Information on Guaranteed and Non-Guaranteed Entry Applications

The NYC Half brings together thousands of runners for this iconic 13.1-mile race, which begins in Central Park, travels though Times Square and finishes at South Street Seaport. There are various ways to gain entry (detailed below), resulting in a diverse field of local, national, and international runners, including thousands of NYRR members who engage with our events and programs year-round.

 

How to gain entry to the NYC Half:

Guaranteed Entry

The following groups are eligible for guaranteed entry:

 

• Runners who met the following qualifying time standards* on any certified half-marathon or marathon course:

	Open (Age 18-39)**		Masters (Age 40+)**
	Marathon	Half-Marathon	Marathon	Half-Marathon
Men	2:55:00	1:23:00	3:10:00	1:30:00
Women	3:23:00	1:37:00	3:38:00	1:44:00
	Veterans (Age 50+)**		Veterans (Age 60+)**
	Marathon	Half-Marathon	Marathon	Half-Marathon
Men	3:30:00	1:40:00	3:45:00	1:48:00
Women	3:52:00	1:50:00	4:13:00	2:00:30

* All times must be run at, or faster than, the posted time.
** Your age on the day of the qualifying race.

 

Runners must have met the appropriate qualifying time between November 1, 2010, and November 15, 2011. Times achieved outside of NYRR races must be verifiable online. If you are applying with a non-NYRR race qualifying time, you will be entered into the non-guaranteed entry pool until your time can be verified. Verification may take up to two weeks. If you are not accepted after two weeks, please contact reghelp@nyrr.org and indicate your name, entry number, and time qualification information.

 

Please note, qualifying times for guaranteed entry for the 2013 NYC Half will be changing to align with new qualifying time standards set for the ING New York City Marathon 2012.

 

• Runners who enter through a charity program

Our 2012 charity program offers runners guaranteed entry to runners who pledge to raise funds for a range of worthy causes.

 

• U.S. residents who enter through our National Travel Partner, Anthony Travel, Inc.

NYRR has reserved a select number of guaranteed spots for our official National Travel Partner (NTP), Anthony Travel, Inc. Runners living within the 50 states, who would like to participate in the NYC Half-Marathon can arrange a “Half-Marathon Package” including guaranteed entry by contacting Anthony Travel. For reservations, please visit Anthony Travel or call: 855.665.3289.

An entrant who has purchased a “Half-Marathon Package” with Anthony Travel, Inc., and wishes to withdraw from the race must contract Anthony Travel, Inc. directly. Those who withdraw will not receive guaranteed entry into the 2013 NYC Half or subsequent editions of the NYC Half.

 

• Guaranteed Entry Through an International Travel Partner

Guaranteed entry with the purchase of a "Half-Marathon Package" may be available through an official International Travel Partner (ITP) in your country. You may only apply with an ITP in your country - ITP's cannot accept applicants from other countries. [Official International Travel Partners]

An entrant who has purchased a “Half-Marathon Package” with our official International Travel Partner (ITP) and wishes to withdraw from the race must contract their ITP directly. Those who withdraw will not receive guaranteed entry into the 2013 NYC Half or subsequent editions of the NYC Half.

 

• Members of NYRR who completed four of the five NYRR Half-Marathon Series races in 2011 (Manhattan Half-Marathon, Brooklyn Half-Marathon, Queens Half-Marathon, Bronx Half-Marathon, Staten Island Half-Marathon)

 

Non-Guaranteed Entry
In agreement with NYC agencies, acceptance of entrants for the NYC Half 2012 will be limited to a number that will result in approximately 15,000 finishers. The entry spots available to non-guaranteed applicants will be filled through three (3) simultaneous drawings, one in each of the following categories:

 

1) “NYC-metro area” applicants (i.e., residents in and within 60 miles of New York City);

2) “national” applicants (i.e., U.S. residents outside of the NYC-metro area); and

3) “international” applicants (i.e., non-U.S. residents, including residents of Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories).

 

For 2012, the available non-guaranteed entry spots will be allocated as follows: 50 percent to NYC-metro area applicants, 25 percent to national applicants; and 25 percent to international applicants.
 
The drawings will be conducted using a random number selection algorithm to choose entrants from each applicant pool. The algorithm is obtained from www.random.org and is available in the public domain for verification purposes. The additional selection criteria are a valid credit card, future expiration date, and authorization to charge.  The provided credit card will be charged when the entry is drawn; if the charge is not approved, the entry will be removed and another entry drawn from the pool.

 

Neither the total number of guaranteed entrants nor the total number of non-guaranteed applicants in each on the three categories will be known until after the entry deadlines. Therefore, neither the number of entry spots available to non-guaranteed applicants nor the number of entrants ultimately selected in each of the categories can be determined before that time. Please note that historically, the demand for entry through the non-guaranteed entry drawings has significantly exceeded available spots.
 
Applicants in the drawings, whether or not accepted, will have paid a non-refundable $5 processing fee when submitting their applications. Such applicants, therefore, should carefully consider their likely chance of gaining entry through the drawings before submitting their applications and paying such fee.

 

The 2011 NYC Half-Marathon had more than 10,000 finishers.