Posted: March 29, 2007

Athletics: NYC Half-Marathon To Use Lottery Entry System

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com NEW YORK (28-Mar) -- The second annual NYC Half-Marathon presented by NIKE will use a lottery system to fill the majority of the expected field of 10,000 participants, race founders and organizers New York Road Runners announced today. Registration opened today at http://www.nyrr.org/nychalf and will remain open until May 16. The Road Runners pioneered the lottery entry system which is used for the ING New York City Marathon. In addition, the Road Runners said that the event would be held on a mid-summer date, Sunday, August 5, three weeks earlier than last year. The race will be run through the city streets, taking in Central Park, and some of Manhattan's most recognized landmarks, like Carnegie Hall and Times Square. The race will finish in lower Manhattan in Battery Park in sight of the Statue of Liberty. "The NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE is the next big thing in New York City running," said NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg in a press release. "Like the ING New York City Marathon, it is more than just a race." Last year's inaugural event was held on August 27, and despite rainy weather boasted 10,294 finishers. Getting to the finish line first were Kenyans Thomas Nyariki (1:01:22) and Catherine Ndereba (1:09:43). Ndereba just edged Australian Benita Johnson in a thrilling sprint finish. "The world's best distance runners love to compete in the Big Apple and our field this year will once again be spectacular," Wittenberg added. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest