The New York City Marathon may have been canceled by mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday afternoon, but that won't stop Holli Martinez — wife of former Seattle Mariners hitting machine and New York City native Edgar Martinez — from putting her running shoes on and participating in her first full length marathon on Sunday morning.
How will she pull that off you ask?
Well, on Saturday, Holli, along with her legendary husband, announced they will be organizing their own informal marathon in Central Park to take the original marathon's place, and have invited all marathoners in town and local residents to join them for the event to help raise money for superstorm Sandy victims.
The Martinezes are asking runners to show up at the corner of Columbus Circle and Central Park Drive for the informal event at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday and run as far as they want on a course that will require five laps to complete a full marathon.
"I completely understand why they had to cancel the New York City Marathon," Holli said. "But I'm thrilled we're here to do something positive and helpful. We love this city. I chose my first marathon to be in New York because nowhere else in the world is like this city. I love New York and the people. If we can help in any way, it will be more meaningful than ever to have this be my first marathon."
What a cool idea and awesome gesture this is, especially on Holli's part. Rather than be disappointed about the event she trained for being canceled under unfortunate circumstances, she's turning it into a feel good story that could end up benefiting several people who can use a boost in wake the destructive storm.
Kudos to her. And kudos to Edgar, too, even though he wasn't scheduled to be a participant in the New York City Marathon and won't be running in the charity event either. No, he won't be working up much of a sweat, but he'll still have one of the most important roles for the impromptu happening.
"I'll be passing out water," Edgar said with a chuckle. "I don't even drive that far."
Those of all us who watched Martinez run over his 18 year big league career certainly aren't surprised by this development, but he could have at least utilized a pinch-runner.
All kidding aside, check out the website The Martinez Foundation has set up for donations or visit them on Facebook for more information.
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