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"Disenfranchised" Marathon Runners Vow To Run On Sunday Anyway
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
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Tens of thousands of runners who've descended on NYC from all over the world are currently coping with the news that Sunday's Marathon will be cancelled. Some are considering donating their hotel rooms to New Yorkers displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Others are deciding to just run the Marathon anyway. Runner David McNally, who says he's "lived the greater part" of his life on Staten Island, will run the route with his friends, and he wants others to join them.
"My friends and I are still planning to run the course, starting in Bay Ridge and we are recruiting people!" says McNally. Like others who turned to Facebook as part of an effort to get the Marathon cancelled, McNally has started a Facebook page to bring the Marathon back to life [sic all below ]:
For those of who are disenfranchised from running this Sundays NYC Marathon, come join me to run the course this Sunday. It takes a lot to train for such a feat and to come so far to run the worlds most popular marathon shouldn't draw anger or diversion, but unity and respect for the greatest city in the world. I've lived on Staten Island for the greater part of my life and i believe by running this marathon it would raise money and draw admiration for the resiliency of the greatest city in the world.
Even though it is canceled we should run it anyway for our selves, but most of all for all those that we have lost during this week. The show must go on. All those who are with me join me tomorrow in bay ridge to volunteer and run sunday to raise whatever we can in spite of the cancelation.
Before anyone rushes to judgment, do note how McNally is planning on volunteering to help Hurricane victims tomorrow, and then running on Sunday, which seems like a fair compromise. To be sure, it is a lot of work training for the Marathon, and we can understand how frustrating and disappointing all this must be. Of course, if McNally's group gets to be too big, his marathon could turn into a long, crowded slog along NYC's crowded sidewalks. But you've got to admire his tenacity! Or, fine, rush to judgment in the comments...
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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