Disconnected from reality and an outsized sense of entitlement

Marathon officials blame media for race cancelation

By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN , KAYLEE OSOWSKI and NATALIE O’NEILL

Clueless officials from the New York Road Runners dispatched a crybaby letter yesterday to members blaming hostile media scrutiny (like The Post’s recent Page 1 coverage) for spurring the cancellation of the New York City Marathon.

“The decision was made after it became increasingly apparent that the people of our city and the surrounding tri-state area were still struggling to recover from the damage wrought by the recent extreme weather conditions,” the letter reads.

“That struggle, fueled by the resulting extensive and growing media coverage antagonistic to the marathon and its participants, created conditions that raised concern for the safety of both those working to produce the event and its participants.”

The letter was e-mailed to 47,000 participants explaining how holding a 26.2-mile race through the five boroughs despite many sections of the city still suffer in the misery caused by Hurricane Sandy would have been completely acceptable.

“While holding the race would not have required diverting resources from the recovery effort, it became clear that the apparent widespread perception to the contrary had become the source of controversy and division,” the letter explains.

Mayor Bloomberg announced on Friday that the race would be canceled after The Post shamed the city into realizing that resources that could be used to help Sandy victims were diverted for the race.

Marathoner Hannah Levin, 29, said the Road Runners are off course: “Placing the blame on media for voicing the view of the public doesn’t solve anything — it . . . only sheds an unfavorable light on Road Runners. It’s a shame.”