The lottery is open for the 2018 New York City Marathon.

https://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/plan-your-race/run-in-2018

I think this will be my 4th time applying for the lottery; never been selected. Good luck to those of you who are entering. And if you happen to have a fast enough time to claim a guaranteed entry, well, then, you're really fast.

Good luck! Such a great race.

Year #5 of the lottery. Its gonna happen this year

Do you have to pay up front or after you are selected? Can you decline if you are selected? I'm not sure if a November time frame is doable at the moment but would like to sign up in case I would be able to run.

rao11010 said:

---

Do you have to pay up front or after you are selected? Can you decline if you are selected? I'm not sure if a November time frame is doable at the moment but would like to sign up in case I would be able to run.

---

It's free to enter the lottery, but you have to give them your credit card info and if you are selected in the drawing on Feb 28th, then your card gets charged the $295. You have from 1/15 until 2/15 to enter the lottery. So, if you're not sure if you want to enter, you have until 2/15 to decide.

Awesome!

Congrats!

It appears this isn't my year.

Nothing yet as well. Year #5 in the books probably.

coop-aero-06 said:

---

Check your credit card activity.

My wife and I both got drawn!

---

Nice that both of y'all got it.

My fiance and I are going to wait until we both time qualify since the chances of both getting in via the lotto aren't that good.

Congrats, coop. Nothing on my plastic. 5th year for me too. Maybe next year will be lucky number 6? That's a thing, right?

coop-aero-06 said:

---

Check your credit card activity.

My wife and I both got drawn!

---

PS - I may have cursed you a bit to my wife (as we've both been trying for the last 5 years).

Geriatric Punk said:

---

Congrats, coop. Nothing on my plastic. 5th year for me too. Maybe next year will be lucky number 6? That's a thing, right?

---

Thanks. If it makes you feel any better, I've applied for tickets to the Masters for like 8 years and have never been picked.

I'm in! Only 247 days to go!

Congrats Coops!

coop-aero-06 said:

---

Geriatric Punk said:

---

Congrats, coop. Nothing on my plastic. 5th year for me too. Maybe next year will be lucky number 6? That's a thing, right?

---

Thanks. If it makes you feel any better, I've applied for tickets to the Masters for like 8 years and have never been picked.

---

It doesn't

Any suggestions on where to stay?

I'd probably look for an Airbnb over a hotel. Or were you a
More asking what area of town?

More where in terms of location. Will also have my wife and two kids with me.

How comfortable will they be getting around the city? Do you want convenient for the race or the rest of your trip?

Unfortunately I didn't get in this year, but I stayed in midtown when I ran a few years ago. I found the location to be convenient to get to/from expo, to the ferry on race day morning, and back to the hotel after the race. I'm not sure if this convenience is particularly unique to midtown though. I think if I was running this year I'd look for something on the Upper West Side (near the finish line) and near-ish to a stop for the 1 subway train (for convenience to expo, getting around town, and getting to the startline).

Holy crap. $295?! No thanks.

$295 is nothing. I have a charity team that will let me apply for one of their spots if I commit to raising $3500. Of course that does guarantee a spot and bypass the lottery.

AggieOO said:

---

How comfortable will they be getting around the city? Do you want convenient for the race or the rest of your trip?

---

Now that I think about it, the rest of the trip...but I don't want total inconvenience for the race either.

What are the odds of getting in via the lottery? Good? If they're thin odds it seems crazy that a man and his wife would both get picked in the same year?

Stive said:

---

What are the odds of getting in via the lottery? Good? If they're thin odds it seems crazy that a man and his wife would both get picked in the same year?

---

From a Runners World article...

Quote:

---

15,640: The number of runners who were accepted into the race through the non-guaranteed drawing. That means fewer than 15 percent of applicants gained entry this way.

---

https://www.runnersworld.com/new-york-city-marathon/2018-nyc-marathon-entrants-by-the-numbers

Roughly 15% chance to get in via the lottery. My wife and I, therefore, had a 2.3% chance of getting drawn in the same year. Got lucky.

Makes me hate you even more.

A massive amount of people from our running club got in this year. Like 10-15

I whiffed on the lottery this year. Ran it in 2016 in perfect conditions. Unforgettable day. I think I will keep entering the drawing every year as I would do it again in a heartbeat. I second the wisdom of staying near the Finish as it greatly simplifies your post-race plan. Also, the morning of the race that means you board a nearly empty subway to the Staten Island Ferry and watch it slowly fill with runners. Surreal!

CU Travel Portal is a link to hotels preferred by Columbia University. Book through the site for discounts on hotels, many of which are on the Upper West Side because of proximity to the university. When I ran, we stayed at the Empire Hotel, which is across the street from the Met and right on the 1 Line.

I also really like Hotel Beacon (large hotel rooms, many with kitchenette and living area/fold-out couch). I think Hotel Beacon is slightly closer to the finish line, but neither is a long walk nor require a subway ride (stairs SUCK after running 26.2!).

Did anyon else sign up for the virtual marathon that guarantees you entry into the 2019 NYC Marathon?

in general, i think virtual "races" are the dumbest thing ever....however, in this case, its interesting. What are the details on this thing?

Pay $100 to run a virtual marathon between nov 1-4 and upload to Strava. Anyone that completes it gets to bypass the lotto for 2019, will still have to pay normal entry fee. I think about 500 people got in, it now has a waitlist.

Yeah virtual races usually suck but this pretty much guarantees both the wife and I can run the same race. I don't mind races with lottos but wish they would allow bundled entries.

Wow, surprised the NYC marathon would give that many entries to a virtual race, but I guess it's an extra 100 times how much that race paid for the slots if revenue fir NYC.

The Pilot said:

---

Pay $100 to run a virtual marathon between nov 1-4 and upload to Strava. Anyone that completes it gets to bypass the lotto for 2019, will still have to pay normal entry fee. I think about 500 people got in, it now has a waitlist.

Yeah virtual races usually suck but this pretty much guarantees both the wife and I can run the same race. I don't mind races with lottos but wish they would allow bundled entries.

---

Step 1 - take old marathon file
Step 2 - modify dates
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - profit!

Ugh I missed this because yesterday was such a cluster**** for me. I'd have done it in a heartbeat after being denied 5 years in a row