New York Road Runners announced a major revamp to its popular 9+1 NYC Marathon race program on Thursday that will impact how runners access, sign up and qualify for its marquee event.
The 9+1 program of completing nine qualifying races and volunteering at one sanctioned event will be exclusive to NYRR’s more than 15,000 members, who will then be entered in a drawing that permits access to the new 9+1 format.
“The hardest thing about completing 9+1 should be running the races—not getting into them,” NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer said. “Over the past 24 months, we conducted an extensive audit and piloted several initiatives to address the overwhelming demand for our races, largely driven by the popularity of the TCS New York City Marathon and the success of our 9+1 program. Now, to ensure more local runners have access to our races year-round, we’ve updated our membership model and revamped 9+1. We look forward to introducing new benefits for all NYRR members over the coming year.”
Under the new program, which impacts the 2027 and 2028 NYC Marathon, 9+1 is free to enter for members who will be eligible for a $99 passholder designation if they are chosen, which clears the way for easier access to qualifying races as they build credits during the year.
The drawing for the overhauled 9+1 program runs from September 17 to 29 with and the ballot for the passholder program taking place on October 1 for the 2027 NYC Marathon period. Current 9+1 members won’t be impacted by the changes and will still gain guaranteed entry into next year’s race if they complete their requirements.
On October 14, registration for races in January to March 2027 will open for passholders to begin their qualification period and later in the week access to those same races become available to non-NYRR members.
NYRR says the wholesale changes to the program were driven by continued high demand for the marathon. In recent years, smaller qualifying races have sold out months in advance as runners have essentially competed against one another for the same slots in order to quickly meet 9+1 requirements. Interest in these smaller race has outpaced the capped number of bibs and led to frustration among those who have been shut out of preferred races that traditional have been available weeks or even days before the start of the event.
The running organization also said on Thursday that it will eliminate its $120 Member Plus tier that granted advance access and perks to those willing to spend more to boost their membership status over the standard $60 yearly plan. The goal is to give all members an equal shot at signing up for races while offering a two-day early access period over the general public.
