Indy's Monumental Marathon could see boost from New York runners - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Despite Hurricane Sandy, the New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday is still a go, at least as of today.

But some runners planning to run New York are evidently playing it safe and deciding to run Indy instead.

The Monumental Marathon, which starts downtown and winds through several Indianapolis neighborhoods, is Saturday.

Blake Bolden, executive director of the Monumental, said they've received numerous calls from runners wanting to know if they could still register to run.

"While we do not yet have the actual data, we suspect that the recent spike in registration over the last 48 hours is due in large part to Hurricane Sandy and its impact on those who were planning to travel to the New York City Marathon," Bolden said.

He said 41 people registered Monday alone, noting that signing up to run a marathon is usually something people do well in advance.

Bolden said he also heard from a Chicago running group Tuesday. Fifty to one hundred runners planning to do New York had opted to do the Monumental.

The Monumental, which began five years ago, has continued to grow. In fact, with online registration closing Tuesday at midnight, less than 250 spots remained. This year, 10,000 people are expected to run the marathon, half marathon and 5k, which will set a record.

New York, one of the largest marathons in the world draws nearly 50,000 runners, many who get in via a lottery. The economic impact is pegged at $350 million. It's never been canceled and given the logistics, can't be postponed or rescheduled.

Bolden said, even though online registration for the Monumental closes Tuesday night, "we will resume registration at the Indianapolis Convention Center Thursday starting at 4:00 p.m. and continuing on Friday at 10:00 a.m."