Up walked the mayor, a smile on his face. Wolfson described what a grand, unifying, multicultural event the run had become-the best day, he believed, in the city every year.
Bill Knapp, one of the country’s elite campaign consultants, grew up in the city but has long lived in Washington and hadn’t attended the marathon in years. Howard Wolfson, a deputy mayor and political strategist, had run the race twice, but injuries forced him to quit short of the finish line both times Wolfson was mulling whether to take another shot at the full 26.2 miles in nine days. They were killing time chatting about the glories of the New York City Marathon. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon three weeks ago inside Carl Schurz Park, where two of Michael Bloomberg’s top political lieutenants waited for the mayor to arrive. The sun was shining, the breeze was mild. Bloomberg filming a TV ad for his super-PAC in Carl Schurz Park before Sandy, as Howard Wolfson looks on.
