Race Free

As part of our mission to help and inspire people through running, New York Road Runners offers a limited number of complimentary race entries through Race Free, an initiative that provides race fee assistance for NYRR races.

We offer 100 complimentary entries to each of our weekly races, as well as 100 complimentary entries to the TCS New York City Marathon and each of the NYRR Five-Borough Series races!

Eligibility is based on income. Applicants are asked to provide household income and other information; all applicant information is confidential.

How to Apply

The application is now available year round and we encourage you to apply at any time. You will be notified by email within one week of applying.

How Does It Work?

1. Submit your online application.

2. Within one week of submission you will receive an email notifying you whether you have been accepted into the program.

3. If you are accepted into the program, you will need to create an account (if you do not already have one.)

4. Drawings for complimentary race entry will be held every other month. Please see the schedule below.

5. Participants who are selected in the drawing will be notified by email and given a unique invitation code to register for the race.

6. All participants will be automatically included in each drawing, except for the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon drawing, which will require an opt-in via a survey that will be emailed.

Application Dates

All Weekly Races:

November 11, 2019: Drawing for January – February races

January 6, 2020: Drawing for March – April races

March 2, 2020: Drawing for May – June races

May 4, 2020: Drawing for July – August races

July 6, 2020: Drawing for September – October races

United Airlines NYC Half

Drawing: October 22, 2019

Popular® Brooklyn Half

Drawing: December 2, 2019

All Race Free participants will be notified immediately whether they have been selected, so those not selected will still have the opportunity to enter the general drawing for the race.

2020 TCS New York City Marathon

Drawing: January 9, 2020

The survey to opt into the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon drawing will be emailed out on December 16, 2019. All Race Free participants will be notified immediately whether they have been selected, so those not selected will still have the opportunity to enter the general drawing for the race.

If you’d like more information, email racefree@nyrr.org or check out our FAQs.

If you'd like to support this initiative, donate today or contact our development team to learn more.

Eligibility

Eligibility is based on household income
Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and must be residents of New York state.
Runners will remain in the program for one year, beginning when they are accepted, and will need to reapply on a yearly basis. You will receive an email reminder to reapply.
Accepted runners will automatically be entered into each drawing, with the exception of the TCS New York City Marathon, for which they will have to opt in via a survey that will be emailed.
If a runner in the program registers for two races and does not notify us that he/she cannot run them, the runner will be removed from the program.

Apply For One Year

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