Lottery Opens For 2008 ING New York City Marathon
Annual lottery drawing to take place in mid-June

E-mail this page  Printer-friendly page

Posted Tuesday, 26 February, 2008

New York, February 25, 2008--The lottery for the ING New York City Marathon 2008 opened at noon today with applications available online at www.ingnycmarathon.org, announced race director Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners. The 39th running of the ING New York City Marathon, a World Marathon Majors event, will be held on Sunday, November 2.

Applications for the lottery from individuals with a U.S. address will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, 2008, and results will be posted in mid-June. Applications from individuals without a U.S. address and all applicants eligible for guaranteed entry will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, 2008, and results will be posted in mid-May. Entry fees for runners accepted through the lottery (as well as guaranteed entrants) will be $125 for New York Road Runners members and $155 for non-members. International entrants will be charged $210.

A record number of more than 103,000 people applied to the 2007 event, and the race hosted its largest field ever with more than 38,000 finishers. Kenyan Martin Lel, 29, won the men's race in 2:09:04, and British Olympian Paula Radcliffe, 34, captured the women's title in 2:23:09, just nine months after the birth of her first child.

"Marathon Sunday has become a New York tradition that we expect to grow even more in 2008," Wittenberg said. "This year is extra special, as New York Road Runners celebrates our 50th anniversary of promoting running in New York City and throughout the world."

New York Road Runners

New York Road Runners is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008. NYRR is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR's home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world's top professional runners. Our youth programs provide running to nearly 50,000 schoolchildren in New York City and around the world who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. For more information visit www.nyrr.org.

The ING New York City Marathon

The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races, drawing more than 103,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the nearly 750,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page