Chicago Marathon Opens Lottery For Entries To 2015 Race

CHICAGO (AP) -- Runners now can enter the lottery for a spot in this year's Chicago Marathon.

Marathon officials said the lottery opened Tuesday and will close at 12 p.m. April 21. This is the second year the Chicago Marathon is using a lottery for entries to the 26.2 mile-long race on Oct. 11.

Marathon officials credit the lottery with last year's race having a record 40,659 finishers.

There are five other ways to enter the race. Runners can enter with an official Chicago Marathon charity, an official tour partner or because they deferred 2014 entry. They can run if they have completed the marathon five times in the last decade, or as time qualifiers.

Time qualifications are less than 3 hours, 15 minutes for men and 3 hours, 45 minutes for women since Jan. 1, 2013.

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