New York City Marathon Canceled
New York City officials just announced the first ever cancellation of the New York City Marathon.
English: Marathon de New-York : Verrazano Bridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pressure had been mounting for days to postpone the event, which attracts tens of thousands of runners from around the world. Opponents pointed out that not only was the 26 mile event a logistical nightmare in the best of circumstances, handing out food and water to recreational runners while millions of people in the region lack access to electricity and running water was ludicrously insensitive.
Sanitation workers assigned to clean-up after the Marathon were beginning to file protests with their union. Even many scheduled to run in the race had declared it should be canceled, with some organizing to get runners to begin the race, but then deviate from the traditional route and instead deliver aid to those in need.
New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who hours earlier had told a press conference that the Marathon needed to go on because it would be “a great help for our relief efforts,” released a statement saying the event had instead become a “source of controversy and division” and would canceled.
About Helaine Olen
I am the voice of The Bills, a column about the intersection of money and life, at Slate. At Inc., I contribute to the Spread the Wealth personal finance column. My work on politics, economics, workplace culture and women’s issues has been published in numerous other print and on-line publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Salon, Pacific Standard, and The Los Angeles Times, where I wrote and edited the popular “Money Makeover” feature.
I'm the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, and The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be so Complicated, which I co-wrote with Harold Pollack.
What else? I’m a passionate bibliophile, a fan of 1970s pop music and a lover of rummage sales. I live in New York City.
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