Gisela Clausen told her fellow runners from Germany the disappointing news of the decision to cancelll the NYC marathon.
"We spend a year on this. We don't eat what we want. We don't drink what we want. And we're on the streets for hours. We live for this marathon," she said, "but we understand."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had to come to the actuality of the grave situation the population is in and come face front with the growing cynism and criticism that now is an inappropriate time to hold a marathon when so many are suffering from the catastrophic storm, Sandy.
So the decision was finally made to not run.
Bloomberg, insisted on Friday that the marathon, which would have been the world’s largest marathon would resume on Sunday. However, things were seen differently as the mayor announced that he would not want "a cloud to hang over the race or its participants."
"I'm shocked," said Clausen, who is from Munich. "Not at the situation, but at how short this decision is (in) coming."
Like Clausen, many of the runners empathised with those in the situation. The death toll in the city stood at 41 and is growing and thousands of people are in the cold without electricity. All of this makes the idea of a marathon almost repulsive and offensive to New Yorkan and any public sensibilities.
"I understand why it cannot be held under the current circumstances," Meb Keflezighi, the 2009 men's champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, said in a statement. "Any inconveniences the cancellation causes me or the thousands of runners who trained and traveled for this race pales in comparison to the challenges faced by people in NYC and its vicinity."
The cancellation means there won't be another NYC Marathon until next year.
"We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event — even one as meaningful as this — to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track," Bloomberg said.
In Staten Island, Cynthia Spinner said, "Thank God, thank God," when she heard the marathon was canceled.
"More for our people in New York," she said. "They shouldn't take their police or ambulance services off of what they're doing now to go for the marathon. People need homes. They're in hotels; they need everything right now."
Around the metro area, progress is slowly being realized.
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