Didn’t get into the Beach to Beacon last year? Frustrated by how quick it sold out and don’t think there were enough lottery slots? Felt that you weren’t paying enough to run the race? Well, not to fret, the 2011 registration guidelines have been announced!

Similar to last year, there will be a multi-tiered registration process to help accommodate more people.

First, on March 14th, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. registration will open for Cape Elizabeth residents (only) where they will be able to register on a first come, first serve basis. There will be 600 slots available, which sold out last year in about 21 minutes.

Then, on March 15th, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. registration will open for the general public to register for the race. Registration for these slots will be capped at 4,000, and will probably fill even faster than last year’s 32 minutes as long as the website doesn’t crash again.

Finally, once general registration closes, runners who did not get in can register for the lottery for the remaining 1,750 slots, which is up 250 from last year. You will have from March 15 through March 22 to get your name put into the hat. Participants will be chosen on March 23rd, and notified by email by March 25th if you got into the race or not.

The final group of registrations will get passcodes to register for the race between March 11 and the week of March 28th, which includes active streakers, sponsor and charity runners, and elite runners invited to run by the race committee.

Similar to last year, there will be an opportunity to transfer your race registration to another runner, and this year will be available from May 1st through June 30th. Once the transfer period opens I’ll post a reminder here at Run to Win and those that can’t run can try to find somebody that wasn’t able to get in.

Race registration this year will cost $40, up $5 from the $35 price tag that has been in place. The extra money will go towards a $25,000 fee that the town is charging the race in order to help provide funds to the park where the race finishes. While this is relatively expensive for a 10k race, it’s still a pretty good bargain given the size and popularity of the Beach to Beacon.

I do have one word of warning for you if you aren’t a resident of Cape Elizabeth…don’t try to register before general registration opens on March 15th. Anybody that gets in as a Cape Elizabeth resident that doesn’t actually live in town will forfeit their entry fee and will be removed from the starting list, so it isn’t worth trying to be sneaky.

So, if you want to run the Beach to Beacon in 2011, be sure to mark you calendars if you want guaranteed entry into the race, or else be ready to try your luck in the lottery.

More Info: Registration Procedures – Transfer Policy