All 8 World Marathon Majors in 2027: The Bucket-List Guide

Tokyo, Japan

1Tokyo Marathon 2027: The Lottery Is Closed—Your Next Chance Is 2028

Tokyo's door has already shut. One line a Japanese runner left on an official video says how narrow this door is: "I've entered about 10 times now, but it gets more competitive every year and I never get in." That's why Tokyo is a race you wait for.

There were three ways in. The general lottery for 2027 took applications August 14–28, 2026, and results came out September 18. The entry fee is $230 for overseas residents and ¥19,800 for residents of Japan.

Charity entry, which skips the lottery, required a donation of at least ¥100,000, and there was a separate sub-elite RUN as ONE program for fast international runners. All three are closed for 2027, so the next chance is summer registration for the 2028 race. Sunday, March 7, 2027, is the 20th edition.

The field grows from 39,000 to 40,000, the largest ever. The marathon starts at 9:10 a.m.

in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, passes through Iidabashi, Kanda, Nihonbashi, and Ginza, and turns around near Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. After a second pass through Ginza, it finishes on Gyoko-dori in front of Tokyo Station. The time limit is seven hours, and the finish closes at 4:10 p.

m. Tokyo's average temperature in March is 8.8°C. It may be spring on the calendar, but with normal morning lows of 2 to 4°C, it feels closer to winter.

Runners checking a bag are advised to clear security before 7 a.m., which means more than two hours of waiting in the cold before the start.

The standard move is to wear a throwaway layer and shed it just before the gun. Bags can be checked only in the official bag the race hands out. Bibs are available only at the expo, March 4–6 in the South Hall of Tokyo Big Sight: 10 a.

m. to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.

m. Saturday. Photo ID is checked, and there's no proxy pickup or race-day pickup.

The wristband they put on you there has to stay on until the finish. So plan to reach the expo by Saturday afternoon at the latest. The start is a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, and a Welcome Suica, which also works on JR lines, is the easiest transit card.

Runners chasing a time pick Tokyo for its elevation profile. There's one small bridge climb in the first 5K, and total elevation gain is just 35 to 40 meters. There is a trap, though: the gentle downhill right after the start.

It's easy to go out too fast there, and the discipline to hold goal pace on your watch through 5K is what decides a PR.

TOKYO MARATHON 2027Sun, March 7, 2027 · D-133 · Tokyo, JapanSee race details

TOKYO MARATHON 2027 · Read the story

Boston, United States

2Boston Marathon 2027: Making the Start Line Took 5 Minutes, 17 Seconds Under the Standard

Heartbreak Hill sits late in the Boston course, at the end of the Newton Hills. For one runner on Reddit's r/AdvancedRunning who finished in about 2:42 in 2025, the hill came down to a number: "Heartbreak ended up being my slowest mile of the day." The problem is the order.

The first few miles run downhill, and if you spend your legs there, you pay for it from around mile 17. One comment on the official course video puts it this way: "Hold back the first four miles. … The real race starts with 10k to go."

The ticket is a qualifying time. Men 18–34 need to run under 2:55 and women under 3:25, and the standards loosen with age; for runners 80 and older, it's under 4:50 for men and 5:20 for women. But making the standard doesn't guarantee a spot.

For 2027, 33,649 runners applied during qualifier registration (September 14–18, 2026). Announcing provisional results on September 29, 2026, the B.A.

A. accepted 25,630 runners in all: 24,630 who were 5 minutes, 17 seconds or more under their standard, plus 1,000 chosen through a newly introduced random drawing. That left 8,019 qualified runners out.

The entry fee is $270. Runners without a qualifying time still have fundraising entries through official charity partners and official tour-operator packages for residents outside the U.S.

—and fundraising minimums are set by each charity, not the B.A.A.

The 2027 Boston Marathon is Monday, April 19. It starts in Hopkinton and finishes on Boylston Street in downtown Boston, with about 30,000 runners leaving in 6 waves between 10 a.m.

and 11:21 a.m. Waves are assigned by submitted qualifying time.

