Despite Sandy, Sunday's New York City Marathon is on

(CNN) -- This weekend's New York City Marathon will take place as scheduled despite widespread damage in the city from Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday, October 31st.

Bloomberg told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he expected most, if not all of the city, would have power restored by Sunday's race, and "an awful lot of small businesses" depend on the annual event.

"There are lots of people who have come here," he said. "It's a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you've got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind."

Organizers said Tuesday they were still trying to determine whether the flight cancellations, flooding and power outages that accompanied Sandy would keep large numbers of runners from taking part in the 26.2-mile race.

The ING New York City Marathon is scheduled to begin Sunday morning on Staten Island, where runners will cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn and wind through Queens before crossing the 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan and the Bronx.

The course does not include lower Manhattan, where heavy flooding took place as the storm hit late Monday and early Tuesday.

Participants unable to reach New York in time will be entered in next year's marathon, the group said, though entry fees will not be refunded.

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