Four Marathon Majors left in 2026, and Shanghai’s final test

Tokyo, Boston and London have been run. Four Abbott World Marathon Majors remain on the 2026 calendar, and a fifth race, in Shanghai on 6 December, will decide whether the series expands to nine.

The spring block produced the fastest marathon ever run. Sabastian Sawe won London on 26 April in 1:59:30, the first sub-two-hour marathon in a race eligible for records, taking 65 seconds off the mark set by the late Kelvin Kiptum. Tigst Assefa lowered the women’s-only record to 2:15:41 in the same race. Yomif Kejelcha also went under two hours on his marathon debut, finishing second in 1:59:41.

Three Majors fall inside a ten-week window from late August to early November. Elite fields are still being announced for each, and title markets are already priced at the best UK betting sites.

Sydney, 30 August

The TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS runs on Sunday 30 August, its second edition as a full member of the series. Sydney was elevated to Major status on 4 November 2024 and ran its first race as a Major on 31 August 2025, when Hailemaryam Kiros and Sifan Hassan set course records of 2:06:06 and 2:18:22. That race drew 79,000 applications and just under 33,000 finishers.

Entries for 2026 are sold out, with about 41,000 marathon runners expected across a two-day festival that also carries a 5km on the Saturday and a 10km on the Sunday. The marathon starts at North Sydney Oval, crosses the Harbour Bridge and finishes on the Opera House forecourt. Oxford Street remains the hard section of a course that is not built for records.

Berlin, 27 September

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON falls on Sunday 27 September, with around 60,000 participants from roughly 160 countries entered across the running, wheelchair, handbike and skating events. Sawe has confirmed his return. He won Berlin in 2025 in 2:02:16 in temperatures reaching 25 degrees, then broke the world record in London seven months later.

The women’s field includes Tigst Assefa, who ran 2:11:53 in Berlin in 2023 and holds the current women’s-only record, alongside Amane Beriso and defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru. Berlin has hosted more marathon world records than any other race on the calendar, and for the first time in a generation the fastest legal time in history was set somewhere else.

Chicago, 11 October

The 48th Bank of America Chicago Marathon runs on Sunday 11 October, two weeks after Berlin, in its fixed slot on the second Sunday of the month. Applications closed after a record of more than 200,000 entries, and organisers expect around 53,000 finishers.

Seven marathon world records have been set on the course. Almost no elevation change and reliably cool October conditions account for that, and the same combination is why Chicago produces personal bests for club runners at a rate the other American Majors do not match.

New York City, 1 November

The TCS New York City Marathon runs on Sunday 1 November, the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course. It is the largest marathon in the world. The 2025 edition recorded 59,226 finishers, a world record for any marathon, and drew a record $80 million in charity fundraising from more than 14,000 charity runners.

Demand rose again for 2026. New York Road Runners received more than 240,000 applications for the drawing, announced on 4 March. Runners start on Staten Island at 8:00am and finish in Central Park, watched by around two million spectators. The 1970 race had 127 entrants and 55 finishers, all of them running four laps of the park.

Shanghai, 6 December

The Shanghai Marathon carries no Major status and is the most consequential race left on the calendar. It replaced Chengdu as China’s candidate in 2024 and passed the first stage of its assessment at the November 2025 edition. A second pass on 6 December admits it to the series in 2027.

Cape Town settled its own case in May. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, whose 2025 race was cancelled in adverse weather, ran on 24 May 2026, cleared its second evaluation and was confirmed in June as the eighth Abbott World Marathon Major and the first in Africa. It debuts as a Major on 23 May 2027.

Two Majors have now been added in under two years, after four decades of six. Should Shanghai pass in December, the series reaches nine races across five continents, and the Nine Star medal comes into existence. The first Nine Star finishers would collect at the 2027 Shanghai Marathon.

Quick answers

When is the next World Marathon Major?
The TCS Sydney Marathon on Sunday 30 August 2026. Berlin follows on 27 September, Chicago on 11 October and New York City on 1 November.

How many World Marathon Majors are there?
Seven race in 2026: Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York City. Cape Town becomes the eighth when it debuts on 23 May 2027.

What is the Nine Star medal?
A finisher award for completing all nine races in an expanded series. It requires the Shanghai Marathon to pass its second assessment on 6 December 2026. If it does, the first Nine Star medals are awarded at the 2027 Shanghai Marathon. The Six Star medal for the original six races continues unchanged.

Last Updated on 23 July 2026 by the5krunner