There was controversy swirling around the ING New York City Marathon, which was cancelled today.
Critics said that the city shouldn't be holding a marathon while those in the outer borough suffer in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Now, the NYRR has sent an email out to its members announcing the cancellation.
The beginning of the announcement reads (emphasis ours):
"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that the 2012 ING New York City Marathon has been canceled.
The decision was made after it became increasingly apparent that the people of our city and the surrounding tri-state area were still struggling to recover from the damage wrought by the recent extreme weather conditions. That struggle, fueled by the resulting extensive and growing media coverage antagonistic to the marathon and its participants, created conditions that raised concern for the safety of both those working to produce the event and its participants. While holding the race would not have required diverting resources from the recovery effort, it became clear that the apparent widespread perception to the contrary had become the source of controversy and division."
We can only assume that the NYRR is talking about things like yesterday's New York Post's front page, which called the NYC Marathon out for using massive generators while others suffer without power.
The letter, which as Felix Salmon point out, was already destined for heavy scrutiny. It has quickly sparked some backlash.
"That's right, this seemingly never-ending nightmare of destruction, death and human suffering can't stop the show, blame the media," writes Rebecca Fishbein at Gothamist.
Fortunately, some good should come out of all of this. The organization will be donating marathon resources to the recovery effort, and is giving $1 million in aid.
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