Sandy's Marathon of Destruction...NYC's Marathon of Hope

This week has been one of mixed emotions, confusion, and shame. Hurricane Sandy came through the beautiful city of New York, and not only demolished entire communities, displacing thousands of residents, but created a divide through much of the city. At a time when people should have come together for the better good, prevailed against the hardship, they instead attacked the runners. Why? Because the NYC marathon was scheduled to run less than a week after the storm. Despite the catastrophe the New York Road Runners (NYRR) president and NYC mayor decided that the marathon would be good to boost the moral of the city. This became the hot topic. A divide between people who agreed the marathon should go on and those who argued against it.

I found myself feeling guilty that I thought it should be run. Not only because of what the marathon means to so many people, but because I truly believed that it would bring positive attention and uplifting energy to those in need. However, I don't think it was handled well. And because of this, people against the marathon verbally attacked the runners. We were labeled as selfish and arrogant. Words that I never associate with my running community. Because running is more than just a fulfilling physical activity, it's about being a part of a loving community, a team of people who are there to support you.

Victims of this terrible storm tried to take that away. I admit, that once I realized the extent of the devastation, I thought maybe the route should be changed, but continued to believe we could bring about a positive experience for the entire community. We could band together and support the communities in dire need, just as we do our running families.

There was extensive new articles, blogs, Facebook comments, and Twitter feeds, but the following quote from Long Run Pain: A Staten Islander's View on Why the Marathon Should Not Have Been Cancelled resonates the most with me:

"That the marathon became the focal point of worst natural disaster in New York City history is a disgrace. As a native Staten Islander and as a runner, I couldn’t be more appalled (and I wasn’t scheduled to run Sunday’s race).

Of course, this was never really about the marathon. It was about anger. We had just been devastated by a terrible tragedy. We were upset. We needed someone to blame.

To see ourselves as the victims of a randomly cruel universe didn’t offer much comfort. Existentialism is unsettling...

I’m not concerned about the runners. They’re disappointed, but they’ll adjust their training and find other races to run. Dealing with adversity is what we do.

No, I’m worried about the rest of New York. Our propensity to point fingers, our inclination towards anger, our tendency to be destructive rather than constructive.

I’ve seen how the marathon can represent New York at its best and I’m saddened to see how it’s become a symbol of New York at its worst."

~Mike Cassidy, an Olympic Trials qualifier, is a native of Staten Island with a marathon best of 2:18:52. He was 22nd overall and the sixth American at the 2010 ING NYC Marathon in 2:24:05.

In the end, the marathon was canceled, but that didn't stop the thousand of runners who had trained for months from running. Almost immediately groups were assembled to run through Statin Island with full backpacks in stow and deliver much needed supplies...the Marathon of Relief. An activity, I wanted so dearly to participate in, but couldn't get there due to transportation issues...and still feel guilty about. At last count, I believe a thousand runners disembarked for this destroyed Island, putting aside all the negative comments made about them in order to help.

Another massive group of runners decided to Run the Marathon Anyway. They were not running for themselves, but for the charity they had raised thousands of dollars for, or in the memory of loved ones with a devastating illness. They were determined to see the end of there journey for a cause, to see the fruition of there blood, sweat, and tears. But, they too banded together to collect massive amounts of donations, items highly needed by Sandy victims. And these are just the large organized events. Local running clubs, such as my own, the Vancourtland Track Club, packed a few car loads of supplies for donation.

You see, all this was done by so called selfish runners. But we are not selfish at all! And I will no longer feel ashamed for being a marathoner in the wake of the storm. I will stand tall and run proudly.