I overcame a barrage of obstacles — physical, mental, even geographical — on my quest to run the New York City Marathon this year. But it was an epic storm seven days before the pay off that finally did me in.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Was it the right decision? Absolutely.

We’ll get to the dynamics of that decision in a minute. But first, take a little trip with me.

I ran in the mornings. I ran at night. I ran in sweltering heat and the freezing cold. I ran to music in Van Cortlandt Park and in the calm silence of northern Wisconsin. I ran in Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Lake Placid and Cape Cod.

I suffered shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, severe knee pain, ankle issues and chafing.

I once ran around the Jerome Park Reservoir (2.2 miles) seven times on a Friday night. About halfway through the eighth time my muscles literally started bubbling like water boiling on the stove. I barely walked the mile back to me house, chugged a glass of water and then puked it right back up. Good times.

I learned a lot. I learned the body often needs sodium more than water on long runs and took to bringing bags of salt along with me. I learned it’s not a good idea to wear cotton while running any kind of distance. (That one was painful!) I learned you need a very understanding and encouraging partner, in this case my wife, to allow you to spend three hours running on a Saturday when there are chores and parenting to do.

As you can see, it was all about me. Many runners raise money for charity while training. I just wanted to get through it to prove something to myself. (I can do it!)

When the storm hit, I didn’t think they would cancel the race. But the devastation kept mounting. Dead bodies began multiplying. There was still so much recovery work to be done. Bloomberg made the right call. About five days too late. But it was the right call.

Everyone told me they were sorry about the race being canceled. And yes, I was disappointed. Kind of like baking a beautiful cake and not being able to eat it. But this wasn’t about me. It was about a city that needed more time to heal.

Next year, I’ve decided to go through all the pain again. This time, I want it be about something bigger than me. I want to raise money for a worthy cause. I need some time to think about it and some help. If you have suggestions, send them to me at akratz@norwoodnews.org. I’ll let you know when I make my decision in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a suggestion if you want to help storm victims: Simply show up at the Kingsbridge Armory (see front page story) with some canned goods, diapers or your time.

–Alex Kratz, Editor

Editor’s note: A version of this story was originally published in the Nov. 15-28 print edition of the Norwood News.