You can move back to a later wave, but jumping into an earlier one can get you disqualified. Boston averages 7.8°C in April. The crowds in Wellesley and Natick help you survive those climbs.

One runner who ran in 2025 called Wellesley "the most surreal and energizing moment of my life." Another runner that year remembered the people of Natick "giving their entire hearts out" all the way up the hills. There's no direct train to Hopkinton.

Official shuttle buses are the only way to the start, and from Athletes' Village it's another 0.7 miles to the start line. Anything you want back at the finish goes only in the clear plastic bag the B.A.

A. gives you. Aid stations serve water and Gatorade every mile from mile 2, and hydrogels are handed out at miles 11.8, 17, and 21.5.

The official finish closes at 5:30 p.m. You'll still get a medal if you finish after that, but you'll be listed as a Post-Race Participant, not an official finisher.

Boston MarathonMon, April 19, 2027 · D-176 · Boston, United StatesSee race details

Boston Marathon · Read the story

London, United Kingdom

3London Marathon 2027: 1.33 Million Applied for the First Two-Day Race

The 2027 London Marathon will be held over two days for the first time. According to official information, it will take 100,000 runners across Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, 2027. Provisional start times are 9 a.

m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, and individual wave times arrive by email about three weeks before the race. A record 1,338,544 people entered the public ballot for those spots: 1,008,091 U.K.

residents and 330,450 from overseas. Entry is £79.99 for U.K.

residents and £275 for international runners, including a carbon offset fee. The ballot ran April 24–May 1, 2026, but two ways in remain. One is a charity place; organizers don't set a fundraising target and leave it to each charity.

The other is an official overseas tour-operator package. Good for Age entry is open only to U.K.

residents and is capped at 6,000 places. The race starts in Greenwich. There are three separate start lines, and the three groups merge for the first time in Woolwich just before mile 3.

The crowds thicken from the loop around the Cutty Sark between miles 6 and 7, and once you cross Tower Bridge to the north side of the Thames, you're at halfway. A runner who finished in about 2:23 in 2025 put that bridge first, too: "Going over Tower Bridge was one of the most memorable experiences of my life." London averages 9.0°C in April.

Race morning starts with a free train ride. At the 2026 race, showing your bib got you free travel to the start on trains, the DLR, the Underground, and buses. The Blue, Green, and Yellow start areas are a 10-minute walk from Blackheath station, and the Pink area is the same distance from Maze Hill station.

Water starts at mile 3, and Vaseline is available at miles 14, 17, 20, and 22. Headphones must be non-noise-canceling or bone-conduction, or worn in one ear only. Medals go only to runners who opted in when they entered.

Late in the race you run between the towers of Canary Wharf. The race's pacers say GPS can jump between miles 15 and 20, so go by the mile markers rather than your watch. Just past mile 21 in Limehouse comes Rainbow Row, 250 meters long.

The last 5 miles pass Tower Hill and the Victoria Embankment, then turn in front of Buckingham Palace onto The Mall. For the writer of the blog "Rowe Running," who ran in 2023, the riverside is what stuck: "The crowds along the Victoria Embankment are just immense."

TCS London MarathonSat, April 24, 2027 · D-181 · London, United KingdomSee race details

TCS London Marathon · Read the story

Cape Town, South Africa

4Cape Town Marathon 2027: Past the Finish, Then 6K More

Around 35K on the Cape Town course, runners pass right by the finish area. Then they run another 6.43 kilometers out toward Sea Point before coming back. With the finish in sight and 6K still to go, this is where the legs you saved early get spent.

On Sunday, May 23, 2027, the Cape Town Marathon runs for the first time as an Abbott World Marathon Major—the first Major in Africa. There were three ways in: the general ballot, charity, and official international tour operators. The 2027 general ballot ran June 10–24, 2026, and charity and official international tour-operator entries opened first-come, first-served on June 26.

