Winning the Lottery?

Today I paid $11 to enter the lottery for the New York City Marathon.  It strikes me as so odd, paying $11 (to ultimately pay more than $200 if you win) to work that hard to ultimately run 26.2 miles.  I loved my 2011 marathon experience, but  I am not quite ready to fully commit to a marathon in 2012.  I like the idea of leaving it to chance - if my entry is pulled I will train and run.... if not, then we'll see what 2012 brings!