New York City Marathon to go on Sunday

New York, NY, United States (4E) – The New York City Marathon will go on as scheduled on Sunday despite extensive damage in the city caused by Hurricane Sandy.

According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, many people come here for the race, aside from the many small businesses that depend on the yearly affair, and “it’s a great event for New York.”

Bloomberg said “I think for those who were lost, you’ve got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind.”

He mentioned Wednesday that most of the city is expected to have power restored by Sunday.

It was revealed by race organizers Tuesday that they want to determine whether the flight cancellations, flooding and power outages brought by Sandy would affect the number of runners in the 26.2-mile race.

Around 47,000 athletes from around the world usually take part in the race and nearly 8,000 volunteers are available to assist the runners.

The ING New York City Marathon is set to begin Sunday morning on Staten Island, participants will then traverse the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn and pass through Queens before intersecting the 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan and the Bronx.

Lower Manhattan, which is heavily flooded due to the storm, is not included in the race plan.

Marathon officials said that runners who might not arrive in time for the race will be entered in next year’s marathon, however, there would be no refunds on entry fees.

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