“If you were one of the 240,000 runners who applied to the 2026 New York City Marathon lottery, you may have had better odds of hitting your favorite number in roulette,” Canadian Running Magazine wrote.
New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced the highly anticipated results of the 2026 drawing on March 4.
The surge in registrations is largely attributed to the global running boom, following a record-breaking 2025 season where the event reclaimed its title as the world’s most-attended marathon with over 59,000 finishers in Central Park. The 2026 race will be special, marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic five-borough course first run in 1976.
Runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the 2024 New York City Marathon. Photo by Reuters |
For the approximately 99% of applicants who did not win the public lottery, the opportunity to participate is not entirely closed. Organizers note there are still over 40,000 spots available through alternative ways, with the most popular being reaching the qualifying time.
Runners can secure entry through the NYRR 9+1 program, which requires participating in nine races and volunteering at one event, or by completing the organization’s virtual racing series.
Additional options include registering through official charity partners, the NYRR Team for Climate, an NYRR member-exclusive second-chance draw, or through partnering international travel agencies.
Due to the limited slots, even athletes who meet standard qualifying times are no longer guaranteed entry. NYRR revealed they had to adjust their criteria this year, accepting only the top 10% of the fastest runners in the qualifying pool. This means applicants needed to run at least 22 minutes and 52 seconds faster than their original qualifying time to secure a spot.
For example, women aged 18 to 35 seeking a guaranteed starting spot in 2026 had to complete a prior marathon in under three hours, making the entry standards even more challenging than those of the Boston Marathon.
The New York City Marathon has been held annually since 1970. There were only two cancellations: in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy and in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As one of the seven prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors, the New York course spans all five boroughs of the city: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan.
The current records are held by Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tola, who set the men’s record at 2 hours 04 minutes 58 seconds in 2023, and Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri, who set the women’s record at 2 hours 19 minutes 51 seconds in 2025.
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