After the 2013 Berlin Marathon sold out in less than four hours, the organizers decided to alter the registration process for 2014. First there was a pre-registration phase followed by a random selection from the pool of registrants to receive a spot. Those who were selected had to register until November 11th, 2013. Any spots that were not confirmed till the 11th would be offered to pre-registered candidates according to the order in which they were randomly selected.
