If you’re planning on running this year’s Marine Corps Marathon, you may already be pretty quick on your feet. But if you want to guarantee a spot among the crowded field of runners, it will also help to be quick on a keyboard.
For the second year in a row, organizers of the Marine Corps Marathon are offering runners the chance to sign up for rush registration online one day before the regular lottery for runners opens.
The rush registration is available on the MCM website starting at noon on Tuesday, March 19. But be warned: The rush period will only be open for 20 minutes, or until 7,000 runners have registered — whichever happens first.
The rush process allows runners to “forgo the uncertainty of the lottery and obtain a spot immediately,” organizers say on the MCM website.
The regular lottery opens the following day — Wednesday, March 20 — and stays open until March 26. Runners will be notified via email on March 27 if they made it through the lottery. Overall, the event fields about 30,000 runners.
There are no fees to sign up for the online lottery, but if you’re selected, race registration fees are $180.
Last year, about 8,000 runners signed up for rush registration; it was the first time in five years organizers had offered the rush option.
The Marine Corps Marathon will be held Oct. 27.
