As most of you already know, this year's NYC Marathon was cancelled.
On Sunday, November 4th, 47,000 runners from all over the world did not embark from Staten Island to complete the colorful 26.2 mile course across the City.
Raucous crowds did not line the streets throughout each of the five Boroughs to cheer the runners.
This morning, thousands of participants did not awaken to find their bodies sore and their hearts full.
What happened instead was, in many respects, more remarkable. It was certainly more consequential. And I say this as someone who loves the Marathon. This would have been my fourth year as a runner and I've become deeply attached to this quixotic annual celebration of our city. So, I do love this race. But I love NYC more. In the final analysis, I believe that many New Yorkers (including the race's organizers) came to the same conclusion this year.
Some context: Sub-tropical Storm Sandy made landfall just south of Atlantic City, NJ around 8:00 PM on Monday, October 29th. The following 12 hours were harrowing for many in the Tri-State area, but only as the sun rose on Tuesday morning did the full extent of Sandy's destruction become apparent. Entire communities along the Atlantic had been swallowed by the massive storm surge; including parts of Atlantic City, Hoboken, eastern Staten Island, Breezy Point, and the Rockaways. Thousands of residents throughout the New York City metro area had been forced to evacuate their homes and many more, even now, are without heat or electricity. With temperatures falling as autumn leans towards winter, in many parts of our city this emergency is far from over.
In the days immediately following Sandy, race organizers announced that the Marathon would take place as scheduled. They insisted that race preparations would not divert city resources away from the recovery efforts and that the Marathon would be a much needed morale boost for the entire city. By the end of the week, however, the tide of public opinion had turned. Finally, in recognition that this year's race had become a lightening-rod for anger and controversy, the city belatedly announced the cancellation of the race late on Friday afternoon. I have no doubt that this was a very difficult decision to make, but the level of outrage expressed by local politicians, pundits, and tabloids apparently took race organizers completely by surprise. Indeed, from afar this might appear to be a very simple matter: during a city-wide crisis requiring mobilization of all available resources, it would be unthinkable to proceed with an indulgence as facile as a foot race, right?
But I would encourage you to judge our decision-makers mercifully. They believed that the best way to support the city and to help effect a rapid recovery was to proceed with the race as planned. Perhaps they believed, as suggested by Mayor Bloomberg, that we should follow Rudy Giuliani's lead in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001 and press ahead with the race as an act of defiance. Or perhaps they were blinded by their own attachment to the marathon's ideals and to a sense of obligation to their runners. In any case, they miscalculated badly.
It's hard to explain, but the NYC Marathon is a unique institution. Among participants this race inspires a loyalty as fierce as the determination required to complete its course. And in its finest incarnation, the Marathon is a grand celebration of precisely those qualities which make NYC superlative: diversity, grit, determination, fearlessness, joy, creativity and exuberance. After 42 uninterrupted years, canceling the Marathon could have been seen as an unacceptable capitulation to circumstance.
But you simply CANNOT set up massive diesel generators in Central Park to power a Marathon "Media Center" when tens of thousands of NYC residents are struggling without power in their homes. You CANNOT ask hundreds of volunteers to stand along the 26 miles of the course handing out food and hydration to runners when there are senior citizens living in emergency evacuation centers, uncertain where their next meal will come from. And you CERTAINLY CANNOT set up a massive staging area in Fort Wadsworth with amenities for recreational marathoners, when thousands of Staten Islanders have seen their homes and livelihoods washed away only days earlier.
This goes beyond poor public relations - this is a matter of basic human decency.
I am proud that the city government and race organizers had enough backbone to reverse course and correct their initial miscalculation. I'm sure it was not easy, but it was the correct thing to do. The cancellation of the race was a disappointment for thousands of runners who came from near and far to take part in this amazing event, but disappointment is inconsequential in comparison to the suffering of the city's most vulnerable residents. I've spoken to a handful of fellow would-be runners over the past few days and, without exception, they have expressed the following sentiment: "Yeah, I'm disappointed, but I get it. Now, what can I do to help?"
And THAT is more remarkable than the Marathon's cancellation. Sunday became an unofficial day of service; a day which saw hundreds of volunteers (including marathon hopefuls) pitching in to help with relief efforts. Had the race proceeded as planned, there was a real possibility that bitterness could have won the day. Instead, creative energies were redirected toward the city's most critical priorities: recovery, mutual assistance, and civic responsibility.
This makes me proud to be a New Yorker.
There are hundreds of organizations doing vital work to help the city recover. Here are a few of my favorites:
Occupy Sandy Relief
Greenpoint Church (food pantry and soup kitchen)
Food Bank for New York City
And if you feel moved to donate to the relief effort, here is a site set up by the Mayor to collect funds for recovery:
Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City
This was certainly not the Marathon experience anybody expected. To those who contributed to my MMRF fundraising-effort: thank you, thank you, thank you!! I did not run the requisite 26.2 miles on Sunday, but I promise to make up for it in the wintery months to come. In any case, the critical work of the MMRF goes on and the critical importance of your donation has in no way been diminished by the cancellation of this year's race.
Besides, there's always 2013!
For all those who have given moral, spiritual or financial support to NY/ NJ during the past difficult days, you have my heartfelt thanks. For those in the region who are still struggling to regain normalcy: hang in there and call me if I can help.
With love and gratitude.
Forward!
- Ben
P.S. And for heaven's sake, people, please VOTE TOMORROW!!!
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