the best.
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