Runner Understands Cancellation of NYC Marathon

A Garland teacher who was going to run the New York City Marathon for charity found out the event was canceled after she arrived in the Big Apple.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced late Friday afternoon that the race would not be held.

"I made it down to New York, and I picked up my packet at the expo with thousands of other runners," Marcie Adame said in a video message to NBC 5. "Of course, like the rest of the world, you found out at the same time we did."

Bloomberg announced the cancellation just a few hours after he had defended his earlier decision to hold the marathon, despite heavy criticism as New York City struggles to recover from Hurricane Sandy, NBC News reported.

"While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division," he said in a statement.

The cancellation has not dampened Adame's spirits.

"We're here with runners from all over the world," she said. "And like most runners, we're used to training for races and getting all the way up to the start line and the race, for whatever reason, is needing to be canceled for the safety of the participants, the spectators."

Adame added that some runners were talking of doing a ceremonial run across the city.

"We look forward to New York welcoming us back in 2013," she said.

The New York City marathon is the world largest, with tens of thousands of participants. In a typical year, New Yorkers line the route’s 26 miles, turning the city into a giant party.

The race winds through all five boroughs, but it starts in hard-hit Staten Island, parts of which look like a disaster zone.

NBC News' Andrew Mach and Elizabeth Chuck contributed to this report.