This was a very difficult decision, deciding if we should go to NYC in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. I did believe it should have been canceled, and I would have supported this decision 100%. From watching the news, we got an idea of what was going on up there. My biggest concern was starting the race in Staten Island, which was hit by this storm in a terrible way. Hearing the story of the two and four year olds who lost their lives in this storm was devastating. Starting a marathon on this island seemed wrong.
As days went on, NYRR and Mayor Bloomberg announced that the marathon was to go on, and that this was the best thing for the city. The city needed the runners to still come to the city and even more so now, to help the economy. I do not live in NYC, so if the mayor of the city believes the marathon should go on; I decided to support his decision. I remember after 9-11, so much of the local economy was hurting because so many people canceled their trips. I spoke with friends who live in the city and they also thought it was best to come to town.
Other factors that were weighing on my mind were my health. I had been sick for a week and a half leading up to our trip. I was still not fully over my illness. I had picked up an antibiotic two days before our departure, and felt a world different, but I was still fighting a cough. I also had not run for a week and a half leading up to our trip because of my illness. I decided I was still going to go, if I ran or not. I was feeling better each day, and maybe by Sunday I would feel well enough to get through the marathon. I already knew my time was not going to be great for the race since my training for the marathon had been less than par, so I was okay with if this had to turn into a walk/run by the end of it.
The NYC Marathon has always been my dream. NYC is my favorite city in the world. I have never cared about running the Boston Marathon, which is many runners dream. For me, it has always been NYC. I got into the race by the lottery, missing out 3 years in a row; I was automatically in this year. I saved up hotel reward points for a year, booked my flight in January, my parents planned to come to the city with us, and Chris and I decided to run for something more this year, and so we chose to raise money for The Isabella Santos Foundation and their fight to end childhood cancer. We raised over $1300, all of which went straight to the foundation.
Since this marathon was still on schedule, we were going. Our flights were never canceled leading up to the race, so we didn’t have to mess with any rescheduling.
I did feel some negativity from online social media sites about still going to NYC. I read news publications and on facebook about people who were canceling their trips for the marathon because they did not feel it was right for them to go. I understood this and supported them in their decision. Although, I did feel that people who chose not to go, and people who just did not feel anyone should go, (even if they had nothing to do with the marathon,) were trying to guilt us and others into not going. Some people were acting like martyrs in their decision not to go. This I really did not understand. I understand if you feel bad about going to run the marathon so you choose not to, but keep your opinions on others to yourself.
I can tell you that we did not take anyone’s seat on a flight to NYC, as our flight to LaGuardia on Friday morning was less than half full. When we got to the airport, we had no problems getting right to Manhattan on a shuttle. The tunnels were still closed, so the trip into the city took a few minutes longer than usual, but still, not long. Once we got into Manhattan, it looked like business as usual. We chose to walk from Port Authority to our hotel on Central Park South. When I am in NYC I like to walk everywhere, if we wanted to take a cab or the subway to our hotel, it would have been no problem. I never noticed cabs in short supply on our trip. I have been to NYC many, many times, and the city was just as crowded as it ever has been. I also believe that us keeping our hotel reservations, in no way took away from anyone who was hit by the storm to have a hotel room. Our hotel was by Central Park, the majority of people hit by the storm would have a hard time getting to this hotel and I also don’t think they would be spending $600/night on a hotel room(again, we used hotel points). So, if we were to cancel our trip, and give up our room for someone who needed it more, it probably would have just gone to waste.
On the other hand, if someone was to give up their room, but actually still pay for their stay and donate it to someone in need, well then yes, that would be a mighty good deed!
Chris and I went to the expo on Friday afternoon at lunch time. We took the subway from our hotel to get there faster so we could get lunch after. This was the only time we took the subway our whole trip, and it was free on Friday, which was great! The expo had a line wrapped around the building to just get in to the expo. We did not expect this at noon on Friday, especially hearing that so many people were not coming to the marathon anymore. We waited 20 minutes before we got into the expo and then were quickly able to get our bibs and shirts. The expo was slammed so we got out of there as quick as possible. This also made us feel good about the marathon again, seeing everyone there so excited for the event and all the volunteers in full support.
