The Eight World Marathon Majors: A UK Runner's Guide to All

The Abbott World Marathon Majors is eight races: Tokyo, Boston, London, Cape Town, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. The Six Star medal is still the original six — Sydney and Cape Town do not replace a missing star. A Nine Star medal is planned if Shanghai completes candidacy.

This guide is for a UK runner who has to get a bib, then get there. Trip pages for every Major live on the Majors hub.

Entry windows and race Sundays move every year. Confirm both on the organiser’s site before you book flights or hotels.

What are the eight World Marathon Majors?

Race	Typical timing	UK travel	Main entry routes	Course character
Tokyo	March	Long-haul to HND/NRT	Lottery, charity, tour	Flat, fast, precise
Boston	April, Monday	Long-haul to BOS	Qualifying time + cutoff, charity, tour	Point-to-point, downhill then Newton Hills
London	April, Sunday	Rail / drive / Tube	Ballot, charity, Good For Age	Flat, loud, theatrical
Cape Town	May	Long-haul to CPT	Ballot, charity, tour	Mostly flat, UCT climb, Sea Point finish
Sydney	August	Long-haul to SYD	Ballot, charity, tour	Rolling, Harbour Bridge, Opera House finish
Berlin	Late September	Short-haul to BER	Draw, charity, tour	The flattest big-city Major
Chicago	October	Long-haul to ORD	Lottery, time qualifier, charity, tour	Flat, grid-city, lake wind
New York City	Early November	Long-haul to JFK	Lottery, 9+1, time qualifier, charity, tour	Five boroughs, bridges, rolling

How to enter the World Marathon Majors

None of the eight is “buy a bib and fly.” From the UK the usual routes are:

• Ballot or lottery - London, Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Sydney, Cape Town. Odds vary; London and Tokyo are the hardest.
• Time qualifier - Boston (a qualifying time plus a cutoff that is often faster than the published standard). Chicago and New York also have time paths.
• Good For Age / Championship - London’s time-based guaranteed routes.
• Charity - especially London. US majors have fundraising minimums in dollars; Cape Town has an international charity programme.
• Official tour operators - a paid package that includes a bib. Useful when the lottery does not land; more expensive than going it alone.

Get the place first. Then price flights and hotels.

Tokyo Marathon

When: March (the 2027 race is Sunday 7 March)
Official site: marathon.tokyo/en

Tokyo is the one that feels furthest from a UK club marathon: impeccable organisation, a flat city course from Shinjuku toward Tokyo Station, and crowds that treat the race as a civic event. It is also the jet-lag Major. Eight or nine hours east means you want extra nights, not a smash-and-grab weekend.

The general entry path is a lottery. Odds are poor; charity and authorised tour operators are the usual backups. Do not treat a March date as a cheap add-on to a Japan holiday until the bib is real - flights into Haneda (HND) and central hotels both jump once the field is named.

Base in Shinjuku for the start, or Ginza / Marunouchi for the finish and Tokyo Station. The expo at Tokyo Big Sight is a half-day, not a pop-in. If someone in the group is not racing, city tickets and food tours are a better Saturday than dragging a tapering runner across the Yamanote Line.

A private transfer is worth it after a night flight with kit. Public transport is excellent once you have slept. Trip estimates and a four-day outline: Tokyo Marathon.

Photo: Su San Lee / Unsplash

Boston Marathon

When: Patriots’ Day - the third Monday in April (19 April 2027)
Official site: baa.org - Boston Marathon

Boston is the oldest of the original six and the only one that still feels like a sporting occasion first, city-break second. It is a Monday. From the UK that means extra leave, a long-haul into Logan (BOS), an ESTA for the US, and a weekend that does not line up with a normal Saturday start.

The famous path is a Boston Qualifying time. You run under the published standard for your age and gender, then often still miss the field because the cutoff is tighter than the standard. Charity and official travel partners exist if you do not BQ. Plenty of UK runners use Berlin or another flat spring/autumn marathon to chase the time, then still wait a year.

The course is Hopkinton to Boylston Street: net downhill, then the Newton Hills, then a loud finish in the Back Bay. It is not a PB factory. Treat it as the prestige point-to-point, and plan hotels in Back Bay or near the finish rather than trying to stay in Hopkinton.

Race morning is a long coach operation to the start. That is the logistics you actually need to understand, not the finish photo. Non-runners can fill the Monday with city attractions while you are still on the course; agree a meeting point on Boylston before you leave the hotel. A transfer from Logan with race kit beats figuring out the Silver Line at midnight.

Trip page: Boston Marathon — indicative UK cost, Back Bay hotels, and the Charles Street bus morning. Four nights is more honest than two when you have just flown the Atlantic to race on a Monday. The Majors hub lists every Major trip page we have.

