new york marathon... why not do the right thing?

I recently started running. I have ran a few 5k's. I get the addiction and the reason why we run races. I do not get why the marathon is still going forward this year.

The town is in all sorts of disarray. There are many people without food, power, heat, water, homes, gas, etc. this list can go on and on. There are reports of people eating out of dumpsters because they dont have food or their homes were washed away or burnt down. Yet the marathon has generators sitting by at the ready to make food for the people running the marathon. Generators that would best be used to help restore some power to peoples homes and apartment buildings. There are elderly people who need elevators to get out of their buildings who cant because they dont have power. Yet the marathon has generators just sitting by waiting to be fired up to make some pasta.

There are medical tents set up all over the place to tend to the runners, when people have been beaten, battered from the storm who could use the medical attention. there are plenty of cops on hand to block off streets and keep the runners safe. cops and fire fighters and emergency personnel that could be utilized way better than they are now.

I know it is a big deal. i totally get it. I get that you may have trained for a long time preparing yourself physically and mentally and even emotionally for this event. Why not do the right thing and cancel or postpone this marathon for a while until New York can get itself put back together. They still aren't certain that there are not people still stranded. There was a story of a woman who got trapped with her two kids in the storm. They tried to seek shelter in a guys home and he denied them the help. the waves from the storm washed the two kids away. They found the two kids about a half mile from where they were washed away, dead. People are grieving, people are trying to clean up or make sense of it all. Some people are in shock as they lost all of their belongings including the shelter they called home.

They dont need to see these people running thru their tattered streets, smiling and having a good time. They need help. Why not put those generators sitting there on standby to good use and power up a few homes or buildings. Why not let the cops, fire fighters, and emergency personnel tend to those that actually need it due to this disaster.

Its time to do the right thing and cancel/post pone this race and let New York heal themselves or help heal them. Then you can come back and run the race like it was intended in the first place. Only bad can come from continuing to run this race. People will rebel over this. People have lost everything they own, in some cases they have lost their loved ones as well. Its not the time to do this.

People are having a hard time moving around the city as it is. I hear stories of 3 hour long waits just so these people can get to a bus just to get taken anywhere near where they work or live. 3 hour WAIT. then how long of a drive, plus time to walk from who knows where to where you work. now DOUBLE THAT. because they still have to get home. now you are going to clutter up the area with more people, closing off MORE STREETS. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Good luck to anyone who is running it, and i hope for the best for you. In my opinion its the wrong decision.