Thursday, November 1, 2012

Live from NYC :What do you think?

I'm writing from my house with the help of a generator my husband has hooked up only hour ago (thank you so so so so much Scott for waking up super early for your family and going above and beyond to get this to work).

My family is safe but the neighborhood looks like it has been through a warzone. I will have pictures shortly.  This weekend I am supposed to race in the NYC marathon.  I have mixed feelings...run, not to run...I feel like so many are devastated there and it will be even harder when they literally shut down the city, even more than it already is, for this race.  You can't get in by car without a certain amount of people, many of the roadways are still flooded...I'm hearing some are pissed about it still being on...while I'm also hearing it will bring the heart back when it ít's needed most.

What do you think? 

12 comments:

  1. Wow, I hope everything turns out okay at your house in NY.

    As for the race, this is a really tough call to make whether to have the race or not. Do you have it so that the runners who are in NYC are able to run their race? And maybe help out some businesses with the influx of $$$ that they bring? Or do you not have it and have the fire and police officers dispensed around the city to continue dealing with the Hurricane?

    My gut feel is that they should have the race, since it will bring a great spirit to the city. I hope runners dedicate their race to the victims of the hurricane. I hope runners donate to the hurricane relief effort, I bet it will be an emotional race by seeing the damage caused by the hurricane while running the race.

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  2. Hi Annette - since you asked, I will say that I think you should not make you decision based on what other people think. There are people who loudly and vocally feel the race should be run, and those who loudly and vocally feel the race should not be run, so you will never please everyone and I do not believe there is any "right" or "wrong" decision.

    Honestly, the decision has been made. The race is on. Now we get to choose to participate or not. For us it was an easier decision because our plane tickets were non refundable, hotel rooms paid for, etc. etc. But if I still lived in NY, I would still run. I think if the race went on and people stayed home and didn't run it would be a sad thing, and I think the marathon can be a very revitalizing thing for the city. It brings joy and cheers and strength and hope. It brings money and revenue. It brings the message that NY goes on, and life goes on and things are returning to normal. The city shuts down for a very short period of time for the race (hours) and is up and "running" again like the race never happened very very quickly. So, those are my thoughts. No matter what anyone thinks, the race is happening, and to me, the best way to show my support to NY is to show up and run. Good luck with whatever you decide! I am so glad your family is safe and has a generator and hope your power is back on SOON. Hugs!!

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    1. I think the issue is I am so split in the middle. I like to hear others opinions because it helps me hear but when it comes down to it...I listen to my heart and hopefully in the end I will be happy with my decision. I will have to make the decision closer to the date and see what is going on then. Right now I am still tossed... Going out to search for gas now!

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    2. meant to say ...helps me hear my own voice in a clearer way....

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  3. I think I am pretty split on it too, I think the first priority should be the people and getting things set right, but then again like you said a marathon could be so good for the spirit.

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  4. It's hard. I am appalled by some of the things I am seeing and reading....like they have asked people to get rid of people staying there because they don't have a home because of the marathoners??? This is not what it was supposed to be about. They should have thought of the big picture...thought out of the box and made the race next week....then it wouldn't be a moral decision to run or not to run.

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  5. Glad that you and your family are okay. It is a tough decision as to run or not run. I think you need to decide what is best for you at the moment. It might be uplifting in some way for you to run. If you do run, good luck!

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  6. I don't think there is a "wrong" answer here, but my personal opinion is that it is a very bad idea to have the race this weekend. I would postpone to next year if I could.

    The reason is that there are so many families and people who still do not have power or even water. People are walking miles to get to work because you can't take a subway. The traffic to get into Manhattan is insane right now. Many people can't even go back to their homes yet.

    Now imagine you are one of those people, and you happen to see on TV that race organizers are handing out free Gatorade and snacks .... to runners. They are giving blankets... to runners. The streets and bridgees are closed.... for runners. You can't get into your home but you can't get a hotel room because they are all booked... for the marathon. Ugh.

    I agree that NORMALLY the city shuts down for a few hours and then everything is fine. But we are not in a NORMAL situation right now. Things are already totally effed up in many parts of the city, and the marathon will make it worse. I know it is only for one day, but I feel like it is adding insult to injury, and that is not good spirit or morale.

    I'm sure many people will come to cheer on the race and they will enjoy it. But many people would not even have the ability to go to the race IF they wanted to, because they have lost their cars, or they can't get anywhere on the subway, or they are just too friggin cold bc they don't have heat in their house. (Although maybe they could get one of those free blankets!)

    Sooooooooooooo....... now that I have very strongly stated my opinion, let me also say that I know you and others have been training very hard for this, and that a lot of people have sunk a lot of money into non-refundable plane tickets and hotels. And I know for a lot of people, this will actually cheer them up and make them feel CLOSER to normal. So, that is why I started this by saying there is no wrong answer. But I do wish that the city had postponed the race and the hotel and airlines had worked with people on refunds. That would have been the best solution. Its just very bad timing to be holding the race now.


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  7. The one other serious thing I forgot to mention is safety. Not for runners, but for people who live in the city. There has been looting and the National Guard has been brought in to help patrol neighborhoods to protect people from looters.

    They had to bring in the National Guard. Because the local police can not handle everything that is happening right now.

    Not a good time to have a massive road race.

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  8. This would be a tough one for me! I have run NYC several times, including last year, but I am not registered this time. I really don't think that it's a good idea for the marathon to go on, considering how bad things are there right now....however, if it IS going on....then you certainly should not feel guilty for running in it. If you do decide to go for it....GOOD LUCK to you!

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  9. I lost my house power last night. Still off. No ETA. Frown face.

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