South African charity places are already full. The day before, May 22, brings the Peace Run and trail events, and the marathon time limit is 6 hours, 30 minutes. The start and finish are both around DHL Stadium in Green Point.

Leaving the city center, the course heads through Woodstock, Salt River, and Mowbray and makes a big loop through the southern suburbs. Along the way it passes Rondebosch Common, the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town City Hall, St. George's Cathedral, the Company's Garden, the V&A Waterfront, and the Sea Point Promenade.

Cape Town averages 16.5°C in May, among the warmest of the eight. Reviews of this race talk more about singing than times. A couple from Fish Hoek Athletic Club who ran together in 2024 wrote that the mood lifted when some runners broke into traditional song—goosebump stuff, something they wanted to learn.

One line another runner from the same club left in 2023 sums up the crowds here: "…you feel like it is all for you." Keep logistics simple. There's no direct train to the start, and shuttles run to the Green Point race village, where the race both starts and finishes.

Stay in the Green Point area and race-day travel is a single trip, and Green Point is the only place you'll need to meet family. Then there's the wind. Here, wind counts as a race condition.

The 2025 race was canceled in the early hours of race day after strong winds damaged facilities. Check the wind forecast right up to the day before the start, and pack a windproof layer as a matter of course.

Cape Town MarathonSun, May 23, 2027 · D-210 · Cape Town, South AfricaSee race details

Cape Town Marathon · Read the story

Sydney, Australia

5Sydney Marathon 2027: Over the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House

The Sydney Marathon starts on Miller Street in North Sydney, the same start line as the 2000 Sydney Olympic marathon. Soon after the start, runners cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge, pass The Rocks and Circular Quay, and run a loop of Centennial Park. The final stretch goes past Mrs Macquarie's Chair in the Royal Botanic Garden to the forecourt of the Opera House.

For a Time Out Australia writer who ran the course in 2026, the finish is what stayed: "Running across the Harbour Bridge and flying over the finish line at the Sydney Opera House still gave me goosebumps." Sydney, Australia's largest marathon, was announced in 2024 as the seventh Major. In 2025, its first year as a Major, 35,000 runners from more than 120 countries took part, and 123,000 people applied in the ballot for the 2026 race.

The 2027 ballot closed October 19, 2026, and results come with payment on November 3. Entering the ballot is free, and only runners who are drawn pay the entry fee: A$280 for residents of Australia and New Zealand and A$330 for everyone else. Didn't get in?

International charity entries and official travel partner packages remain, and fundraising amounts vary by charity. The 2027 race is Sunday, August 29, starting at 6:30 a.m.

in the Southern Hemisphere's late winter. Sydney averages 14.5°C in August. Mornings start early.

At the 2026 race, the assembly area in St Leonards Park in North Sydney had set arrival times by group, and Group 1 had to be there by 5 a.m. Show up earlier than your assigned time and you won't be let in.

Bibs are available only Thursday through Saturday before the race at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park, with no mail-out and no race-day pickup. Registered runners ride public transit free by showing their bib. North Sydney station is closest to the start, and Circular Quay station is closest to the finish.

Come for the views alone and the elevation profile will surprise you. Total elevation gain is 313 meters, and although the finish is 83 meters lower than the start, the bridges and climbs keep coming. The time limit is 7 hours, but the start line closes at 8:40 a.

m. And at 35.1K there's a hard cutoff of 5 hours, 50 minutes, measured from the start-line closure.

Sydney MarathonSun, August 29, 2027 · D-308 · Sydney, AustraliaSee race details

Berlin, Germany

6Berlin Marathon 2027: The Broom Wagon at 33K, Then the Brandenburg Gate

The 2027 Berlin Marathon is Sunday, September 26. It's one of two Majors with a 2027 lottery open through November 12. Lottery entries are accepted October 1 through November 12, 2026, with results emailed December 3.