Photo: Jun Ren / Unsplash

London Marathon

When: late April Sunday (25 April 2027)
Official site: tcslondonmarathon.com

If you live in the UK, London is the Major you can reach without a passport. That does not make it easy to enter. The public ballot is the thing people enter every year and mostly lose. Charity places, Good For Age, and Championship times are how a lot of UK club runners actually get a bib.

The course is the theatre Major: Blackheath / Greenwich starts, Tower Bridge at halfway, Canary Wharf, The Mall. Flat enough for a good time if you run it properly; loud enough that “just enjoy it” is a legitimate plan. The hard parts are the expo at ExCeL, the early start, and central hotels on race weekend.

Stay Greenwich or Blackheath if you want a shorter race morning. Stay Westminster or the South Bank if you want the finish and a city weekend for whoever is not running. Tower tickets, river trips, and West End extras are the Saturday job for companions - not a 10-mile shakeout.

From most of the UK this is a train weekend. A private transfer only really wins for a group with bags or a very late arrival. Ballot bib versus charity pledge versus a travelling weekend: London Marathon cost. Indicative whole-trip calculator: London Marathon.

Cape Town Marathon

When: May (23 May 2027 is the first Abbott World Marathon Majors edition)
Official site: capetownmarathon.com

Cape Town is Africa’s first World Marathon Major. The course starts beside DHL Stadium in Green Point (with a second Beach Road start in Mouille Point), loops the Waterfront and City Bowl under Table Mountain, climbs near UCT around km 25, then finishes along the Sea Point promenade back into Green Point Park. Mostly flat with one mid-race sting — scenery Major more than Berlin PB factory.

Entry for 2027 used a short general ballot; remaining paths are official tour-operator packages and charity. Two-thirds of places are reserved for African participants. British citizen passports are usually visa-free for tourism up to 90 days — check GOV.UK and leave blank passport pages.

Flights into CPT are long-haul but May is often a kinder fare window than peak summer. Stay in Green Point, Sea Point, or the V&A Waterfront for a walkable race morning. Non-runners get Table Mountain, Robben Island, and Winelands days while you taper. Trip page: Cape Town Marathon.

Photo: Jaman Asad / Unsplash

Sydney Marathon

When: late August (30 August 2026)
Official site: tcssydneymarathon.com

Sydney joined as the seventh Major in 2025. The course starts in North Sydney, crosses the Harbour Bridge early, and finishes at the Opera House — rolling, not pancake-flat, with a punchy Oxford Street climb. Bring the scenery, not a Berlin time.

Entry is typically ballot plus charity and authorised tour operators. From the UK the flight is the expensive line: long-haul into SYD, then Circular Quay, The Rocks, or North Sydney hotels. Four nights is the honest shape for jet lag. Companions get ferries, Bondi, and harbour days without needing a race.

Trip page: Sydney Marathon.

Photo: Caleb / Unsplash

Berlin Marathon

When: last Sunday in September (27 September 2026)
Official site: bmw-berlin-marathon.com

Berlin is the default European Major for a reason. The course is famously flat, the organisation is serious, and flights into BER are a short-haul hop from several UK airports. If you want one Major that can also be a PB attempt, this is usually it.

Entry is typically a draw, with charity and tour-operator routes if you miss it. Treat a September date as high hotel demand: Mitte rooms near the Brandenburg Gate go early. Charlottenburg and Prenzlauer Berg on good U-Bahn lines are the usual pressure valve.

Start near the Tiergarten; finish through the Gate. Expo the day before is required for most people. Keep Saturday light - a Tiergarten shakeout plus Museum Island or a city ticket is enough. You do not need a private transfer from BER unless you land late with kit; the FEX or regional train to Hauptbahnhof is the default.

Trip estimates: Berlin Marathon. Ballot bib versus charity pledge versus a DIY weekend: Berlin Marathon cost. If Berlin is really a time-hunt rather than a Six Star box, compare it with Valencia and Amsterdam on our PB marathons list.

Photo: Florian Wehde / Unsplash

Chicago Marathon

When: October (11 October 2026)
Official site: chicagomarathon.com

Chicago is the flat American Major that UK runners often pick when Boston’s hills or New York’s bridges do not fit the plan. Loop through the downtown grid, lakefront stretches, and a finish in Grant Park. Fast on paper; the lake wind can still invent a story in the last 10K.

Entry is usually a lottery, with a time-qualifier path, charity, and official partners as alternatives. Odds have been better than London or Tokyo in recent years, which is why it sits on so many first-Major lists - that is not a promise they stay that way. Check the current process on the organiser site rather than a forum post from 2019.

