Now Wittenberg’s organization will still have to determine how much to pay the television sponsors and the race sponsors, as well as the elite runners who came from as far as Africa and Australia, some of whom would have earned the bulk of their income from appearance fees in the race.

A clause in the insurance policy about “extreme weather conditions” seems to cover the storm cancellation, but just how extensive that coverage will be has not yet been determined.

“We have some insurance,” Wittenberg said, “but there’s going to be some heavy hits as a result of this.”

The public relations hit could be far worse.

All the amateur athletes who trained for months will want to know whether their entry fees, which were as high as $347, will be refunded. Road Runners will, at least for now, stick to its firm no-refund policy, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak for the organization. But the club has not ruled out offering some form of compensation.

The 2012 entrants will be guaranteed spots in the 2013 marathon “or, if they prefer, the New York City Half,” Wittenberg said, referring to a half-marathon that is run in March. It was not clear whether runners would have to pay an additional entry fee next year.

About 140,000 runners applied this year for roughly 60,000 spots in the race. If nearly all of the 2012 entrants want to run in the 2013 marathon, in a race squeezed by multiple wave starts, it could make next year’s lottery nearly unwinnable. “We will assess that,” Wittenberg said.

It is also unclear how the organization will rework its five-year television rights contract with ESPN and WABC, the local affiliate. A spokesman for ESPN, Chris LaPlaca, said the network had not had time to discuss it with Road Runners. One possibility is extending the contract a year, other network executives said.