CHICAGO — The registration for this year's Bank of America Chicago Marathon has been delayed until noon on March 19 because organizers haven't finished evaluating the new sign-up process, marathon officials said.
The date was pushed back so organizers can "finalize a routine yet comprehensive assessment of our new registration process," according to the marathon's website. Registration was originally slated to start at noon Wednesday.
"We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding as we aim to ensure a seamless registration experience for all who wish to register for the event," the website said.
According to marathon organizers, the decision to postpone was not because of a particular problem with its new registration website, Kimbia Racing, but from the time it's taking to appraise the new system.
The deadline for both guaranteed entry and lottery entry is still noon April 7, according to the website. In 2013, the marathon started using a lottery system after suffering registration site issues.
The new lottery process for this year means that those guaranteed a spot are runners who qualify with a verified marathon finish of under 3:15:00 for men and under 3:45:00 for women, run for a charity program, join an official international tour partner, have finished the Chicago Marathon five or more times within the past 10 years or participate as wheelchair athletes.
Everyone else will be selected at random for the remaining spots in the Oct. 12 race. Last year, 39,115 people crossed the finish line, according to race organizers.
The marathon gave the boot to Active.com and decided to switch to Kimbia after the site crumbled last year under the weight of thousands of race hopefuls trying to register, Crain's Chicago Business reported in February.
