Two runners lose out on NYC Marathon lottery, proceed to sue organizers
A pair of runners who missed out on last year's New York City Marathon lottery are suing race organizers for more than $10 million.
Two runners are suing the New York City Marathon race organizers claiming the use of a lottery to decide the race’s entrants is illegal, according to Reuters.
Utah residents Charles Konopa and Matthew Clark filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday, the same day the application window opened for the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, claiming the New York Road Runners violated state constitution by using a non-state run lottery.
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“Our entry process for the marathon is compliant with the law,” said Chris Weiller, a spokesman for the New York Road Runners (NYRR), the organizing association for the TCS New York City Marathon.
The non-refundable fee for entering the lottery is US $11 and is charged at registration regardless of whether a runner is accepted into the marathon or not. Race registration fees are not the subject of the lawsuit but the two plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against future NYRR race lotteries.
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The plaintiffs are seeking US $10.56 million, approximately twice the amount collected by the NYRR between 2010 and 2015 from marathon hopefuls, according to the report.
The NYRR describes the lottery entrant fee as “non-refundable and is processed upon submission of the application.” The two Utah runners were not chosen through the lottery when previously applying.
For Canadians looking to get into the New York City Marathon, the current exchange rate is not kind.
Canadians are subjected to the following prices: “Non-U.S. residents (including Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories): US $347.”
With today’s exchange rate, Canadians are paying upwards of $500 to be a part of the TCS New York City Marathon, including the non-refundable fee and the race registration fee.
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Other large marathons, including the BMW Berlin Marathon, do not charge a lottery entrant fee.
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