As NYC Marathon Demand Soars, NYRR Overhauls 9+1 Program to Ease Registration Woes

The surging popularity of the New York City Marathon has had one unexpected effect on the weekly races that happen throughout the year in Central Park and the other boroughs of the city:It’s very difficult to get into them.That’s due to the exponential growth of the New York Road Runners’ popular “9+1” program. If runners complete nine races and volunteer at one during a calendar year, they are guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon for the following year. That program is currently in effect for the 2027 marathon.As a result, runners swarm race registration as soon as it opens each quarter, often shutting out those who have no interest in the marathon but just want to run an occasional 5K in Central Park.“We have a lot of runners that are searching for 9+1 and trying to run the marathon, but we have a lot of members that are not,” said Matthew Forys, NYRR’s vice president of strategy, planning, and analytics, in a call with Runner’s World. “They’re just trying to run our races and be involved in our wonderful running community.”Now, NYRR is changing the rules about who can complete the 9+1 program.For the 2028 New York City Marathon, if runners want to try the 9+1 in 2027, they have to be selected from a drawing. The drawing is free to enter. At least 15,000 names will be selected from that pool of drawing applicants, and those people will be charged $99.“It is setting a cap on how many people can attempt 9+1 in the calendar year of 2027, and by doing so, allow us to control how many people are doing this, and we know that will cause a significant reduction in the demand that we're seeing for those race spots,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, NYRR’s CEO.Other details of the new program:Runners can enter the drawing for the 9+1 program from September 17 to 29. Only NYRR members will be eligible for the drawing. They must be members by September 16 and through drawing day, which is October 1. The $99 fee will make those whose names are chosen in the drawing become “9+1 Passholders.” NYRR will help “ensure Passholders have a clear path to registering for the races and volunteer service needed to complete the program through the new Passholder Race Selection Process,” according to a statement. Runners who are currently pursuing the 9+1 program for the 2027 marathon will be unaffected.NYRR is doing away with two tiers of its membership system. The “Member Plus” and “Family Plus” tiers gave members earlier registration times for races, which are now obsolete. Current Member Plus and Family Plus members will get prorated refunds. “With this program, with the drawing, and with the 9+1 pass, that reason for Member Plus existing really kind of goes away, and we wanted to get back to a point where all of our members are on more of an equal footing when it comes to getting into races,” Simmelkjaer said. “We haven't liked the fact that so many regular members just had such a difficult time getting into races.”NYRR’s organizers did not say exactly how many applicants they expect for 9+1 spots. But Simmelkjaer did not dispute a Runner’s World estimate that 75 to 80 percent of those who enter the 9+1 drawing will get in. In the past, the organization has not known exactly who has been pursuing 9+1 entry during the year; with the new system, it will have that information.By controlling the numbers of runners who are finishing the 9+1 program, extra marathon entries will likely be available in NYRR’s March drawing for race bibs. For the 2026 NYC Marathon drawing, held in March, more than 240,000 people applied and only 1 percent were accepted.“We want to align the size of the 9+1 program with the available race capacity that we have,” Simmelkjaer said. “We also want to maintain a healthy balance for the different marathon entry methods, because our drawing has gotten smaller than we would like it to be for the TCS New York City Marathon.”He continued: “It’s too early to say, but you can certainly expect a significant increase in the size of the drawing for the 2028 TCS New York City Marathon, which is a goal of ours.”Organizers said they spoke to local running groups about registration frustrations and overhauling the popular 9+1 program, which helps preserve local participation in the marathon, keeping the race “a New York event for New Yorkers,” Simmelkjaer said.But he also emphasized that NYRR knows not everyone wants to run a marathon.“We love the TCS New York City Marathon; it’s our crown jewel,” he said. “But we don’t want running to just be about running marathons. There are a lot of people out there who just want to run a 5K or a 10K, maybe two or three races a year, and that’s part of the running community.”The announcement from NYRR is just the latest by World Marathon Majors races that are scrambling to meet soaring demand. London recently announced it would hold its marathon over two days in 2027, to add 40,000 runners to its field, and Boston announced an extra 1,000 spots for qualified runners who don’t hit the race’s stringent “cutoff” time. Those athletes, too, will be selected by a drawing.Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!