London, New York and Tokyo already do it and now Dublin Marathon is going to follow suit.
An increase in the number of entries will see organisers move to a lottery system to help alleviate some of the stress of monitoring entries.
Basically, places will be allocated on the basis of a lottery system with the traditional first-come, the first-served basis being phased out in favour of the new randomised method.
There is a €15 registration fee per entry, fully refundable should an applicant not be successful or redeemable against entry fee if they are.
Running enthusiasts will be notified of their entry status between January 3rd and 10th, with unredeemed places being reallocated to other entrants by the end of January.
Putting the move down to the face that demand has exceeded supply, next year’s race will implement the new system. Set for Sunday, October 31st 2020, there will be just under 23,000 places available for running enthusiasts.
According to race director Jim Aughney, “demand for Dublin Marathon has never been greater, and we believe the lottery is the fairest system to offer all runners the same opportunity to participate.”
Entries for the lottery will open for one month only, during November 2019.
