When To Apply For Each Marathon Major?

The seven Abbott World Marathon Majors are among the most popular marathons in the world and each has an annual window in which you can apply to run the next race.

Here’s when to apply to each of the major marathons, with more details on each below.

Here’s Jess taking on the Berlin Marathon.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE TOKYO MARATHON

The best chance of running the Tokyo Marathon is to get lucky in the ballot or to apply for a charity place.

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early March🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot (or charity entry)⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? The Tokyo Marathon ballot opens mid-August for two weeks and results are announced at the end of September. For charity entries, you can apply from the end of June to early July.

With over 300,000 people in the ballot the chances of success are low, but if you get in then ballot prices are 19,800 JPY for local runners and $230 USD for international runners.

Charity places for Tokyo are done by a bid. So you choose the charity you wish to apply for and you tell them the amount you want to donate. They will let you know if you’ve been successful, and if so, the money is withdrawn soon after The minimum donation bid is 100,000 Yen (£500/$700), but in recent years successful bids have been around 200,000 Yen.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON

Most people who apply for the Boston Marathon have run a qualifying time.

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Mid-April🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Apply with qualifying time⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Registration week for the Boston Marathon is early September (for 2026’s race, registration week is 8-12 September 2025). Pre-verification of qualifying times is open from July. Results are announced in late September.

The qualifying window in which to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time is 1 September until registration week. Runners must submit their time and proof of the run from the race (your Strava link doesn’t count!). Often runners need to be a few minutes inside the qualifying time. Successful entries cost $230 USD (more for international).

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE LONDON MARATHON

Over 1.1 million people entered the ballot for the 2026 London Marathon. Fewer than 20,000 were successful in the ballot but there are other ways to run.

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? End of April🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot.⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? The London Marathon ballot typically opens a few days before the race in April and remains open for one week. Ballot results are announced in June. You can apply for a charity place from April (after that year’s race).

The ballot gets a lot of applications, so the chances of success are low. If you are successful then entry fees are £79.99 for UK residents and £225 for international runners. Most runners get a place at the London Marathon through a charity. You can apply directly with the charity, but hurry as places go quickly – and know that you’ll likely need to raise at least £2,500.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE SYDNEY MARATHON

The Sydney Marathon has grown significantly in recent years, going from a sign-up to a ballot entry. The ballot is your best shot of entry into the race.

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? End of August🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot.⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? The Sydney Marathon ballot opens in December and results are announced in January.

With Sydney becoming a major for the first time in 2025, the race became a ballot. For 2025’s race, the ballot opened in mid-December 2024. Successful ballot entries cost $250 AUD ($165 USD).

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE BERLIN MARATHON

The Berlin Marathon typically has a long registration window for their lottery, so there’s no excuse if you forget to apply!

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? End of September 🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot.⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? The Berlin Marathon ballot opens in early October and remains open until late November. Results are announced in early December.

The lottery is the best chance that most runners have to run the Berlin Marathon. If you aren’t successful then going via a sports tour operator may be your next-best option.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE CHICAGO MARATHON

The Chicago Marathon has a ballot entry for the masses, plus it has qualifying times for faster runners – the registration window is the same for both.

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early October🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot.⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? The Chicago Marathon lottery is open from the end of October to the end of November. Results are announced in December.

Around 160,000 people entered the ballot for 2025’s race where the race fee was $245 for US residents and $255 for international runners. If you aren’t successful in the ballot then international runners should try a sports tour operator or US runners should try a charity place.

For faster runners, the time qualifying window is from 1 January two years previous (so for 2025’s race, the window opened on 1 January 2023).

WHEN TO APPLY FOR THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

The year’s final major, the New York City Marathon is always one of the biggest marathons in the world – but that doesn’t make it easy to get in to!

🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early November🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? Ballot.⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Registration for the New York City Marathon opens in February, and results are announced soon after the registration window closes (typically end of February or early March).

Ballot success is under 3%, but that’s consistent with many of the other ballots. NYC is the most expensive of the majors to enter with US prices set at $315 USD for 2025’s race, and international entries more expensive.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR OTHER POPULAR MARATHONS

Here are some of the world’s most popular marathons and when and how to apply.

Most of these races are general entry, meaning entries remain open until all the bibs are sold out. That means you need to sign up as soon as places are available as many sell out very quickly (some within 24 hours).

For many of these races you can often find places available through sports tour companies. So if you miss the application window then try a travel agency like Sports Tours International.

SEVILLE MARATHON🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early February.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open early April.

PARIS MARATHON 🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early April.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open in April (typically one week after that year’s race).

COPENHAGEN MARATHON🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Mid May.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open in May (typically one week after that year’s race). The race sells out within around 24 hours.

AMSTERDAM MARATHON🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Mid October.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open in October (typically one week after that year’s race).

VALENCIA MARATHON🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early December.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open in December (typically one week after that year’s race). The race sells out very quickly.

CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON 🗓️ WHEN IS THE RACE? Early December.🎟️ HOW TO APPLY? General entry. ⏰ WHEN TO APPLY? Entries open in January.

Here’s Andy running the Valencia Marathon.