The New York City Marathon will not be run on Sunday in the wake of devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, the mayor's office has announced. Race officials met Friday to discuss the pros and cons of holding event, and have decided against holding the race's 2012 edition.
Controversy has surrounded the previous decision to hold the race as planned, as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday the race would "go on". That declaration received plenty of criticism, with New York nowhere close to normal as it deals with the aftermath of flooding and power outages. Areas of the city are still without power and the mass transit system has sustained crippling damage.
Bloomberg has previously stated that holding the race was important to the citizens of New York, but changed his tone on Friday. The mayor said he didn't want a "cloud to hang over the race or the participants," according to Emily Steel of the Financial Times.
The race was expected to draw 47,000 participants, along with over two million spectators.
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.