BORDERER Keith King was one of thousands disappointed when the New York Marathon was cancelled in the wake of Superstorm Sandy last week.
The 42-year-old from Galashiels had flown to the city earlier with his wife Becca to take part in what would have been his second ever marathon.
His father Ian said: “They struggled to get from the airport to the city and they just heard (about the race being cancelled) as they walked in the hotel door. He said nobody seemed to know what was happening. I don’t know if he helped in the clean-up operation or if he did a run or not. It would have been a bit of an anti-climax.”
The Scottish Borders IT expert hoped to raise money for Parkinson’s UK, running for his mum Muriel who has had the disease for more than 25 years.
He’d told us previously: “I’m really excited about the start. When you look online and see the pictures, it looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to running down past Central Park. It’s one of the most iconic races.”
But Superstorm Sandy, said to be the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, hit the city last Monday, flooding streets and the subway, and cutting power. And this week the death toll in New York stood at 42.
The 26.2-mile run on Sunday was initially going to go ahead, but following criticism, the city’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, cancelled the event last Friday.
The race was to have started in Staten Island, one of the areas of the city hit hardest. Some runners, who like Mr King had already arrived in New York, ran their own unofficial marathon, while others jogged through Staten Island handing out supplies, some giving donated items from the race including bottled water, blankets, food and medical supplies.
Mr King and his wife were this week visiting relatives in Atlanta before returning to Scotland.