NYC Marathon: NYRR announces race 'will proceed'

The 2012 New York City Marathon "will proceed on Sunday, November 4," the New York Road Runners announced in a statement early Thursday morning. NYRR made the official decision after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced earlier on Wednesday that the marathon "will go on."

Additionally, the race organizers announced "this year's marathon is dedicated to the City of New York, the victims of the hurricane, and their families."

NYRR says "there will be substantial modifications to the logistics and operations of the race, including the transportation plan, due to the impact of the storm," but hasn't yet said what those modifications will be. To get to the race start, on Staten Island, runners must travel through either lower Manhattan or the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, but both are heavily damaged after Sandy.

To help with relief efforts, NYRR is "adjusting Marathon Day plans as a result of the storm's impact on our operations and resources" and will "ensure that our planning doesn't affect any recovery efforts." They're also making it easy to make a donation, through both the Mayor's Fund and CrowdRise.

Other alterations made to race include canceling both Friday night's Marathon Opening Ceremony and Saturday's Dash to the Finish Line 5K, extending hours to pick-up bibs numbers at the expo (10 p.m. on Saturday) and revising the cancellation policy:

Runners who are forced to cancel this year because they are unable to reach NYC due to weather will be eligible for guaranteed entry to the 2013 race, even if they also cancelled in 2011. Also, runners may now cancel online, by e-mail, or by mail, until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, or in in person at the here until 5:00 p.m. EDT on that date.

Lastly, NYRR is still looking for more volunteers to help with the marathon.