It is the first time a lottery system has been used in the history of the race, which last year attracted 40,000 runners.
The 12-day lottery is scheduled to open at 12:01 a.m. on Monday February 4th and close Friday February 15th at 11:59 p.m. Race organizers say everyone who enters the lottery will have an equal chance of being selected.
Only one entry per person will be accepted. Duplicate entries will be removed from the drawing.
In a statement on the race website, organizers explained why the first-come, first-served system of previous years is being replaced with a lottery:
"Under the first-come, first-served system the race was filling up faster and faster each year. In 2012, the race closed in five hours. The first-come, first-served basis discriminated against individuals who could not access their computers from work. In addition, due to the volume of traffic, most people experienced system issues which caused people to be uncertain if their entry had been accepted or not."
In a separate statement, race director Jim Marino said, "The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation and the City of Philadelphia look forward once again to hosting the largest 10 Mile race in the USA and we thank you for continued support of this great Philadelphia tradition."
For more information: broadstreetrun.com
