FINANCIAL TIMES: New York officials cancelled the annual marathon that had been scheduled to take over the city’s streets on Sunday, following public outrage that carrying on with the race would divert resources from Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.
Nearly 40,000 runners had prepared to race the 26.2 mile course that runs through each of the city’s five boroughs and starts at the foot of the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island, one of the hardest hit areas in the region. The bodies of two young boys who were swept away from their mother were found nearby on Thursday, bringing the death toll in the city to more than 40…
They said that the marathon would not have taken away from resources needed for recovery efforts but that it had become a lightning rod for controversy. The New York Road Runners said it would donate food and supplies from the marathon to the storm relief efforts… (more)
