Sandy? Schmandy! New York Marathon, like city, is bouncing back

There are some things about New York that even a hurricane can’t change.

And one of those apparently is the ING New York City Marathon.

In separate statements, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and marathon organizers said the famous 26.2-mile race through Brooklyn, Queens and into Manhattan should go on as scheduled Sunday morning.

“The marathon has always been a special day for New Yorkers as a symbol of the vitality and resiliency of this city,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and chief executive of New York Road Runners, in a prepared statement.

Wittenberg said the group, which organizes the event, was continuing to “move ahead with its planning and preparation. We will keep all options open with regard to making any accommodations and adjustments necessary to race day and weekend events.”

Race officials said that as many as 20,000 runners who were planning to fly into the area for the marathon could be affected, and some may miss the race altogether.

Those who can’t make it into the city -- competitors have until Saturday to cancel -- are going to be automatically entered into the 2013 race.

Event organizers are working with airlines to try to get as many runners into the race as possible.

“There is no better city to handle this,” Wittenberg said.

Bloomberg pointed to the race as another sign that life is gradually getting back to normal for New Yorkers.

Buses in Queens began to shuttle people around the city Tuesday afternoon, the New York Stock Exchange was scheduled to reopen Wednesday morning, and services for senior citizens were to be back by Thursday.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

@josephserna

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