Chris and I then stopped to have lunch at an Irish bar/restaurant before making our way to Times Square to wait in the TKTS line for a Broadway show that night. Time Square was just as packed as any other trip I have been on to NYC. We got our tickets and walked back to our hotel. We needed a nap after getting up at 3am for our flight. When I woke up I checked facebook on my phone and saw a post by Théoden Janes about the marathon, and saying that is still may be canceled. As I scrolled down to comments, I saw that people were confirming that it was, in fact, canceled. I shared the news with Chris. It was pretty hard to believe after just being at the expo and watching the news and Bloomberg that day saying it was still going to happen without a doubt. We texted people who were working the expo and they confirmed the news.
My thoughts on the decision at this point were that it was just wrong. I was still in full support of the marathon being canceled due to the circumstances, but this late in the game was not right. There were so many of us here in the city, some from so much further than us. They never should have announced with full certainty that the marathon was on days ago.
For many of us, a trip to NYC is not an easy thing to afford. Not to mention the $250 fee to run the marathon. One reason I decided to make the trip was because I did not know if I would ever be able to have the opportunity to run in the NYC marathon again. If I deferred to 2013, I would still have to pay the $250 to run, plus buy another flight to the city, and pay for hotels, because not sure I would be able to have enough hotel points again. Chris and I are also getting married in 2013, so we may not have the vacation days to use for the trip, or the money, after all the finances for the wedding. If I could not make it back in 2013, I don’t know that I would ever get in again. The qualifying time has been changed to a much faster time that I don’t see myself ever attaining.
I still have not heard anything as to what the NYRR plans to do for those of us who made it to the city for the marathon and did not choose to defer. I am not even sure if we get automatic entry into the marathon next year (automatic entry just means a spot, we would still have to pay the $250 fee to register.) In my opinion, I think we should get automatic entry into a future NYC marathon, but it should not have to be 2013. Maybe a choice of one in the next 5 years? I know this will not happen, just wishful thinking. It is hard to get there two years in a row. Thing is, NYC marathon will go on, and they will still sell out, so they really don’t have to do anything.
When we found out there was no marathon, we were disappointed, but in support and chose to make the best of our trip. We were, of course, in NYC! It would now just be a vacation. I will write another post on how much fun we had on our trip and everything we saw and did!
One thing I really wanted to do, since we were there, was to volunteer to help relief efforts. I posted on facebook, asking for people to let me know where we could go to do this. I figured it would be easy to find an organization to volunteer with. I looked into the links I received and it left me confused on how to still actually help. Upper Manhattan was business as usual, but lower Manhattan was not, and not easy to get to, especially with not being a New Yorker.
I talked with a couple friends who live in NYC and they said they have been having a hard time with volunteering themselves. They said it has not been easy trying to help. One of my friends is on a volunteer committee for the city and she said that any time slots open up to register to help, they fill up so quickly that she still has not been able to find a volunteer slot. My other friend said the volunteer postings are just so vague it is hard to tell exactly where to go to help and how to get there.
I later saw postings on facebook of groups of runners who went to Staten Island to volunteer, but these opportunities were not communicated to everyone. It seemed like if you came here with a group or charity group, these were the ones who were organizing, with their groups, to help and organize ways to get there. There really was no communication that we saw on how to help. Even my friends who were not running and lived in NYC were hoping the Road Runners would communicate ways to help for everyone.
It seems that the perception given on TV to the rest of the world is not as accurate as if you are there. Upper Manhattan seemed to us to be just as crowded as ever, business as usual. It was not hard at all to get around, if you wanted a taxi, there were plenty. If you wanted to take the subway from 34th Street up, you could. Tour busses were running as normal, the city was bustling as ever before.
If we can afford to go to NYC for the marathon next year, and the timing is right, we will be there. If not, maybe one day, in years to come, I will get into the marathon through the lottery and will get to finally run in the NYC marathon. Either way, I will definitely be back to this wonderful city!
