NEW YORK—The city’s ING New York City Marathon will be pretty crowded this year. About half the entrants from last year’s canceled race picked the option of a guaranteed spot in the 2013, 2014, or 2015 race, or in the half marathon held later this month, limiting the field for others.
“Given the accommodation of 2012 marathoners in the 2013 field, the drawing is expected to be smaller than in years past,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of organizing body New York Road Runners, in a statement.
The other 50 percent of entrants in the 2012 race chose a refund.
Other categories in which runners are guaranteed a spot include persons who have been denied from entry three times, people who have run in the race more than 15 times, and runners who enter through an International Travel Partner. The number of time qualifiers is capped at 2,000.
Hurricane Sandy ultimately forced organizers to cancel the 2012 race, after which many of the runners, most of which had already traveled into the city, volunteered in different hard-hit areas, helping clean up and rebuild.
[Related: Runner Changes Course as NYC Marathon Canceled]
When Road Runner officials announced in December that people who had been guaranteed a spot in the 2012 race could choose to automatically be entered into a future race, they were unsure whether there would be room in the lottery, according to the Associated Press. For 2012, close to 15,000 people got in through U.S. and international drawings.
Registration for this year’s race, which is in November, opens on April 24 and runs through May 24. The field will remain about 47,500 people. Further details will be posted soon on the Road Runners website.
