Runners from Bermuda have been caught up in the controversy surrounding yesterday’s cancelled New York Marathon, experiencing conflicting emotions and even feeling unwelcome in the normally congenial city.“We even felt guilty putting on our running shoes,” said top Island road runner Chris Estwanik, one of around 55 competitors from Bermuda who hoped to take part in the world’s largest marathon.The Island athletes were among some 40,000 marathon-hopefuls already in the city when news broke late on Friday about the last-minute decision to cancel the race.Mounting anger that the marathon was going ahead even as parts of the city and surrounding boroughs struggled to deal with the devastation caused by last week’s superstorm Sandy came to a head on Friday afternoon. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who earlier in the week had been adamant the race should take place as normal, reversed his position.Rather than being a unifying celebration for the city, the race was seen as a potentially divisive distraction so soon after the destruction wreaked by Sandy which killed more than 40 people in the city.Some of the Bermuda runners have spoken of what they feel to be an unjustified undercurrent of vilification directed towards the marathoners.The first indications came on board a US-bound flight when runner Natalie Dyrli asked a flight attendant if it would be possible to make an announcement about the large travelling group of marathon-hopefuls from Bermuda.“Her response gave me a taste of the animosity that New Yorkers had towards this marathon. She turned to me and said she would not make the announcement because she and the rest of the crew were from the New York area and they had just been through so much devastation and she did not agree with us going to New York to participate in the marathon,” she said.The Bermuda athletes reached the city and picked up their race numbers but were stunned when they returned to their hotel and heard the marathon had been cancelled.As the news sank in they gathered to lift their spirits and make plans to enjoy their time in the city regardless, despite a continuing feeling that they were being unfairly maligned and vilified for simply being there.A picture on the front page of the New York Post last Friday had shown two generators in Central Park that were intended to provide power at a marathon finishing tent in Central Park, under the headline ‘Abuse of Power’. Hundreds of thousands in the New York area were left without power as a result of Sandy.Mr Estwanik, a former US Olympic team triallist, said he and the other runners understood the pain being felt by many in the city and pointed out that the Bermuda group had collected donations at LF Wade International Airport before they left to give to the Red Cross to help with relief work in the New York area.“The runners have not lost perspective. I feel disappointed that the race is not taking place, but that disappointment pales to the devastation that the people who were worst hit by the storm are going through.“I would have loved to run but that was not meant to be. Most of us from Bermuda will fight another day,” he said. He recognised that for some who had made extraordinary efforts to reach New York for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the late cancellation of the race had hurt. He wished the decision to cancel had been made earlier in the week, giving most the opportunity to limit their losses and avoid the unnecessary bad feeling that had been created and directed towards the runners.With no race, fifteen of the Bermuda contingent went along to watch the ‘Spiderman’ show on Broadway and meet Bermudian star Rebecca Faulkenberry who was appearing in the show.A number also went to Central Park yesterday, race day, and ran a variety of distances with the thousands of other runners from around the world who had come for the marathon. There was even an unofficial marathon, organised through internet social media at the last minute and held on the old New York Marathon course within the confines of the park, some of the Bermuda runners, including Ms Dyrli, ran the full 26.2 miles.Bermuda athlete Teresa Gallant joined other marathoners who volunteered to help out with relief efforts in Staten Island, which was badly affected by the storm.Veteran marathoner Geoff Blee said the atmosphere in the city had been strange, noting: “The runners are getting a horrible knocking and bearing the brunt of people’s frustrations.“I totally understand why the marathon was cancelled, but the frustration is the timing. Nothing had changed from Wednesday when people had not yet left to go to New York.”The Bermuda runners were featured in US Associated Press news report about the marathoners feeling deflated by the event cancellation. Runner Spencer Conway said: “It’s like when you find out that Santa Claus isn’t real.”Despite not having a marathon to run, the Bermuda party lifted their spirits with get-togethers. Four of the Island athletes decided to catch flights to North Carolina and ended up competing in a marathon there yesterday.Mr Blee, Ms Dyrli and Mr Estwanik praised the efforts of Bermuda team organiser Dannielle Bezant for dealing with the unexpected turn of events.Ms Dyrli summed up the team’s experience saying she had gone through a series of mixed emotions over the weekend from extreme excitement to disappointment and then to happiness again.“Personally, I have had a very positive experience this weekend and would not trade it for the world,” she said.Mr Estwanik said: “The backlash might continue for the next week, but time heals all wounds and I think next year’s New York Marathon will be bigger and better than ever.”