New York City has canceled its annual marathon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, as Sunday’s race had become a lightning rod for residents frustrated by the disastrous aftermath of megastorm Sandy.

Bloomberg said the race was being canceled because it had become a “source of controversy and division.”

Critics on Friday ramped up opposition to the mayor’s decision earlier in the week to go forward with the marathon, saying the race would divert critical police and other resources from people in need following the storm.

Some people had set up online petitions calling for runners to boycott the 26.2-mile competition, or to run backward from the starting line in protest.

The New York City marathon is one of the world’s most popular sporting events and, according to pre-storm estimates, was expected to draw about 47,000 runners.

Bloomberg said the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, but that “we cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event – even one as meaningful as this – to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track.”

Bloomberg said the New York Road Runners Club, the organizers of the race, would have additional information in the days ahead for race participants.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT