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The New York City Marathon will be held Sunday, but two days ahead of the race there are still conflicting reports on whether the event will take its usual course as the city attempts to recover from Hurricane Sandy, reports Kelly Whiteside of USA Today.
For the most part, the issue isn't the course itself: the 26.2 miles typically used don't venture near the areas left in the worst shape by the storm, such as Staten Island, the Rockaways and Lower Manhattan. But the organizers of the event said there would be "substantial modifications to the logistics and operations of the race" Thursday before later saying the course would not be changed. As of now, it is assumed the course will remain the same.
However, major logistical worries remain. For example, getting runners to the start, typically done in large part by ferry from lower Manhattan to near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island, looks to be a problem as ferries are not currently operational.
Two events, a parade of nations on Friday and a 5k run scheduled for Saturday, have been canceled. And getting professional runners to the city, which has had major airport closures, has been an issue. But for the most part, the race appears to be set to go on despite the major damage done by the storm.