Runners hoping to make the  2018 New York City Marathon now have their chance with the entry application now open for both guaranteed and non-guaranteed entries.

The application window for runners worldwide to apply for one of 50,000 places will remain open until February 15. Last year’s Big Apple marathon was memorably won by American Shalane Flanagan and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor.

The race, which is organised by New York Road Runners is the largest marathon in the world, with 50,773 runners crossing the finish line in 2017. This year’s marathon will take place on Sunday, November 4.

The application process allows entry via two main routes, guaranteed entry based on having achieved the qualifying time and non-guaranteed entry via an open draw.

The qualifying standard for men based on age category includes 2:53:00 marathon finish time for men aged 18-34 and 2:55:00 for men aged 35-39. For female marathoners aged 18-34 the qualifying time is 3:13:00 and 3:15:00 for those aged 35-39. Details on all the age-based standards can be found here.

Times must have been achieved between January 1 and December 31, 2017. All runners who met the time standards must claim their entry during the application period that closes on February 15, 2018.

Please note preference will be given to official NYRR races, so for British and Irish runners who have gained the qualifying time at a race elsewhere, time is of an essence to claim a place via a non-NYRR race. These spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you do not have a qualifying time the non-guaranteed entry drawing is free to enter and brings together runners of all levels from around the globe. Each person may enter the non-guaranteed entry drawing once. The non-guaranteed drawing will be held on February 28 and details on how to enter can be found here.