Photo by the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Hopeful marathoners aiming to run one of the domestic fall World Marathon Majors have a lot to look forward to today, with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon opening its application process for guaranteed entries and the TCS New York City Marathon alerting lottery entrants today on whether or not they have been accepted into the Nov. 6 race.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 9, will once again fill its field through a combination of guaranteed and non-guaranteed entries. Runners who have obtained a guaranteed entry can register for the race starting today. Guaranteed entries come from five different means: having finished the race five times in the last 10 years, having obtained a time-qualifying finish at any marathon since Jan. 1, 2014 (sub-3:15:00 for men and sub-3:45:00 for women), running through a charity officially affiliated with the event, participating through one of the race’s official tour partners or from deferring a lottery entry won last year.
Runners who do not meet any of those qualifications can put their names in the non-guaranteed entry drawing, which will open on March 15. The lottery period for the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will remain open until April 12, and runners will find out whether or not they were selected on April 21. Registration for this year’s race for both guaranteed and non-guaranteed runners is $185 for U.S. residents and $210 for international runners, though some charities offer the opportunity to run the race for free or provide a reimbursement for the registration fee once a runner has met his or her fundraising obligation.
The New York City Marathon lottery opened on Jan. 21 and ran through Feb. 21, and the event will alert those selected to run the 2016 race throughout the day. Those accepted will first see their credit card charged the race’s entry fee, and then an alert will appear in their My NYRR account. Finally, they will receive an email by the end of the day today.
For more information on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, visit www.chicagomarathon.com, and to learn more about the New York City Marathon, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
