It never even occurred to me not to enter the drawing - I may not be fast, but I always finish what I've started.
#Retrospect philly registration#
Then the Philadelphia marathon, already scheduled for just two weeks after that New York one that never was, generously opened up a drawing specifically for the displaced runners, with half the registration fee going for the hurricane relief effort. And, many, like frustrated lovers on an unconsummated date, also began scouting for another outlet for our energy. Many, like the members of my team, spent the day volunteering in the now devastated parts of Staten Island, where the race would have begun. Many ran in a hastily assembled unofficial, fundraising marathon through Central Park. It gave us welcome and warmth and refuge after one of the darkest experiences in the Big Apple's history, just by letting us pound its streets.Īfter the New York City marathon was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, thousands of stranded runners from around the world cobbled together their own rituals for the race day. Yet on Sunday, Philadelphia gave me – and nearly 1,500 other New York marathon runners – something new.
I had returned, again and again over the years, to see my friends and to eat soft pretzels and to introduce my children to the city's charms. I'd gone to school there I'd forged some of the best and most enduring relationships of my life there. Besides, I knew how much Philly could give. In retrospect, I should have expected nothing less from a city whose very name means brotherly love.