The Moonshine Trail, an annual mountainbike, offroad running and duathlon held at Dolamore Park, near Gore, has been cancelled for 2022.

Active Southland chief executive Brendon McDermott said it had been a difficult decision to cancel one of the organisation’s marque events.

“The Moonshine Trail is a really special event and we haven’t made this decision lightly,” he said.

“We know how disappointing it has been with the number of events that have already been cancelled across Southland and the rest of the country. We have been working really hard to find ways to deliver a great event that keeps the community safe, but we believe the best decision for our community and our organisation is not to run the Moonshine Trail in 2022.”

Active Southland is now working through how a modified Surf to City can be delivered safely under the Covid-19 Protection Framework, McDermott said.

“We think we can create a more controlled environment at the various start lines and finish line for Surf to City than we could at Dolamore Park, but we are still working our way through that with a number of stakeholders.”

McDermott said Active Southland was looking at smaller-scale events which could be developed in the Eastern area in the new year.