After the New York City Marathon was cancelled last week, two local runners still felt an obligation to uphold the commitment to the charities they’d hoped to raise money for.Emma Harrison and Michele Gallagher will now run from Dockyard to St George’s on Sunday, taking South Road in a bid to complete the full marathon distance of 26.2 miles.Ms Harrison told The Royal Gazette: “Michele has raised almost $6,000 for Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre and I have raised almost $2,500 for the Bermuda Aquarium in memory of Tim Hasselbring, who sadly passed away from cancer in September.“We both feel strongly that we want to honour our commitment to our charities and to the people that have kindly donated ...[and] would love to see as many friendly faces out on the course to cheer us on.”The runners said they understood why the world’s largest marathon had to be cancelled after Hurricane Sandy devastated the region.“I completely 100 percent understand why it was cancelled and we both agree it was the right course of action,” Mrs Gallagher said. “We were disappointed that we weren’t informed earlier, prior to flying to New York, but that’s life.“It is what it is and the most important objective for us is to be able to fulfill our commitment to our charities.“So many friends and family have supported us, not just financially but been there backing us. This is our thanks to them. No one would ask for their money back, but we still wanted to complete our end of the bargain.”The pair will leave from Dockyard at 7am and hope to complete the course by noon. They said friends Danielle Bezant and Sharon Fenn have been instrumental in the upcoming run.Ms Harrison said they were hoping to get more of the New York runners to join them.“They are more than welcome to join us. We haven’t had any takers yet.”Mrs Gallagher, 41, started running four years ago after Ms Harrison encouraged her to take part in the PartnerRe Women’s 5K Run and Walk. The New York event would have been her first marathon. She said even if it was just the two of them running on Sunday “that is absolutely fine as well”.“Our friends and family said they would come out and support us as well and we would love it if people driving by would give us a wave.“We are going to wear the same gear we were supposed to wear for the New York Marathon, including our bib numbers,” she said.The women flew to New York last Friday morning, and discovered at 5.30pm that the event had been cancelled.Mrs Gallagher said: “We had gone to the expo and picked up our bibs, numbers and brought all our gear and then my husband [Seamus] rang that evening to say it had been cancelled.”She said it was important for her to honour her commitment to Bermuda Cancer and Centre because so many women have been affected by the disease. “It could be either friends, family members, but pretty much everyone knows someone,” she said.“I think it’s a very good charity and the money you raise you know is going directly where it should be.”The mother-of-two decided to take part in the marathon back in January and spent months trying to convince Ms Harrison to do it. “Eventually in July she succumbed to the peer pressure,” Mrs Gallagher said.The women are hoping passersby will encourage them along their route. They intend to run from Dockyard to Barnes Corner and then onto South Shore to Elbow Beach. They will then continue on South Road past Paynter’s Road before turning right onto Harrington Sound, travelling up Wilkinson Avenue and onto Blue Hole Hill. They will then continue across the Causeway and onto Kindley Field Road before crossing the Swing Bridge onto Mullet Bay Road and into St George’s Town Square. The route ends once they cross the bridge to Ordnance Island.They plan to wear GPS watches to track their journey.To give to Mrs Gallagher’s charity, visit https://www.cancer.bm/event-fundraisers/running-for-awareness.Or to support Ms Harrison’s cause donate to HSBC account #010-003432-001, but sure to include your name and THNYM (Tim Hasselbring New York Marathon) when submitting payment. It’s also advised to send an e-mail to membership.bzs@gov.bm so they know to expect the donation.