As the decision has finally come to cancel the New York City marathon I feel the need to share my thoughts on the topic. While I would have never wanted to make the decision, I do support the canceling of the race. I would be interested to here from someone who thinks it should still go on.
There is far too much destruction and devastation to justify allocating resources to the race on Sunday. That being said, my heart goes out to those who have been training and are unable to culminate that training with a race.
I was so happy when I was able to train for and complete the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, I learned that I could do what I set my mind to as long as I took smart steps in training, I reached out to others, thought positively and did what I could.
When the Duluth Flood came one week after the race many Duluth residents were thankful the race had already come and gone, because it is a major revenue weekend.
And while there reports that last year the NYC Marathon brought in 2.5 Million people and $350 Million (source), I have a hard time believing that other events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade don’t do just as much if not more stimulation to the economy. I could not find an source for how much money the parade brings in, but was able to find a source for how many people. Which is 3.5 Million (source) and a million extra people must spend more money on food and lodging!
However this Sunday is not the time to focus on making money, its time to focus on cleaning and helping. For those people who don’t want their training to go to waste, there is the opportunity of traveling to Richmond for their marathon. (There is also a marathon in Philadelphia but it is sold out).
Bottom Line: My heart goes out to everyone effected by Sandy whether a resident or a runner.
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