New York City Marathon organizers say Sunday’s race will not be canceled or delayed by Hurricane Sandy, and they do not even expect it to be significantly affected, thanks to advance planning and fortuitous timing.
“Will the marathon go on? The answer is yes, with very little in the way of cancellations,’’ said Mary Wittenberg, race director and New York Road Runners president. “We have time on our side.’’
With Sandy hitting last night, six days before the race, Wittenberg expressed confidence organizers would have enough time to clear and prep the course and runners enough time to get into town.
“Our biggest advantage is being in the city we are, with the partners we have,” she said. “A lot have been through many, many marathons and putting on 50 events a year and seen it all. … [We have] a plan well-vetted, well-known to all of us here.’’
Wittenberg acknowledged their contingency plans “went to a whole other level” after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and dealing with a massive two-foot snowfall just before hosting the World cross-country championships in Feb. 2006.
“What’s very clear is when we have a window of opportunity, we plan for it all — timing really matters a lot,’’ Wittenberg said. “We’re extraordinarily lucky the marathon isn’t today.’’
Organizers will have generators and backup power in the areas most needed, and expect to be able to get a good number of runners into the area in timely fashion thanks to partner United Airlines, even among the up to 20,000 foreign runners expected to be routed through Heathrow in London.
The deadline to withdraw from Sunday’s race and guarantee a spot in next year’s marathon normally would be tomorrow, but it will be moved back to Saturday for any runners unable to make the trip because of the storm. Cancellations now can be done online or via postmark.
One significant concern is the ferries, with terminals in lower Manhattan and Staten Island falling squarely in Hurricane Zone A. Wittenberg said more than half of the runners are brought to the start line at the Verrazano Bridge via ferry, so that situation will warrant close attention in the days ahead.
“We prepare for the worst,’’ said Wittenberg, “but hope for the best.’’