Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was among the tens of thousands of runners with no race to run when the New York City Marathon was canceled.
Van der Sar, who retired in 2011, had a time of 4 hours, 19 minutes last year in his first marathon.
His wife and two children traveled with him from Amsterdam on Thursday and his family planned to run in a 5K on Saturday.
Van der Sar told The Associated Press that ''when you see the relief effort at the moment and people without water and electricity and certain basic needs, it's probably for the better to get the resources to the people who really need it.''
He ran the 2011 race on a dare, a half-year after he retired following a professional career that began in 1990. The 42-year-old spent four months training this year, hoping to lower his time.
