Hurricane Sandy batters the eastern seaboard. Source
In running news, this week of natural disaster has been book-ended by two very big and prestigious marathons. Things started out last Sunday with the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. This was Wear Blue's official East Coast race debut - which means - Wear Blue Mile!! Fantastic introduction of this awesome group to a whole bunch of new people. The weather was threatening but the building rain and wind held off until it was pretty much over. At which time, everyone got stuck in DC since airports starting shutting down in advance of the coming storm. The WA contingent of Wear Blue staff got stuck but being the resourceful gals they are, they rented a car and drove down to Ft. Bragg in NC. There, they were able to get a flight out of Raleigh and make it home in time to celebrate Halloween with their kids. Just in time...with one of the ladies' husbands deploying in a matter of days, I am so glad they made it home so she could spend that precious last bit of time with him.
On the other end of the week is the expected New York City Marathon on Sunday. Some of you may remember that I really really wanted to get into this marathon for my first one, but I was denied. Just as well, since it's turned into a PR-nightmare of a shit-show. And if I'd actually been registered, I think I would definitely defer to next year.
To recap, just in case you've been living under a ginormous rock or were in a coma, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on Monday night and completely decimated the Jersey shore, including the boardwalk in Atlantic City and much of the barrier islands and outlying peninsulas protecting New York City.
Atlantic City. Source.
Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, extremely dangerous conditions abound and there is still wide spread flooding. Oh and the 108 year-old subway system flooded in lower Manhattan.
That is several feet of water....Source.
All of this in the run up to a very big election and the New York City Marathon. And after a few days of rampant speculation and angst among the registered runners, over 20,000 of which are coming from outside the US, it appears that official word is that it will continue, with adjustments made. Mary Wittenberg, CEO of NYRR, host of the marathon, said in a statement yesterday that the decision was ultimately up to Mayor Bloomberg but that they would like to proceed as planned. Following that statement, Mayor Bloomberg confirmed in a press conference that they'd continue as planned since the city was resilient and it would lift spirits and help things get back to normal. Oh and money. The marathon brings in approximately 340 million dollars to the city's economy.So there's that.
Ms. Wittenberg was on the Today show this morning defending the choice, much to Matt Lauer's disbelief and attempt at some rather pointed questions. My very unscientific assessment of the comments following this NY Times article seem to be about 90%+ negative...as in are you out of your ever-loving-mind? It's not an easy decision - that is for sure. There are many competing reasons why or why not - some more valid than others, in my opinion. I've been following the arguments and they go something like this:
Let's do it. The people of New York and the city itself could sorely use the community spirit a race like this inspires - a real celebration of the human spirit, etc etc. And these crazy runners will bring millions of dollars of much needed revenue to the city right now. Also, marathoners train hard for these races and people spend a lot of money on this one in particular (including travel) so that is not fair to them to cancel at the last minute. And...they didn't cancel after 9/11....New Orleans still had Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. (To which I'd point out that neither of which was 5 days later...)
Are you out of your ever-loving mind? The reasons here are significant and can't be understated. First responders and emergency personnel should not be diverted to keep a race course and runners safe at this time as they are desperately needed elsewhere. The course may or may not be safe for runners, it's in very poor taste when they are still finding bodies of storm victims in the wreckage, and a significant portions of Lower Manhattan and Staten Island are still without power and diminishing supplies of fresh water and food. There are super long lines for gas, which they are rapidly running out of. And then there are just plain old fashioned logistics. Otherwise known as how the hell is everyone going to get around? Very limited transportation options at this time, if they can even get to the city. Airports are just now reopening and it'll take weeks to get things back to normal there since there were something like over 18,000 cancelled flights during the storm and it's aftermath.
I am sure I am leaving many things out -- this was just a quick summary of what I've been reading. I haven't really had a strong opinion either way until now. As a runner who hopes to do this race one day and who will also get up early to watch it if it does indeed happen this Sunday, I was more curious than anything else. I wanted to see what NYRR would choose to do and how the politics/optics of the situation would play out. I felt uneasy with the idea of them planning to continue but was pretty sure that pragmatic and common sense leadership would prevail and the right decision would ultimately be made with the good of the people in mind.
After more thought, and paying close attention to the messaging coming out of this very unfortunate crisis, I think they should cancel or postpone the race. 'It just doesn't seem right' isn't really that eloquent, but it fits. This event, while exciting and typically a great rallying event for New Yorkers, is also very taxing on the city in normal circumstances. Under the current one, it's hard to imagine them pulling this off with any measure of success. The backlash has started and it's pretty intense. I have to say that I agree. I think that this is the wrong decision and sadly, I think that money has a lot to do with it. I've read that the race has insurance that would cover refunding entry fees if the race were cancelled. But a lot of money has already been spent on this race that can't be recouped.
The Charity partners that benefit from fundraising, the vendors that have rented space at the expo, security considerations, supplies purchased, not to mention the hefty sponsorship fees that would need refunding....that money is already committed or spent. Much easier to delay communication so that people are forced to decide on their own if they will cancel and defer to next year than to do the hard thing and call it off. No refunds if the participant cancels. That may be a cynical reading of this, but I just don't buy the spin they are throwing out there on using this already scheduled event to help the recovery and a platform to raise 'awareness'. It seems, as the backlash grows, that I am not the only one to reach that conclusion. There is a lot of talk of the runners wanting to help out while they are here, and perhaps some will and it will be great. No way to know, I guess.
In any case, the show, as it were, may indeed carry on. But at what cost? I'll be watching to see what happens. I am curious if the backlash will cause second thoughts and it will be cancelled after all....or if it will happen with negative consequences. I might be surprised and find that it goes off relatively well and that getting back to normal and demonstrating that quintessential New Yorker spirit was just what the city needed. We shall see. Only thing certain is that I'll be watching how it all plays out.
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