Dublin Marathon guarantees entries for recent runners

A whole lotto change.

The organisers of the Dublin Marathon for 2020 have amended the lottery system to guarantee recent previous runners entry to next year's edition. If you have ran the Dublin Marathon in the past 3 years, you can guarantee your entry outside of the lottery system. The news that the showpiece event would be moving to a lottery-based entry system, similar to that of marathons in London, Berlin and New York, was met with widespread concern among loyal runners earlier this week. However, having listened to that negative reaction, organisers issued the following statement today;

"The KBC Dublin Marathon Race organisers, aware of the concern caused by the changes to the entry process to regular participants in the KBC Dublin Marathon, have made the decision to guarantee a race entry for anyone who has participated in one of the last three editions of the KBC Dublin Marathon namely, the 2017, 2018 or 2019 event. Eligible participants will be able to guarantee their place in the 2020 KBC Dublin Marathon provided they enter within 72 hours of receiving a unique URL enabling them to do so. The URL will be issued at 12 noon on Friday 1^st November."

They were also at pains to point out that, due to the event selling out in recent years, a lottery system would enable them to work out just how many people are interested in the event, something not available in the first-come-first-served system previously employed;

"The KBC Dublin Marathon Race organisers can confirm that a significant factor in the move to the lottery system for the 2020 KBC Dublin Marathon in addition to the increased demand experienced over the last number of years, is to gauge the total level of interest in participation in the Dublin marathon. This is to enable the KBC Dublin Marathon Race organisers to prepare a strategic plan for the future development of the event in consultation with the event’s multiple stakeholders."

Concerns around entries for registered members of Athletics Ireland were also assuaged by the statement;

"A number of places in the KBC Dublin Marathon have also been allocated to the Athletics Ireland membership as the race also serves as the Athletics Ireland National Marathon Championships. Application for these places will open on 1^st April 2020 and will be allocated in accordance with the KBC Dublin Marathon Good for Age standards. Applicants must have a valid Athletics Ireland membership to be eligible."