New York City Marathon Cancelled

Published on Friday, November 2, 2012 by Katherine

Day three of NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. On Saturday and Sunday there are no prompts. NO PROMPTS! Fortunately, I’ve got a bit of an itch I need to scratch. And perhaps a question for those in the know?

Remember my amazing neighbor Heather?

She raised $3,000 for Camp Hole in the Wall, promising to pay what she could not make. Today, she packed her bags and drove herself to New York. When she hit New Jersey, she heard the news. The Marathon was cancelled.

It kills me to think of the expense, the time off work, the anticipation, the training… all that gone. Fortunately, she has an amazing person to stay with in New York. She will be able to have some quality girl time away from her daily routine.

I’ve heard, “How could they hold the race when locals need the gas, food and lodging?!” I’ve also heard, “We are New Yorkers! We are strong. We will prevail. We will race!”

I completely understand why the race was cancelled. I am not “for” or “against” any decision made. I will not even pretend to know all the facts that influenced this decision. Let’s just call me “Switzerland.”

What are your thoughts on the race cancellation? And the timing? I would especially love to hear from those in the area!

Cheryl

Whee! Disqus is back up and running. I’ve read a bit about this and there were so many alternatives on the table. One of the best solutions I saw was to hold the marathon using the original route (run a million times around Central Park and die). The key issue for me was knowing that city personnel were going to be diverted from cleaning up and helping those in need to working on crowd management and safety along the marathon’s route.

Bloomberg’s decision came late for those in transit within the US but most of the foreign and elite runners were either en route when the storm hit or were already in NYC. About 50% of the runners in this race aren’t Americans. I don’t know the percentage of American runners who aren’t New Yorkers but my guess is it’s high. The argument that ‘we are New Yorkers’ simply doesn’t fly for me.

Any way you slice it, it was a tough call. In the end, it was the divisiveness over Do or Do Not that forced Bloomberg’s hand. To have the marathon become another cloud hanging over the city would have been disastrous for everyone.

One of the best things to come out of this is the way the race coordinators immediately shifted gears from marathon prep to getting all of their supplies into helping hands to be used by people in need. Tents, food, water, etc. are being put to good use. Ing is donating $500M to the recovery efforts. Many of the foreign runners who rode out the storm in the city are donating their entry fees to recovery efforts as well.
- Katherine Murray
  
  WOW CHERYL!!!! THANK YOU! I knew none of this… it is fascinating to hear the facts. You wrote them so well… I understand it all. I had no idea that 50 percent weren’t Americans. And then hearing about the people scheduled to work the race now helping those in need. Also, I didn’t think about cleanup. Here they are trying to clean up the city and then the resources turn to cleaning up the race. I am still a bit confused about why it was “on” and then “off” BTW I LOVE “run a million times around Central Park and die”!
  - Cheryl
    
    The weather forecasters have been wrong so many times, especially about hurricanes and their paths. I can’t tell you how many times the NE was forecasted to take a hit from the remnants of hurricanes and they’ve gone out to sea.
    
    While forecasters got part of this weather trifecta right, they got a ton of it wrong. The corridor from MD to GA didn’t get anywhere near the surges and rainfall predicted. While DE, NJ, NY, and PA were being hammered by Sandy, CT, MA, RI, ME, and NH were hit by the nor’easter. When the 2 storms collided, the system took a sharp NW turn and continued into the midwest and Canada. It had been forecasted to take a NW turn then loop back NE to slam into New England. That never happened.
    
    I can understand Bloomberg’s initial reluctance to cancel the marathon prior to the storms. In my opinion, it was hubris on his part not to cancel it as soon as it was obvious NYC was going to take a direct hit. That weather system was so wide, there was no way it was NOT going to hit the 5 boroughs when it slammed into DE.
    - Katherine Murray
      
      I am now worried with this new nor’easter coming… so worried for all of those people!
Cheryl P.

I am hanging out in the Switzerland, with you. I understand that all the resources in NYC are already maxed out. The problem is that by announcing, initially that it was on, had people continuing to make and start their travel. If they would of cancelled it or rescheduled it as soon as that storm was destined to hit the area, everyone might have had a chance to change their travel plans.
- Katherine Murray
  
  Cheryl, that is what was going through my head… why didn’t they just cancel it right away. But again, I don’t know all the facts!
Ron

Like you, I haven’t read up on much on the details of the Marathon cancellation, but I did hear they cancelled it and has to be heartbreaking for those (like Heather) who put forth so much time and energy preparing for this race.

As Cheryl shared, I think it’s a tough call, but I feel they made the best choice.

I APPLAUD her for raising $3,000. That’s AWESOME!

Glad to hear that Heather has someone in NYC to spend quality time with.

X
- Katherine Murray
  
  Ron, I am so proud of her… she is so strong and dedicated… and has a TREMENDOUS heart!
  - Cheryl
    
    It’s not yet settled whether the runners will have their entry fees refunded or rolled over to the 2013 marathon. There are so many marathons during this time of year, Heather could likely enter another (closer to home) as a fundraiser for her charity. As soon as NY cancelled their marathon, several marathon committees invited everyone who was prepped to run the NYC race (especially the foreign runners) to participate in their marathons without an entry fee. The few I saw weren’t close to the mid-Atlantic but for elite runners, flying across the country is less of a big deal than you’d think. This is how these runners make their living & support their families. Sponsorship $$ is big for elite athletes and this includes running, not just NASCAR. 😉
meleahrebeccah

I actually think cancelling the race was the RIGHT thing to do.
- Katherine Murray
  
  I can’t imagine what everyone is dealing with up there… so many states just SLAMMED. No power, no phones, no gas… no way to get food! I loved hearing what you think since you are right in the middle of it!
  - meleahrebeccah
    
    It’s really really bad, Katherine. I’ve never witnessed anything like this.
Heather

From What I have heard we can Run in the 2013 half marathon in NYC or have a guranteed entry into next years full marathon. Now comes my delimma as a runner with many other factors I have to consider and the unknown variable’s of next years full marathon.
- Katherine Murray
  
  TRUE. But you know you have a dog watcher!
LadyLittlefoot

I’m from Brooklyn and have family and friends living in the affected area. Some, like my Mom and a dear friend came through the Frankenstorm Sandy unscathed except the the hours spent working at different hospitals. Others, like a cousin had her basement flooded and family vehicles inundated.

I am glad the marathon was cancelled and needed resources weren’t diverted to the race. However, I do think that Bloomberg and the race organizers should have cancelled the event that Tuesday or Wednesday morning rather than waiting until runners were on the ground. The training time could possible go towards another race but money from flights taken and accommodations used cannot be recouped.
- Katherine Murray
  
  So true! I am SO SO glad your family is OK! Our biggest hurricane in the last few years was a one with gusts of two. With one wind gust, I was pushed against a window and it broke (I was fine)…. at that moment I decided I would leave town with a high two or above… these storms can do so much than you think they can… very frightening!
  - LadyLittlefoot
    
    Thank you Katherine. I am very relieved as well, NYC has long way to go from what I hear, to get back to normal. I am just Thankful that those dearest to me made it through relatively unscathed.
    
    Littlefoot
    http://www.littlefootsjourney.com