New York City Marathon officials determining storm’s effect on race

New York, NY, United States (4E) – Organizers of the New York City Marathon have been trying Tuesday to establish the storm’s effect on Sunday’s race including flight cancellations, flooding and power outages.

Richard Finn, spokesman for New York Road Runners which organizes the race, said that “we’re assessing today with the city what the damage was and the ability to recover as quickly as possible.”

He stressed that “the New York Road Runners is moving ahead with everything we can do to be on the way to putting on a great marathon this Sunday.”

The president of the runners’ group, Mary Wittenberg, stated that everyone will be given enough time to get to the race, and announced that there is a chance to cancel up to Saturday.

Around two million customers in the state of New York have been affected by power outage Tuesday afternoon and nearly all of the city’s bridges and tunnels have remained closed early Tuesday, while several roads are still impassable.

Race officials are yet to determine whether any section of the 26.2-mile course, that would pass through New York’s five boroughs, was flooded. Lower Manhattan, where heavy flooding took place Monday and early Tuesday, is not included in the race.

The race’s website announced Tuesday that “we are currently focused on recovery efforts, and our thoughts go out to all those affected by the storm. Please stay safe, we will update you later in the day as more information becomes available.”

Race officials have reportedly been taking “proactive measures to reschedule pre-race events and to accommodate participants affected by Hurricane Sandy.”

Wittenberg said that around 20,000 international runners could be affected by flight cancellations or delays, but there are several options to get them into other surrounding airports.

It was revealed by the group that participants who might not be able to arrive in time for the big race will be included in next year’s marathon, but there would be no refunds of entry fees.

The race’s “Health & Fitness Expo” at Javits Center will be opened on Thursday as scheduled. It is located within the area of Manhattan that has been ordered evacuated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The marathon will start Sunday morning on Staten Island, where runners will pass the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn and cross through Queens before intersecting the 59th street bridge to reach Manhattan and the Bronx.

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