2017 TCS New York City Marathon to Accept 16,211 Runners Through Entry Drawing
New York, March 2, 2017— 16,211 runners will be accepted into the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon through today’s non-guaranteed entry drawing. A total of 98,247 applications were part of the drawing, an increase of 20% from 2016. The selected runners represent approximately 17% of the non-guaranteed drawing applicants. More information on the drawing process can be found here. Approximately 50,000 runners are expected to finish the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. The race, which is the premier event of New York Road Runners, will take place on Sunday, November 5.
“Today is the beginning of a thrilling race journey to the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon for tens of thousands of runners from across New York City’s five boroughs, throughout the country, and around the world,” said Christine Burke, director of runner products and services at New York Road Runners. “We are honored to welcome these runners into the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon field, and look forward to supporting them as they embark on an experience of a lifetime en route to November 5.”
The 2017 TCS New York City Marathon field will be made up of both guaranteed and non-guaranteed entrants. Runners received guaranteed entry through a variety of methods, which are detailed here. Non-guaranteed entrants are being secured through today’s drawing. The application period for both guaranteed and non-guaranteed entries opened on January 17, 2017, and closed on February 17, 2017.
Today also marks the opening of the official charity running program for the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. Runners can register to participate with one of more than 350 official charity partners who utilize the event as a critical fundraising platform, as well as with NYRR Team for Kids, the TCS New York City Marathon’s largest charity, which raises funds to support NYRR’s free, year-round youth running programs and events across the country. Additionally, runners who have been accepted into the race can also raise money for charity—NYRR Team for Kids, any official charity partner, or a charity of their choice by using CrowdRise.
“We are excited to launch our popular charity running program today that benefits hundreds of significant causes throughout NYC and around the world, and to encourage participation in our very own NYRR Team for Kids charity,” said Michael Rodgers, vice president of development and philanthropy at New York Road Runners. “Our inspirational charity runners, who raised a record-breaking $36.1 million at last year’s TCS New York City Marathon, represent the giving spirit and passion of the global running community. We are grateful for and proud of their efforts, which have resulted in $235 million raised for the official charity running program since its inception in 2006.”
In 2016, 9,000 charity runners raised $36.1 million during the marathon on behalf of hundreds of not-for-profit organizations in New York City and across the nation. This number represents a mix of charity runners, including those registered to run the race with an official TCS New York City Marathon charity partner, those running on their own but raising money for an official charity partner, and those running on their own and using CrowdRise, the TCS New York City Marathon official fundraising partner platform for 2016, to raise money. Since the inception of the official charity partner program in 2006, $235 million has been raised. Also at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, $5.8 million was raised by 2,200 Team for Kids runners. More than 215,000 youth are served nationally through NYRR’s free youth running programs and events, including 115,000 in New York City’s five boroughs..
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Over 1,100,000 people have finished the race since its first running in 1970 with just 127 entrants and 55 finishers running four laps around Central Park. The race expanded to all five boroughs in 1976 and just celebrated its 40th year as a five-borough affair. Held annually on the first Sunday of November, the race features over 50,000 runners including the world’s top professional athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. Participants from approximately 125 countries tour the city, starting on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and running through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx before ending in Manhattan. The NYRR Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon covered 1.8 miles of the race course in Central Park, beginning near mile 24 and finishing at the famed TCS New York City Marathon finish line. More than one million spectators and thousands of volunteers line the city streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the television broadcast in 175 countries and territories, including viewers in the New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and via various international broadcast partners. The race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowns the top professional male and female marathoners each year. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 47th running of the TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 5, 2017. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.