Oh my gosh guys, I am so excited right now! Starting at midnight tonight, the lottery will open for the 35th annual Broad Street Run on May 4, 2014! If you’re not from Philly, here’s the scoop: Broad Street is basically the most popular race in Philly. If you live in the Philly area, you definitely know someone who has run this race. Why is it so popular? It’s a 10 mile run down Broad Street, AKA the flattest course ever, and you get a sweet medal at the end. Plus you get to join the informal club of Broad Street finishers, which might not sound like much to seasoned runners but to me it sounds amazing!
I only began running in the summer of 2012, but long before I was a runner I heard about this race and wondered what it would be like to complete it. A few years ago it sounded like a long, terrible event which I could never accomplish but would always hold in high honor. But considering the fact that I’ve already run 9 miles and might be doing 10 this weekend, I’m now realizing that it’s something that I will be able to do this year. Last year my longest run was 6.2 miles and I was planning a June wedding, so training for Broad Street was out. But this year, there’s nothing holding me back. And I’m finally ready to put my name in the lottery! And for anyone reading this who thinks I’m being way too excited about this race, I want to you think back on your running past because every runner has a race that they’ve dreamed of doing for a long time. Along with the Disney Princess Half, this is that race for me!
This picture is from Philly.com, but I can’t wait to have a picture like this with ME in it!
I’m a bit intimidated by the lottery, but I definitely understand why they’re doing it: 2 years ago the registration opened and the race sold out in a matter of hours. People who work at jobs where they can’t stop and register during the work day were stuck without an entry, which made thousands of people super angry. So last year, they implemented a lottery system with 40,000 spots. I actually don’t personally know anyone that entered who didn’t get a bib (people were very vocal about the whole process on Facebook) so I have a bit of hope for this year. I hope I’ve got a bit of luck, especially with all the crazy stuff that’s been going on with my kitchen lately!
So how can you register for Broad Street this year? Here’s the info from the official website. If you’re thinking about putting your name in the lottery, it’s suggested that you don’t do it as soon as it opens so that the system doesn’t crash. You have 13 days to put your name in the lottery so there’s really no rush, and your registration date has no bearing on your chances of selection. Results will be out on 2/18. But if you’re not feeling lucky you can always sign up to run for a charity! The following charities are looking for runners and you’re guaranteed a spot if you commit to raising money for their organization:
- American Cancer Society DetermiNation: If you’re up for raising $500, DetermiNation will give you some sweet perks! Get VIP packet pickup, a pre-race celebratory dinner, a support team of runners and coaches to help you train for the race (along with twice-weekly training runs), team-only bag check and port-o-potties at the race, and sweet DetermiNation running gear. Check out there page here for more information!
- The Fairmount Park Conservancy: Raising $500 for this organization should be a no brainer since you’re probably doing most of your training for Broad Street in Fairmount Park! Joining this fundraising group gets you 10% off at Philadelphia Runner, a pre-race kickoff party and a post-race tailgate, VIP packet pickup, a FPC/Broad Street clothing item, 2 training runs in Fairmount Park with a running coach, membership to the FPC, and a free ticket to their GLOW in the Park party in October! Check them out here!
- Students Run Philly Style: Help this organization by raising $500 towards helping inner city kids find success through running. You’ll get a training t-shirt, a weekly newsletter, a training schedule and group runs/cross training sessions, and a 15% off code for their 5k in April. Plus you have until June 1st to raise the money, which is almost a month longer than the others! Learn more about this organization here.
- Back On My Feet: BOMF is all about getting the homeless population of Philly motivated to change their lives through running. If you decide to raise $500 for BOMF you’ll get invites to training runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. You’ll also get 15% off entry to their 5 miler in march and some fun swag! Click here to learn more!
If you’re interested in bypassing the lottery and getting a guaranteed entry, check out the above links! If you’re feeling lucky, sign up for the lottery from 2/1-2/13 at midnight. Good luck Philly runners! And for those of you out-of-towners looking for a good race to run in Philly, check this one out!
Are you running Broad Street? Have you ever entered a race lottery? Do you have any experience with race fundraising?
Mom in the Mtns 
Yay Broad Street! I love this race so much (as I should since I used to work there). I’m not running the race this year, but I hope you get in! I really think it’s one of those just do races in Philly. Good luck with lottery!
Thanks! That’s awesome you used to work the race! I heard it’s super fast and “easy” so I’m hoping I get in!
Oh yeah, the net downhill makes it fast and easy!
Good luck!!! I’m currently entered into the Ironman Triathlon World Championship lottery for Kona Hawaii.
Whoa! That is a serious lottery entry! Good luck! When will you find out if you get in?
I love Broad Street Run! But I can’t deal with the whole registration system thing anymore. Also, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people at the last time I ran it (and the cap was *only* 30,000 that year!).
Oh and you didn’t mention, is it still super cheap? When I ran it, it was only $30! Of course, little (or nothing) goes to charity, it just pays for your supplies and such. But that is still a bonus to a broke grad student like me!
Good luck, I hope you get in! It was my first long race too and I loved it!
~Ang
it’s $43 now which I think is still super cheap, especially considering what I paid for the Disney Princess Half! They are capping it at around 40,000 I think. It’s crazy to think about that many people in one place, but at least Broad Street is pretty wide and most people will be faster than me so hopefully it won’t be too bad!
fingers crossed for you! disney races have also been on my dream list for years, despite the fact that i juuuust started running.
That’s how I felt last year! Disney Princess will be my first half and I’m so nervous, but I feel like if you’re going to do a half marathon you should probably start with a Disney one, right? Hopefully you get to run one soon!
Yessssss, Broad Street. One of the best races I’ve done! I’m participating in Nike DC this year (which is the weekend before) so I probably won’t be there this year but I have my fingers crossed for you, my friend! It’s seriously such a fun race.
Oh man! Well hopefully I get in 🙂 I feel like if you’re a runner in Philly, you’ve got to do Broad Street so I’m hoping I get lucky! I’m always hearing such awesome things about it!
Good luck with the lottery! I’ve only run race that had a lottery type system, and that was the St. George Marathon. I got in two years in a row, so it must have been a good system :-).
That makes me feel a lot better! Sometimes I wonder how many people they have to turn down – you never really hear about the people who don’t get in through a lottery, so I’m hoping it’s not too many!
I am going to enter the lottery. Fingers crossed! I have heard amazing things about this race!!
Yay! Good luck! I already entered and now I’m just going to have to wait like 2 weeks!
Good luck- fingers crossed that you get in! I have friends that have run this the past few years and have a great time!
It sounds like such an awesome race so hopefully I’ll get to run it this year!