The €215 entry fee is paid only by runners who are drawn, starting December 4. Fast runners can also enter a separate lottery pool for qualifying times. The standards are set by age group—2:45 for men and 3:10 for women born 1983–2009, for example—but this, too, is a separate drawing, not a guarantee.

Charity entries go through official partner organizations. The race starts on Straße des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Kleiner Stern. The course makes a big loop through Tiergarten, Moabit, Mitte, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, and Schöneberg.

It passes the Bundestag and the Chancellery, the Kurfürstendamm, and Potsdamer Platz, runs down Unter den Linden, and finally goes through the Brandenburg Gate and back onto the street where it started. At 41K, the Brandenburg Gate appears straight ahead. In a race report on Reddit's r/Marathon_Training, a runner who finished in about 2:38 in 2025 remembers seeing the gate at 41K as the moment that sent goosebumps through their whole body.

It's known for the lowest elevation profile among the Majors, and it's where Eliud Kipchoge ran 2:01:09 in 2022. That doesn't make it an easy day for everyone. Berlin averages 15.3°C in September, but a runner who finished in about 4:31 in 2025 had a different story: "First half felt smooth and on plan, but Second half got brutal (it was hotter than expected and I definitely felt it)."

Bib pickup is at the former Tempelhof Airport. At the 2026 race, your bib doubled as an ABC-zone transit ticket for four days during race week. Clothing bag storage is available only to runners who booked it when registering; everyone else gets a poncho after the finish.

Once you leave the start/finish area, you can't get back in, so if you plan to shower, bring a change of clothes in the morning. Runners start in six waves from 8:45 a.m.

, and corral entry times run from 7 a.m. for A, B, and C to 8:30 a.

m. for H, J, and K. Water is available from 5K, and gels are handed out at 27.5K.

There are massage stations every 5K from 25K, and free first-come, first-served massages wait after the finish. This race's clock is strict. The time limit is 6 hours, 15 minutes after you cross the start line, and the finish closes at 5 p.

m. If you don't reach 33K by 3:40 p.m.

, you have to leave the course and board the broom wagon (Besenwagen)—and continuing at your own risk isn't allowed.

BMW BERLIN-MARATHONSun, September 26, 2027 · D-336 · Berlin, GermanySee race details

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON · Read the story

Chicago, United States

7Chicago Marathon 2027: Time Qualifier Entry Also Closes October 29

The 2027 Chicago Marathon, the 49th running, is Sunday, October 10. According to organizers, more than 200,000 people applied for the 2026 race. The 2027 general lottery opened October 8, 2026, and closes October 29 at 2 p.

m. CT. Results are emailed December 8.

Entry is $250 for U.S. residents and $260 for everyone else.

Besides the lottery, one more door closes this month: Time Qualifier entry, which guarantees a spot without the lottery if you're under the standard for your age group. For the youngest group, 16–34, the standards are 2:50 for men and 3:20 for women, and any certified-course time run between January 1, 2025, and October 29, 2026, counts. Applications also close October 29 at 2 p.

m. CT; approval can take up to 10 business days, and the entry fee is due by November 10. The official information lists no restriction by country of residence.

Charity runners must raise at least $2,500, and their entry fee is $325 for U.S. residents and $335 for everyone else.

The course starts in Grant Park, winds through 29 neighborhoods, and returns to Grant Park. Organizers say 7 world records have been set on this course. A runner who posted a 2024 race report on Reddit's r/AdvancedRunning found the race's strength in its layout: "The race expo, start, and finish all being close to one another made for electric pre race vibes."

Wave 1 starts at 7:35 a.m., and Wave 3 goes at 8:35 a.

m. Gear check and the start corrals open at 5:30 a.m.

The time limit is 6 hours, 30 minutes—a 15-minute-per-mile pace. A vehicle following the last starter reopens the roads at that pace, and runners who finish after 4 p.m.

may not be recorded as official finishers. There are 20 aid stations, spaced 1 to 2 miles apart. Hydration packs of any kind are banned, but fuel belts and handheld bottles are allowed.

