[hastyreply]

I'm not from there, nor know anything personally about it, just what I see on the news coverage. It seems to me that there are still many people in NYC who have not received help. It just seems like the people need the services that are being used on the race.

[FalseImpression]

I cannot understand why anybody would want to go to NYC right now... let alone to run a marathon? I understand that there is a lot of money involved, and that money always talks, but I think it is quite inappropriate to let "life go on" when nothing is normal yet... and taking LE from areas that need LE to cater to runners... wrong time, wrong place. I am curious really to see how many people will actually show up!
It is sad... let the fundraiser happen at a later date...

[happymom]

Should be postponed, IMHO.

[Coanteen]

I heard that some hotels will refuse to honor marathon runner/watcher/whatever reservations if they're housing people who have been displaced by the storm. Good for them!

[ParadoxFarm]

Yes, please postpone. Would be insensitive in my opinion.

[drmgncolor]

Postpone.

[Snowflake]

I said this in another thread:

I feel that running the marathon is a fool's agenda. I just think it’s stupid to flood a severely weakened infrastructure with tens of thousands of people. It’s like filling a dilapidated building full of people and expecting it not to collapse… Transportation is at a crawl because there is limited supplies of gas. Public transportation is still affected. Some streets are still washed out… But, let’s bring 25,000 runners and spectators who need to eat, drink, pee, poop, sleep, commute and be entertained when we aren't fully capable of caring for our own residents yet. Phenomenal idea!!!

[hastyreply]

That is what I was thinking. I know if I lived on Stanton Island that i would be very tempted to get as many people as I could and just all sit down in the road in front of the racers.

[Louise]

I can kind of understand that they want to show the world that New York can handle anything, but I think it's a mistake. I think the message, instead, is going to be one of a government not caring or understanding what its own people need and want. Get the city back on its feet, then, as I heard one official say, throw the marathon to end all marathons, the kind of spectacle that NYC does so well.

[fooler]

Postpone.

[happymom]

It was just canceled.

[charismaryllis]

postponed. the organizers are saying that they had hoped to raise $34M, but i doubt they would as i'm sure a lot of competitors won't be coming. and as someone pointed out on another message board, why would NYC want an additional 45,000 people in town to "get in the way?!"

ETA: never mind.

[suz]

it's been cancelled.

[FalseImpression]

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/02...ion/?hpt=hp_t1

[hastyreply]

Just saw it was canceled as well. I think that was wise. I don't know why anyone would want to fly into something like that just to run a race. But then I'm not a runner.

[MHM]

That seems like a wise decision.

[Anne FS]

Missed the cancellation, but I did just hear a news story that displaced storm victims were being routed from their hotel rooms as the runners with reservations showed up.

That might have been the tipping point.

[Laurierace]

It absolutely should have been postponed but they should have done it Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Announcing it tonight is ridiculous.

[FalseImpression]

Also heard that if runners would have needed ambulances, there was NO way they could have reached them. No infrastructure, no lights, no water (hot or cold)... of course, it had to be cancelled. And if anyone is really complaining, shame on them!

[Natalie A]

Glad it was cancelled. It was so weird in midtown Manhattan (finally flew out of there today!), seeing both affected and unaffected areas within a few blocks of each other, not to mention the devastation in other areas. Running it would've been both stupid and unwise on so many fronts.