The demand for starting places at the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne is higher than ever before. More than 10,000 runners have registered almost two months before the starting signal. The half marathon category is already sold out.
As of today, 10,328 runners have already registered for the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne on 29 October 2023. "Never before have we reached the 10,000 registration mark so early before the day of the event," says Reto Schorno, Managing Director of the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne. "We are delighted that we already have so many registrations and this confirms our work."
Categories are limited
The half marathon is already sold out. The organisers are allowing a maximum of 7,000 runners to start in this category. "Experience shows that there will probably be a few starting places left over the next few weeks due to cancellations. It's worth checking our website from time to time," explains Schorno. There are 1,407 runners registered for the marathon. A maximum of 2,000 people can start in this category. There are already 1,798 registrations for the CityRun and the CharityRun, both over 10 kilometres. The limit here is 2,500 runners. There are already 124 children registered for the Maratholino in Lucerne and Horw. "We are deliberately not allowing unlimited entries," explains Reto Schorno, "The limits per running distance are for safety and the running experience, even if the demand for starting places is higher." For all those who are unable to take part in Lucerne themselves, there is now the Virtual CharityRun. With the ViRace app, runners can complete a 10-kilometre course at any location during the marathon weekend and experience the SwissCityMarathon feeling via headphones.
Organisation and atmosphere as the main reasons
The finisher statistics from Swiss Running show: The high demand for starting places at the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne does not correspond to a general trend. The number of participants at many running events is still not at the same level as before coronavirus. So what makes the SwissCityMarathon in Lucerne and Horw better? Reto Schorno: "We explain the attractiveness of the running event with factors on various levels. The most important factors for participation are certainly the good organisation, the innovative ideas, the committed volunteer associations, the great atmosphere along the route and the free travel by public transport. These points are always rated very positively in the surveys." The high demand was already apparent in the summer. By mid-July, a record number of over 6,000 runners had registered, which was twice as many as usual at that time.
Start system as a supporting factor
The increased demand can probably also be attributed to the new start system. "Since last year, we have been sending a maximum of 550 runners onto the course at the same time in staggered start slots. With this system, we are increasing the experience factor and making participation more relaxed at the same time. This is probably one of the reasons why many running enthusiasts want to start with us," says Schorno. The fact that you can benefit from staggered entry fees if you register earlier and have more choice of starting slots per time should also help.
This year, the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne will take place on Sunday, 29 October 2023.