In January 22, 2020, 12pm noon, NYRR's sign-up system for Popular Brooklyn Half opened, then crashed. A letter from NYRR suggests it is evaluating moving to a drawing. We petition the NYRR to keep the race away from a drawing system, and keep its current system of open registration period.

• Brooklyn Half Marathon is one of the last highly Popular races that don't come with the unpredictability of the drawing. Moving to the lottery would take away the race from:
  • Local runners who would like to run a NYRR-supported 13.1 mile once a year
  • Participants who enjoy running but for those who are not prioritizing running year-around to do a X+1 (virtual or otherwise)
• The current system already reserves spots for (i) time qualifiers; (ii) virtual racing qualifiers (link here); (iii) charity. Going to a drawing system only adds more barrier for interested participants.
• IT bottleneck is a solvable problem.

A look at NYRR's Core Values reveals that it "[Strives] for Excellence," and "[Leads] with Innovation." We believe NYRR can do better than simply moving all highly-attended events to drawings. NYC Half already runs on a drawing system, and those who do not get into NYC Half have a chance to participate in Brooklyn Half without the uncertainty of another drawing.

Lastly, we recognize that the amount of feedback you've received for the registration process speaks to how much the community cares about your events and running. Thank you for your work.