The 2012 NYC Marathon- Ten Years Ago, The Greatest Marathon that Never Was

NEW YORK (04-Nov) — I remember it like it was yesterday.

Ten years ago this Friday, I walked out of my race-week office on the 44th floor of the New York Hilton and into the elite athletes’ hospitality suite for the New York City Marathon.  It was around 6:00 p.m., and the suite was full of athletes, coaches, managers, guests, and staff.  I grabbed a banquet chair from the dining room table and stood on it.  I took a deep breath.

“May I have everyone’s attention,” I shouted above the din?

The room suddenly went quiet, and everyone turned toward me.  Their faces were anxious.  They knew what was coming.

“I’m sorry, but the race has been canceled,” I told them.

I don’t recall what I said next, but there was a stunned silence.  It was the first time the New York City Marathon had ever been canceled since its inception in 1970.  I’ll never forget the face of Katie DiCamillo.  The former Providence College athlete was only 25 and was going to make her marathon debut that Sunday.  Her eyes were wet with tears.  She, and the other athletes, didn’t know what to do.

And neither did I.

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) pro athletes team, led by Sam Grotewold, Jane Monti, and me, had worked all week mightily to get the 42 elite women and 45 elite men to New York despite the massive wallop delivered to the New York region by Hurricane Sandy, the largest-diameter Atlantic hurricane on record which inflicted $70 billion in damage, killed 233 people (72 in the northeastern United States), flooded portions of New York City, and leveled thousands of homes.  Our team had made heroic efforts to reroute athletes to different airports and put them on different flights to get around the storm.  We even sent drivers to Boston to pick up diverted athletes.  All but a handful made it to New York, and the race was a “go” until Deputy Mayor for Government Affairs and Communications Howard Wolfson officially announced the cancellation with NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg at a press conference near the marathon finish line.

“Over the course of the week, it became clear that the marathon –which is really one of the best days in the life of the city, a moment of unity, happiness, joy, celebration, and everything that is New York– had become divisive and controversial,” Wolfson said. “Those of us who love the city, and those of…