The Mount Washington Road Race is so popular that it requires a lottery to be allowed to participate. There is only one hill in the entire race, but that hill is over seven and a half miles long and climbs around 5000 feet. The lottery has been open since the beginning of March, and closes on the 15th. If you want to have a chance to run, then you need to register by Thursday. And seriously, who wouldn’t want to run up to the highest point in the northeast at 6,288 feet? With an average 11.2% incline over the entire course? Battling unpredictable winds? With only about 1000 other runners?

It sounds like a good time to me. The race itself is on June 16^th this year. If you do not get in through the lottery or if you don’t want to run, you can contact the race directors as they are always looking for volunteers. You can also talk to Mike Doyle at the Maine Track Club, as he is organizing the 10 open slots reserved for MTC runners. The Maine Track Club slots are reserved for people who can bring a volunteer along with them, but I am sure they’d be willing to bring extras along.

There is also some added motivation for running the race. Anybody who wins the Mount Washington Road Race is allowed to bypass the lottery in the future and run the race for free. Now there’s a perk! The field is limited to 1000 people due to the logistics of getting the runners back off of the mountain.

I have never run the race, but I did climb Mountain Washington a few years ago. It was a good time, and I had perfect weather.

By the way, the day after the race is the exact opposite of the Mount Washington Road Race. The New England Mile is on June 17^th. It is a one mile down hill race. It is short, it drops 70 feet, and registration is open to everybody with no lottery required!

(Thanks to David Colby Young for the heads up!)