Chicago averages 12.4°C in October, but some years are hot. One runner's comment on an official video captured one of those years: "The condition is really brutal. After 6 miles I know I can't hold my goal pace … The crowd is the best in the world."

Bib pickup is Thursday through Saturday before the race at McCormick Place North. At the 27th Mile post-race party, open 9:30 a.m.

to 4 p.m., runners 21 and older can show ID and trade the coupon on their bib for a beer.

Even a course with a low elevation profile hides one thing at the end: a short hill 400 meters before the finish. A runner who finished in about 3:19 in 2025 watched the clock tick over on that hill: "The hill 400m before the finished sucked the life out of me, but as we entered the final 200m stretch with the clock ticking up from 3:19:10, I knew I had done it." If you're picking Chicago as a time course, save something for the last 400 meters.

Bank of America Chicago MarathonSun, October 10, 2027 · D-350 · Chicago, United StatesSee race details

Bank of America Chicago Marathon · Read the story

New York City, United States

8New York City Marathon: It Starts With Smiles on a Bridge and Is Decided on the 5th Avenue Climb

The New York City Marathon starts on a bridge. Leaving Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, runners split between the upper and lower decks of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, closed to traffic. For the writer of the blog "The Road to Gold," who ran in 2024, the start is what stayed: "The amount of smiles on the bridge of everyone beginning their journey was pretty cool."

The main way in is the drawing. More than 200,000 people applied for the 2025 race alone, and the drawing for the 2026 race took applications February 4–25, 2026. The writer of the blog "Geeks on Feet," who finished in 2023, waited a long time at this door: "I've wanted to run the NYC Marathon so badly that I entered the lottery four times and ran the virtual edition three times, all without luck."

Besides the drawing, there's "9+1"—finishing 9 NYRR races and volunteering once in the same year—plus charity teams and official tour-operator packages for non-U.S. residents.

Charity partners require each runner to raise at least $3,000 to $3,500. Time qualifier entry, using a time from a non-NYRR race, requires 2:53 for men and 3:13 for women ages 18–34, but runners are accepted fastest-first within each age group, and the rest go into the drawing. The 2026 entry fee was $315 for NYRR nonmembers.

The race is held on the first Sunday of November every year. The 2026 race is November 1, and the 2027 date hasn't been announced. New York Road Runners (NYRR) has organized it since 1970, and 59,226 runners finished in 2025.

New York averages 9.3°C in November. After about 11 miles in Brooklyn, the course enters Queens over the Pulaski Bridge, then crosses into Manhattan on the lower level of the Queensboro Bridge around mile 15.5. That climb is considered one of the hardest points on the course.

Runners head north on First Avenue, dip briefly into the Bronx over the Willis Avenue Bridge, return over the Madison Avenue Bridge, and run down Fifth Avenue. The finish is next to Tavern on the Green in Central Park. The five bridges are the hills on the elevation profile, and instead of a strict time limit, the race allows generous time to finish.

In 2025, the official course closed at 10 p.m. on race day.

To get to the start, choose the Staten Island Ferry, a bus from Midtown Manhattan, or a bus from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey; NYRR assigns start times based on your time. Only the clear official bag you got at the expo is allowed into the start village, and nothing is transported from the start to the finish. Bags you want at the finish can be dropped off before race day on Central Park West.

The start village has more than 1,600 toilets, plus coffee and bagels. Finishers get a medal, a poncho, and a recovery bag. And once you're through that door, you still need a pace that survives five bridges.

A blogger who had run New York twice before ran it differently in 2025 and finished in about 3:49: "Because I ran the first 20 miles pretty conservatively … the infamous Fifth Avenue climb felt really strong this time!"

TCS New York City MarathonSun, November 1, 2026 · D-7 · New York City, United StatesSee race details

TCS New York City Marathon · Read the story