Priorities
The Cornbelt Running Club, in Davenport IA, and the Cedar Valley Running Association, in Cedar Rapids IA, are just two of the organizations forced to cancel running events because of the disastrous flooding that began last week and continues today.
The New Orleans Track Club resumed its activities as soon as possible in New Orleans LA after Hurricane Katrina. It was felt that returning to routine activities would provide a morale booster to the community after such an overwhelming, natural disaster.
Sometimes, though, people feel differently. Many homes and farms in Iowa (and, now, Illinois and Missouri) are flooded and local resources have been stretched beyond capacity just to maintain community health and safety.
When dealing with a huge disaster, it may make more sense to cancel the race and contribute to recovery efforts, not because of the absence of local resources, but because of the importance of just helping people to survive.