Aboriginal runners to help New York after Sandy

NEW YORK ( AFP) — Eight indigenous Australians who spent months training for the New York marathon said they were disappointed it was cancelled but will now volunteer to help the city recover from superstorm Sandy. The six men and two women, handpicked as part of a programme to create a potential Aboriginal distance running champion, had endured unusual training regimes, including dodging wild dogs and crocodiles on their outback runs.

But the athletes said they were all too happy to set aside their personal goals for the time being to help New Yorkers recover from the massive storm which left close to 100 people dead in the United States and Canada.

"That's what we want to do now on Sunday, to help people in New York, to make them feel happy," Justin Gaykamangu, from Ramingining in Arnhem Land, said from Times Square.

Robert de Castella, the former champion distance runner who heads the Indigenous Marathon Project, had been confident his group could finish the famous race but after arriving in New York realised the full extent of the storm damage.

" The situation in New York is absolutely devastating and far worse than anything we had imagined, with thousands of people still without shelter, food, water and power," de Castella said in a statement.

" Our team is in good spirits and they are all looking after each other."

The Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) aims to change lives by creating role models to promote healthy lifestyles and improve fitness in Aboriginal townships, Australia's most disadvantaged communities.

De Castella said the runners had greeted the cancellation of the race which had been due to take place on Sunday and was scrapped amid controversy with some dismay. But they were now keen to do their part to help.

" We feel a bit upset now because we did our eight months of hard training," Gaykamangu said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cancelled the marathon on Friday after complaints over the timing and the notion of staging the event while many people in the area remain without electricity or shelter.

The eight Australians will remain in the city until Tuesday as originally planned and will volunteer with local organisations such as homeless shelters to help with the clean-up process.

Organisers hope to get them to another marathon, perhaps in Australia or Japan in coming months but said had the event been cancelled sooner they would not have sent them to New York.