Chicago marathon registration opens Wednesday

After a two-week delay, the Chicago Marathon registration will open Wednesday, March 19, for the lottery entry into the 2014 race.

The entry was delayed when organizers announced that the lottery system was not yet ready for the original March 5, 2014 opening date. Organizers likely wanted to make sure everything goes smoothly after a server-crashing registration opening in 2013 which prompted the marathon to change signup style to a lottery event.

They have also switched services for who will help host the registration. Kimbia, the company that stepped in to alleviate traffic spikes last winter when problems arose, will take on the task of registering 45,000 runners this year. Kimbia will provide a registration form within the Chicago Marathon website. In previous years, runners have had to go to an external website to sign up for the race.

Registration will open at noon central time on March 19 and remain open until noon on April 7.