From the UK you fly into O’Hare (ORD). Stay in the Loop or near Grant Park if you want race-morning simplicity; hotels on marathon weekend are the line that moves the total. A transfer from ORD with kit is reasonable after a seven-hour flight. Non-runners get an easy Saturday: the Bean, river architecture, museum tickets.

Trip page: Chicago Marathon — indicative UK cost, Loop hotels, and Grant Park logistics. Budget three or four nights. Two nights after a transatlantic flight is how people toe the line already tired. The Majors hub lists every Major trip page we have.

Photo via Unsplash

New York City Marathon

When: first Sunday in November (1 November 2026)
Official site: nyrr.org - TCS NYC Marathon

New York is the spectacle Major: Staten Island start over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, five boroughs, two million spectators, finish in Central Park. It is rolling, it has proper bridges, and it is not the one you pick for a PB unless the crowd carries you.

Entry routes stack up: lottery, NYRR 9+1 (nine races plus a volunteer shift - only useful if you can get to New York repeatedly), time qualifier, charity, authorised tours. For most UK runners it is lottery or charity. The bib is the scarce bit; the city sells itself after that.

Flights into JFK (or EWR / LGA) and Midtown or Upper West Side hotels near Central Park are the two numbers that matter. Race morning is a very early ferry or bus to Staten Island - follow NYRR instructions exactly. The Javits Center expo is a half-day. Companions can do Top of the Rock, Liberty, or a Broadway matinee while you protect your legs.

Four nights is the honest shape. A private transfer on arrival or after the race beats the AirTrain with dead legs. Trip page: New York City Marathon.

Photo: Patrick Tomasso / Unsplash

Which World Marathon Major should you do first?

If you want…	Start with…
No long-haul, biggest crowds	London
A PB and a short flight	Berlin
The historic Monday	Boston - only with a BQ (or charity)
Flat US course, slightly simpler entry	Chicago
The bucket-list city weekend	New York
A Japan trip that justifies the jet lag	Tokyo
Harbour Bridge and Opera House	Sydney
Africa’s first Major, Table Mountain views	Cape Town

Do not collect them in calendar order just because the table is in calendar order. London plus Berlin is the UK-friendly pair. Add Chicago or New York when you can take the leave. Save Tokyo, Sydney, or Cape Town until you can give them four nights and a buffer day. Boston when the qualifying time is real - not when the Instagram map looks empty in Massachusetts.

How the Six Star medal works

Create an AbbottWMM Runner Portal and attach your results. When you are confirmed in the race that will be your sixth original Major, notify them there. Finish it, and you go on the Six Star list. Repeats in the same city do not add extra stars. Older results can be added if they are in the system.

Sydney and Cape Town do not replace a missing original. You can run them for the experience — Sydney Marathon and Cape Town Marathon — but Six Star still wants Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.

What a World Marathon Major costs from the UK

Entry is rarely the expensive line. London is often the cheapest whole weekend because the “flight” can be a train, until race-weekend hotels spike. Berlin is the predictable short-haul. Chicago, Boston, and New York are transatlantic packages: flight + four nights + a city that does not do cheap well in peak season. Tokyo, Sydney, and Cape Town are the same long-haul problem with different jet-lag clocks; Cape Town is often kinder on the ground once you land.

Use the trip pages above as a sense-check, not a quote. Totals on Start Line Trips are indicative: they move with your hotel choice, how many nights you take, and whether you add city tickets. Confirm live fares and rooms before you pay.

If you are still deciding between one Major and a faster non-Major, read best European marathons for a PB. The Six Star is a collection. A PB is a different job.

FAQs

What are the eight World Marathon Majors?

Tokyo, Boston, London, Cape Town, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. Six Star still counts only the original six: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.

Is Sydney a World Marathon Major?

Yes. Sydney joined the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025 as the seventh race. It does not replace any of the original six, and it does not count toward the Six Star medal. Trip cost and logistics: Sydney Marathon.

Is Cape Town a World Marathon Major?

Yes. Cape Town became the eighth race after its 2026 evaluation and formally enters the series at the 23 May 2027 edition — Africa’s first Major. It does not count toward the Six Star medal. Trip cost and logistics: Cape Town Marathon.

How do you earn the Six Star medal?

Finish all six original Majors. There is no time limit. Virtual races do not count. Register your results in the AbbottWMM Runner Portal.

Which World Marathon Major is easiest for UK runners?

London is the easiest trip - no long-haul flight. Chicago has often been the simpler entry among the original six, but lottery odds change, so check the current edition. Berlin is the easiest serious PB attempt from the UK.

Which Major is best for a marathon PB?

Berlin, for most UK runners: flat, short-haul, serious organisation. Chicago is the flat US option. London can be fast, but the crowd and logistics make it a different race. Boston, New York, Sydney, and Cape Town are not pure PB courses.