Two ex-Cornell runners of mine want to run 2023 NYC marathon. How hard is it actually to get in?

As I said before, tell them to identify as non binary

And per Rojo’s comment about their age, their qualifying time is 1:23. Surely with a little bit of preparation most former D1 guys in their thirties can do that. I was nowhere near fast enough to run D1 and I’m in my forties and I can come close to that on 3 runs a week. I know a couple of ex D1 sprinters and jumpers who jog road races for leisure who can do that. And seriously if they can’t or won’t go run a 1:23 half to qualify, there’s always the charity partners.

Is there a harder/more pain-in-the-butt marathon to gain entry into in the US? Outside of organizations/companies that have an allotment of bibs to give out isn't it one of the more challenging marathons to gain entry into as an "average joe" mid-30's runner?

otq

to be fair, NYRR helps locals a lot through the 9+1 program - many regular runners get in through that. And local clubs get a small allocation of bibs to use at their discretion. Point is, if you are a local, NYRR tries to take care of you, which is nice.

NYRR:

Register for and complete 9 NYRR races in 2023; qualifying events will be indicated on each event’s race page

Volunteer at one +1 qualifying opportunity

Have an active NYRR membership as of December 31, 2023.

Runners who complete the 2023 9+1 program will be eligible for guaranteed entry to the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon and will be informed of their status in 2024 prior to the entry claim period.

NYRR has two half marathons that are easy to get into (Fred Lebow Half and Staten Island Half). Staten Island Half is still open for registration. Tell them to run that in <1:23. Guaranteed Entry for NYCM 2024 will follow.

So, let me get this straight, your ex runners two options in life are:

(1) cheat to gain entry into the NYC marathon

(2) cheat on their wives.

So they want to do the NYC marathon because they are boring and ungrateful? There are literally thousands of activities that would be more novel than running a marathon for a former collegiate distance runner.

Also, typical Ivy League entitlement - they want to get in THIS YEAR because they decided to do it on a whim. Wait in line like us state school schmucks!

If you have a qualifier from a NYRR event, it's guaranteed entry. Only non-NYRR qualifiers are FCFS.

This is actually not a guarantee. It's really hard to get into these races. Which is why it's dumb to make these races the qualifying procedure for US teams, like last year when they selected the world team based off of top finishes at Chicago/New York/Boston. A 62:30 person is not a lock to get into one of those races, you're at the mercy of the elite athlete coordinator. They do not have set times where you run a certain time you get in. A 62:30 half guy could reasonably get a little faster and pop off a 2:08 or 2:09 but it's hard to get in the door. I know of a low 62 half runner who was not accepted in any of Boston/Chicago in fall 2021. Didn't even get a response from one of them. It's easier if you have an agent, which is dumb that you need an agent to steal your money.

You have to pull strings to get into this year's race. Local teams also get bibs they can give to whoever. I believe they have to 'join' the team though. I have seen bibs go to back of the packers so you don't have to fast to get one. Next year's race they can time qualify or do the 9+1.

I think you can get in if you donate like $5,000 or something, some rich relatives of mine have done that. Otherwise, pretty much impossible to get in at this point. Just do one of the NYRR halfs and run it next year. The standard should be easy to hit. The Staten Island half is kinda a meh race. I didn't like the course, thought it was boring, there's one really big hill, but otherwise it's plenty fast.

What's weak about it? Instead of wasting 20 minutes of my time to try to figure it out at 12 midnight while I watched basketball, I thought I'd ask the forum. I'm stunned that people are outraged that a couple of NYers thought there might be a way to get into the marathon even though the registration period has pased. In NY, you can generally buy your way into anything.

And it looks like that's the case here. All they have to do is fund-raise like 3.5 k? Is that right?

In the past for some marathons, we've had some of these chariteis at major city marathons contact us as they haven't had enough runners.

Wow, this is priceless. Worth clicking on this thread just to see this.

Fred's team costs $3500 to get a guaranteed entry.

Team for Kids requires $2620 to get a guaranteed entry.

Look on the NYC marathon website for links. Minus the ability to be an elite runner, this is the easiest and possibly only path for entry this year. If they don't want to pay the penalty for not planning ahead, either wait until 2024 or run a different marathon.

This is correct. The only way to guarantee thag a qualifying time will lead to a NYCM is by achieving it in a NYRR race - either one of their half marathon races or the marathon itself. There are limited bibs available for qualifying times achieved in non-NYRR races.

Many NYRR qualifying races are hard into get into and require a lottery entry or a qualifying time themselves, but some are fairly easy to register for - Fred Lebow Half in January, Women's Half in April, and Staten Island Half in October are all easy to register for. Of course, if they don't live in the vicinity that's another matter.

For 2023 I think the only way to get in now is charity - there are definitely still charities looking for runners, some local charities haven't even started giving them out yet.

seriously stop posting. No one cares about your ex runners who are chomping at the bit to either cheat on their wives or cheat to gain entry into the NYC marathon

The 1% are always stunned when they hear how the rest of us think.

I know a lot of those on this board are < 30yr/old and actually fresh out of college. But they are 35 not out of college in their 20's. I don't think even with a year of training anything close to a 1:21 is doable. I'm actually willing to take the over on 1:30.