Salem runner is No. 1 — in N.Y. race lottery

SALEM — For Becky Provstgaard, it feels good to be first at the New York Marathon — even though the race won't actually be run for another five months.

Provstgaard's first came in the lottery portion of the 2004 race where runners are being selected to join the massive field of marathoners who will race through the city boroughs in November.

The odds of being the first name drawn from the more than 75,000 applications were actually greater than the 1 in 33,000 chance of winning the actual race. But, there is a perk, as the first 13 runners selected in the lottery receive 25,000 free travel miles from Continental Airlines.

"Wow! That's awesome," said Provstgaard as she reacted to the news. "New York is just my favorite place in the world. And the plane ticket is a nice benefit."

Around 33,000 runners will be at the start this November, the majority of them selected via the lottery. The only requirement to run the marathon is that applicants be age 18 or older. A small percentage of runners qualify in other ways.

Marathon spokesman Richard Finn said about 98 percent of the field will come from the lottery. The other options he noted are: "You can run a certain time; you can run nine races as a New York Road Runners member."

Of the 188 Utah applicants, 33 qualified to run via the other means, the rest, like Provstgaard will have to take their chances in the lottery — including her husband.

Provstgaard's husband is among the lottery applicants, who will learn whether they have been selected when results are posted later today. If he is selected, the whole family could head for the Big Apple.

"We'd love to take our kids, but it's hard," Provstgaard said. "They're not too young — 16, 13, and 9 — but we'd be a little nervous if we were both running."

Though this will be Provstgaard's first time hitting the pavement in New York, she's no stranger to the taxing business of marathon running. She's completed seven so far, most recently the Boston Marathon in April. She plans to run in the St. George Marathon later this summer.

"It's exciting," Provstgaard said. "I love New York. This will be my fourth time there. The marathon goes through all the boroughs, and we thought, what a great way to see New York."

Finn said this year's marathon drew a record number of applicants, which he attributes to the status of the marathon in the running world.

"The fact that Becky is from a small town in Utah and was the first selected represents the national allure of our race, and what it means to runners, and we're delighted and we hope that she comes and enjoys New York," Fin said.

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E-mail: mdecker@desnews.com