Is anyone following this? Apologize if it was posted earlier, but this is blowing up locally.
The NYC Half Marathon (in March) went to a real lottery this year. Took applications back in November, with a fee to register for the lottery (full amount paid if/when accepted). 2 week delay in announcing the results, then it seems that most of the NYRR’s membership didn’t get in. The lottery results are as follows (as reported by NYRR):
3,344/27,737 Tri-state runners, presumably a lot of NYRR annual members (12% admitted)
4,300/5,200 Non-tri-state US runners (83% admitted)
1,500/1,710 International runners (88% admitted)
Problem #1- this is an obvious disparity that definitely penalizes local runners who support NYRR through membership and local race fees. Problem #2, it wasn’t advertised that there would be separate lottery pools, and thus different chances of winning. Problem #3- without this knowledge, everyone was charged the same amount to enter said lottery. I’d bet a lot less NYC runners would have tried to get in with a 12% admit rate. Yikes!
I didn’t register so it’s no skin off my back, but this, even with follow up letters and FAQs from NYRR, doesn’t seem to be blowing over nicely.
Some of us at CPTC tend to say: train harder and get admitted through time.
Problem solved.
Agreed. If you want a guarantee in life, stamp it yourself.
As far as the ethics of the lottery, I believe that there is legal precedence regarding disclosure of entry and odds. Whether it’s pro or con (disclosure) is beyond me.
They’ve given 33%+ of the available slots to local runners. That seems kind of fair to me. Would you rather they give 50% of the slots to local runners … Which come out to 4500/27737=16% be satisfactory to you? How about they give 75% of the slots to local runners which comes out to 6750/27737=24%
I think that the goal is to make it a national and international event and not a local event. Local people bring less money to the race than folks from the other side of the ocean or country. If you were putting on an even and trying to get local business and govt support, your selling point is that you will bring in a lot of people from overseas and from other states who will sleep in their hotels and eat in their restaurants as opposed to folks sleeping their own beds and contribute nothing to the hotels and other businesses affected by street closures and traffic havoc. It makes perfect sense to me.
Fine, then explicitly state it as such in advance. It’s the lack of transparency and surprise that’s causing problems. Last year it was a “regular” lottery with all having an equal chance of getting in. This year, there were essentially 3 separate lotteries, but that change was not made public until a week after the results were announced.
It’s a bit of a slap in the face the local dues-paying members who have a very small chance of running their club’s race.
Yeah, the long survey in the application about lodging and other events (i.e. ways for racers to spend money) made it pretty clear that bringing in money to the local economy was important.
The NYRR always faces complaints from local runners who feel that the club is too focused on the big events, especially the NYC Marathon. I think we should consider ourselves lucky. Look how many races the NYRR puts on compared to the BAA which only manages a handful of races each year. In addition to the premier events (NYC Marathon, NYC Half Marathon, Healthy Kidney 10K), the NYRR puts on the five borough half marathons as well as almost monthly 4 and 5 milers in Central Park. My only complaint is that there aren’t enough 10K’s!
I don’t believe it was different this year. There were simply more local applicants which lowered the acceptance ratio. There are plenty of races for dues paying members. People should just race the Manhattan or Brooklyn Half Marathons. Both are better races. Running on the West Side Highway isn’t something to get that excited about. People should give Mary Wittenberg credit for supporting the most vibrant road running scene in any major city in the world. The fact there are SO many dues-paying members speaks to how successful she has been.
I’m not knocking Mary’s or NYRR’s successes. Those speak for themselves.
To my knowledge, this was a change in the lottery policy. I think the drastic differences in acceptances rates, which was not the case last year, was very surprising to people. Not that this isn’t a predictable change, for all the business reasons mentioned, but it wasn’t an announced one. There was no reason to expect that comparatively so few locals would get to race this year.
Again, I didn’t register so it’s not personal. My NYRR membership is lapsing but it has nothing to do with any of this.
I didn’t know about the controvercy, but Mary Wittenberg gave a long appology at the beginning of the NYRR 15k race this weekend. She also insinuated that the participant cap would be increased in the future.
Not that this isn’t a predictable change, for all the business reasons mentioned, but it wasn’t an announced one.
Kona isn’t a proper “lottery” either. They are picking people.
Mary argues that we are spoiled by having top notch races almost every weekend at a decent prize tag, something no one else in the world has.
A friend of mine from Europe was here for a week last summer and he did one of the countless 4 milers in CP (Run for the Parks I believe). He said that it was bigger and organized more professionally than any other race he has ever done. Go figure.
Let the world have its share of NYC running. We have it every day and the races every weekend. Yes, running down 7th ave is nice but not that big of a deal at 8am on a Sunday either.
Uli
P.S. There are a still spots for Gran Fondo New York.
Completely agree on all counts. NYers are truly blessed with the strength of the running community. More than enough races and I can’t think of a better place to run than Central Park on a day-in-day out basis (in spite of the annoyances of pedicabs and tourists). Anytime I’ve ever thought about living someplace else, I think I’d miss running in Central Park too much. Anyone bummed about not “winning” the Half Marathon lottery should run Grete’s Gallop, Manhattan Half, or Brooklyn Half Marathons. All better races at a fraction of the cost! I’ll be running in the NYC 1/2 Marathon (I had guaranteed entry from time) but I’ve sometimes wondered if it’s a waste of money. Times Square at 8am on a Sunday in March isn’t very inspiring. It’s actually kinda depressing.
As I said earlier, I just wish they’d lengthen a few of those 4/5 milers into 10K’s!
Agreed. I’m leaving NYC and I have no idea what to do without CP for daily training.
But at the same time, I’m done with most running races in the park- I can do that for free any day. Especially the shorter distance ones. The $ does add up! And if I don’t need 9+1, which I haven’t in 2 years, then I can’t justify it.
But those races were a GREAT way to get back into running after a hiatus!
Yes, the money does add up and except for 9+1 into the marathon doesn’t necessarily make sense for most individuals. However, it does offer people a lot of “choices” and it also fosters the team competition. I doubt there is another city in the world with nearly as many competitive teams. Given the fact there are so many races, a lot of people get the chance to “score” for their teams so it isnt just about the top runners on the roster.
Ah yes. Had I joined a team I may have a different perspective. I dabble too much between tris, bike racing, and running to have joined a team in any of them. Should have just picked one- better from a camaraderie, training, and probably results perspective!
I suspect this race might have a larger than usual bandit group. Making me wonder (and I’m certain this will piss off some serious runners here) if there are any unwritten ‘bandit rules’ should one decide to do so?
I’d guess that not doing things like
cutting other runners off
being completely self supportive (water, fuel etc) on the course
starting say dead last if there are waves/corrals
Would be par for something like that. Anyone have anything to add?
