In 2007, the Lottery Selection Process for the Mount Marathon Race abandoned the age-old process of accepting paper registrations and drawing names out of hat and began using a computerized program for registration and to select lottery winners. In 2014, a weighted formula was added to the lottery selection process to increase the odds of winning a spot for those who were unsuccessful in gaining entry after applying for several consecutive years.
Lottery winners are randomly selected from the pool of valid lottery applicants in each race by a specially designed computer program. Your odds of winning a lottery spot are based on a number of variables, some of which are not known until registration closes on March 31:
- Total number of Priority Registrations per race
- Total number of available lottery spots per race
- Total number of valid lottery applicants per race
- Your total number of consecutive unsuccessful annual applicants
- Total number of lottery applicants with the same, or a higher weight
Applicants with consecutive unsuccessful lottery applications have an increased chance of selection. Accumulated lottery weights reset to ZERO when an registrant gains entry to the race, or misses a registration year.