Chicago Marathon entry now a lottery

Seems good. They have a few guarantee options including a time qualifier.

Yeah, at first I was a bit upset but then when I saw the time qualifier it was all good.

Maybe I read it wrong, but it's interesting that there is just one time qualifier for males and one for females.  No AG differentiation.  Not to say that it's "wrong," or that they should do it differently like Boston or NYC...just interesting.  I'm sure there are some older men who think a 3:15 is unfair to them.

There are plenty of younger men who think so too.

True.  Boston for M34 and under is 3:05 and NYC is 2:45 for M39 and under (for guaranteed entry).  But I didn't mention it to suggest that the Boston or NYC qualifying times were right...just that each race uses multiple qualifying times based on age where Chicago is choosing not to consider age at all.  Just gender.  It's their race...they can do whatever they want.  I'm sure people are offended though.    

As an older guy, this was my first reaction when I read the qualifying criteria.  I wouldn't be surprised to see that modified in the future.  {fingers crossed}

There must ALWAYS be a certain percentage of people who are offended, or the internet will die.

it is probably not based on the elites, but on the average chicago runner - say they want to retain their top 10% finishers - they are using the top 10% times for each gender.  that is my guess at least.

I suspected this would happen, after last years debacle.

I've run Chicago 3x but I'm giving up on it, I think. It's fun to do a big race, but has gotten too big, too expensive, and is too much of a hassle. I'd rather stick to smaller fall races like Twin Cities, Columbus, etc. where they're still well-run but no problem entering and they're much cheaper. In 2012, it was hard to find room in the street in Chicago and it was still elbow-to-elbow in the late miles. Personally, I'm taking my running dollars to a more relaxed atmosphere. 

Question regarding this.  Why give a guaranteed entry to faster folks?  Why not just go full lottery? I understand and agree with legacy program, but to reward those on time I don't see the purpose. 

My guess is adding qualifying times boosts brand awareness for the race.  It also presents a challenge to runners who may not have otherwise wanted to do the race.

I think the race just gets added prestige by allowing faster runners to qualify for guaranteed entry.  It worked for NY and Boston.

Jason said what I meant more eloquently.

I suppose you attract more "serious runners", but it would shut me out as that I haven't yet done a marathon, just my 4 IMs and none were under 5 hours.  I just don't really like the idea that if you're fast, we'll make it easy for you trends.  This was a possibility for me, no longer interested if thats the case. And, glad I'm in for MCM this year since that may be where its going as well.  I think that it is an unfortunate trend. 

Depends on WHY you run it...

I don't run it to win. I don't run it to set a PR. I don't run it because it's a fascinating course.

I run it because I live here, and lots of my friends live here. Lots of my friends love running it (as do I). My non-runner friends treat marathon Sunday like a huge tailgate, so I see them partying at various points around the city. After the race, we all meet up to participate in a Sunday Funday for the ages (Monday is Columbus Day - HOLIDAY). That's why I run it, and will continue to run it every year, barring unforeseen injury/obligation.

It might not be for everyone, and that's fine with me. But I love marathon Sunday.