Question:How can I have a decent chance of getting myself and three training pals
into the 2004 NYM?
I know about the lottery but can't find reliable info about charity--is it
possible to raise charity money to get a guarrantied entry?
Any other non-publicized angles for the non-famous to get in?
Answer:
...none that i know of other than being an insider to a key/main sponsor. it's
a tough race to get in as only 20,000 slots are available to people who live in
the U.S., and 10,000 slots go to foreign tour operators that sell packages
including entry.
as this juncture your only shot to get in for '04 is to clock a great time in
another qualifying M. however due note...it's easier to qualify for Boston
than New York based on times. A 40 yr old male has to clock a 3:20 to BQ.
NYC requires a 3:00.
Also....even if you joined the New York Road Runner Club today that would not
help you one bit in securing an entry for '04 as you have to qualify by
participation in 9 scored and qualified races during the course of '03.
Joining today, participate, and you'll be assured entry in '05.
Your best shot is the lottery....and you're looking at about a 30% chance of
getting in for '04. Good luck.
It's going to be a great race on Sunday and the weather report is for up to 71
degrees.....(heat wave in New York in November)...
Perhaps hooking up with Achilles Track Club and guiding a physically
challenged athlete in next year's race will guarantee entry. Be forewarned,
there's a bit of training involved when assisting an Achilles athlete - for
example, I imagine running with a visually impaired person is more difficult
that it might initially seem.
I don't know about NYC, but at the MCM official (logo) store at the expo, if
you bought $ 175 (I think that was the $amount) of merchandise, you got a
guaranteed entry for the '04 MCM. I have no idea how many people did it. I
know I didn't -- I have a cranky leg that isn't even up to marathon
training. But if I thought I was up to the training, I would have used the
opportunity.
I do the MCM5k instead.
I don't know if this is true, but I heard someone say it so I believe
it . At least it sounded good at the time:
Someone told me that the NYCM wants a broad cross section of folks
from across the country, so the lottery tends to favor people outside
the NYC area. (One other reason might be that NYC residents have other
ways to guarantee an entry, as Globaldisc pointed out.) So being in
Maryland you might have a better than average shot at it. I know that
I entered once a few years ago and got in (but couldn't run as it
turned out) and my GF entered and got in, first try in both cases,
from the state of Kansas.
I wish they took a page from the Marines. The MCM is lottery too but
they have a device where a bunch of people can enter the lottery as a
group. The chances of a group being chosen is the same as that for an
individual. Everyone in the group gets in or no one gets in. A lot of
people want to run these races with other people whether it's family,
coworkers, fellow track club mambers, etc. and it's a great way to be
sure everyone is on the bus.
How much money is enough to secure an entry; might you know?
I am not a fast marathoner but am entertaining the fantasy that doing five
boroughs of the Big Apple all in a morning could be a great runner's high.
5-6 years ago it was around $3,500 dollars.
At that time you still had to getyour own way to NYC, but
they put you up in a hotel (The Plaza!).
Again, they domake you try the lottery first, or at least
they did. If you dont make it in with the lottery, they
would get you a spot.
