UPDATE: Late yesterday, officials decided to cancel the race after all.  Was it the right decision?  Absolutely, given the circumstances. Was it the very last minute to make such a call, after confirming it was on just 2 hours earlier?  Um, yes.  Am I struggling to wrap my head around this right about now?  Absolutely.

I totally get it.  People are struggling, and the backlash against the race and the distraction it was causing wasn't a good thing for anyone.  And yes, me not getting to run in a race shouldn't even be in the same sentence as the devastation facing some New Yorkers.  Like the city, this will be OK eventually.  But man, does it sting right about now.

Here's to hoping I'm able to run NYC next year...

ORIGINAL POST:
As those of you that know me or follow this blog are well aware, I've been raising money for breast cancer research and training for the New York City Marathon.  I've been stressing for months over being on the hook to raise 10x more money than I've ever raised, along with getting myself up and out and running somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 training miles to prepare myself for this thing.  In the last couple weeks, I met my fundraising goal (woohoo!), knocked out my biggest training week (40 miles!) and have been able to breathe a little easier, knowing that the hay is in the barn, so to speak, and I'm as ready as I can be to run 26.2 miles again.

And then Sandy happened.

LaGuardia?  Looks more like Waterworld to me.

We've all seen the news reports and the devastation in NY/NJ is just plain awful.  I mean, how could they possibly still hold the race when there's widespread loss, flooding, power outages and massive cleanup and recovery needed.

But then, the talk turned to trying to move forward with the race.  And after a tenuous couple days of ups/downs scouring the internet for every shred of city/marathon information, Mayor Bloomberg made the definitive to continue with the race as scheduled.  Let me first say that the "stress" I've been feeling waiting to find out about the event doesn't even compare to those in the area that have been directly impacted by Sandy, but man has it been tough.  I've really struggled with whether or not it was appropriate to descend on the city to participate in this year's race given the recovery efforts and the resources needed to put on the race.

But at the end of the day, I have to trust the mayor.  He says the race is what the city needs, so we're doing it.  Tomorrow morning, we take off for the now reopened LaGuardia and NYC, then Sunday morning we take to the 5 boroughs to run in support of the city that never sleeps in this year's "Race to Recover".

For those interested, you can track me on the day of the race HERE starting at 10:30, using my bib number (46210).  Or you can watch the real runners on ESPN2.

New York, here we come.  Suck it, Sandy.