How to Actually Get Into the Races Everyone Says Are Impossible

The Lottery Is Not the Only Way In

Most people apply to the lottery, don't get picked, and assume that's the end of it for the year. It isn't. Every major marathon that runs a lottery also runs at least two or three parallel entry systems that have nothing to do with luck.

Path 1: Charity Bibs

Both the NYC Marathon and Chicago Marathon partner with hundreds of official charities that receive guaranteed entry allocations in exchange for a fundraising commitment. NYC works with over 670 charity partners; typical minimums run $2,500–$4,000 depending on the organization. Chicago's charity program has a lower floor, around $2,200, and runs first-come-first-served until charities fill their allocations.

This isn't a loophole — it's a formal, sanctioned entry path, and for many runners it's actually the more attractive one: you get a guaranteed bib, a fundraising support system, and often coached training programs, in exchange for raising money for a cause you can choose yourself.

Path 2: International Tour Operators

If you don't live in the host country, approved tour operators can bundle guaranteed race entry with a full travel package — flights, hotel, on-the-ground support. One operator alone holds official tour-partner status across most of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (Boston, Chicago, NYC, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town), meaning a single relationship can be a repeatable path into several Majors over several years.

Path 3: Loyalty and Streak Entries

Run enough editions of the same race and eventually you stop needing the lottery at all. NYC grants lifetime guaranteed entry after 15 completed marathons. Most Majors have some version of this — check the specific race's "legacy" or "streak" entry terms before assuming you have to keep re-entering the drawing forever.

Path 4: Volunteer-Linked Entry

NYC's 9+1 program is the most well-known version: run 9 qualifying NYRR races and volunteer once in a calendar year, and you've earned guaranteed entry the following year — no lottery, no fundraising minimum, just consistent local participation.

The Honest Trade-Off

None of these paths are free in the literal sense — charity entries trade money for certainty, tour packages trade a premium price for guaranteed access plus logistics, and streak/volunteer paths trade years of consistent participation for eventually skipping the lottery entirely. None of them are secret, but most first-time applicants never look past the lottery page to find them.

Daily Chore Take

If a specific Major is the actual goal — not just "a marathon," but that one, this year — the lottery is genuinely the worst-odds way to try. Start by checking that race's official charity partner list before you spend another year re-entering a drawing with single-digit odds.