The entry process is complicated, and I know firsthand — having entered and run five of the Majors — that missing a ballot window can mean missing a year. Here's every ballot and registration window for 2027.
2027 Key Dates
| Major | How to Enter | Ballot Opens | Ballot Closes | Results | Race Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Lottery | Aug 14, 2026 | Aug 28, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | Mar 7, 2027 |
| Boston | Time qualifier | BQ window: Sep 13, 2025 | Sep 14–18, 2026 (reg. week) | By early Oct 2026 | Apr 19, 2027 |
| London | Ballot | Apr 24, 2026 ✓ | May 1, 2026 ✓ | Jul 9, 2026 ✓ | Apr 24–25, 2027 |
| Cape Town | Ballot | Jun 10, 2026 ✓ | Jun 24, 2026 ✓ | Jun 26, 2026 ✓ | May 23, 2027 |
| Sydney | Ballot | ~Late Sep 2026 * | ~Mid-Oct 2026 * | ~Late Oct 2026 * | Late Aug 2027 * |
| Berlin | Lottery | ~Sep 25, 2026 | ~Nov 6, 2026 | ~Late Nov 2026 | Sep 26, 2027 |
| Chicago | Lottery | ~Oct 21, 2026 | ~Nov 18, 2026 | ~Mid-Dec 2026 | Oct 10, 2027 |
| NYC | Drawing | ~Feb 4, 2027 | ~Feb 25, 2027 | ~Mar 4, 2027 | Nov 7, 2027 |
Race days are confirmed by the official race organization unless marked with an asterisk. Dates marked with ~ are projected based on the most recent confirmed cycle — prior year's exact dates are noted in each section below. A ✓ means that window has already opened and closed for this cycle. An asterisk (*) marks Sydney, which hasn't announced any 2027 dates yet — those are our estimates, not a published schedule. Always verify on the official race website before the window opens.
Lottery, ballot, and drawing all mean the same thing — a random-draw entry process. Each race uses its own official terminology.
Tokyo Marathon
Your odds: Very low. Over 300,000 people apply for ~38,000 total spots, but a significant portion of those go to charity runners, tour operators, ONE TOKYO members, and semi-elite qualifiers. General lottery acceptance is estimated at well under 10%.
Other ways in: Charity entries (minimum ¥100,000 / ~$670 USD); ONE TOKYO GLOBAL membership for an additional lottery entry; official tour operators; RUN as ONE virtual challenges (40 guaranteed spots per challenge via lottery).
Boston Marathon
Boston is the only Major with no traditional lottery. You must run a certified BQ time at an eligible marathon during the qualifying window, then register during the open period. The B.A.A. fills the field fastest-first — meaning you generally need to beat the published standard by a meaningful margin. For 2026, the cutoff was approximately 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the qualifying time. Recent years have ranged from 4 to 7 minutes under standard.
New for 2027: The B.A.A. is applying time penalties to qualifying results from courses with significant net elevation drop. Courses dropping 1,500–2,999 ft get +5:00 added to the submitted time; 3,000–5,999 ft get +10:00; courses with 6,000+ ft of net drop are ineligible entirely. Flat courses — Chicago, Houston, Grand Rapids — become even more valuable for qualifying.
Also new for 2027 — the Boston Qualifier Selection: After the fastest qualifiers are accepted, roughly 1,000 remaining spots go to a random selection among applicants who qualified but missed the cutoff. There's nothing extra to enter — you're included automatically.
London Marathon
Your odds: Extremely low — roughly 1.3%. The 2027 ballot drew a record 1,338,544 applications for about 18,000 ballot places. (The race fields 100,000 runners across the two days, but most of those go to charity, Good for Age, and club entries.)
Next ballot: The 2028 ballot is expected to open in late April 2027, during 2027 race week — London has opened its ballot the week of the race in recent cycles.
Other ways in for 2027: Charity entries (open through late 2026, with most charities confirming places between August 2026 and January 2027 — deadlines vary by charity; expect to raise £2,500+); Good for Age qualifying times (UK residents only — applications open October 2026); official international tour operators; running club ballot entries.
Pro tip: London offers two entry tiers: standard (£79.99, one draw) or "Double Your Chances" (£49.99, entered into two separate draws). The cheaper option is actually the double-chance one. If you don't get in on either draw with the Double Your Chances option, your fee goes to the London Marathon Foundation.
Cape Town Marathon
Your odds: Unknown — Cape Town hasn't published application numbers or acceptance rates. Two-thirds of all entries are reserved for African runners, so international applicants compete for roughly a third of the field.
Other ways in: Candidacy Club (runners who completed the 2022–2024 editions); official charity partners (23 of them, with fundraising minimums from roughly $2,000 to $5,000+); official international tour operators, which are typically first-come, first-served rather than a draw.
Note: Cape Town was approved as the 8th World Marathon Major on June 10, 2026 — the first in Africa. The 2027 race is its first edition with Major status, and the ballot opened the same day the announcement landed and closed two weeks later.
Sydney Marathon
Your odds: The most forgiving Major ballot. Sydney's 2026 ballot received 123,000+ applications for ~40,000 spots (~33% acceptance), down from ~44% in 2025. Odds are tightening as the race gains visibility as a WMM.
Other ways in: Charity partners (Running for Premature Babies, We Run Foundation, and others); official tour operators; Candidacy Club (runners who completed 2022–2024 editions may have guaranteed entry through 2027).
Note: * Sydney hasn't announced its 2027 window — the dates above are projected from the 2026 cycle, so watch tcssydneymarathon.com from early September 2026. Sydney became the 7th World Marathon Major in November 2024.
Berlin Marathon
Your odds: Roughly 20%. Berlin doesn't publish official figures, but this is the widely cited estimate.
Other ways in: Fast runner qualification (sub-2:45 men / sub-3:10 women for guaranteed entry — proof uploaded during registration); official tour operators.
Fun fact: More men's marathon world records have been set in Berlin than anywhere else — every record from 2013 through 2022 fell here. If you're chasing a PR, this is the course for it.
Chicago Marathon
Your odds: Around 20–25% — the most favorable lottery odds of any Major, though demand has grown significantly (200,000+ applicants for 2026).
Other ways in: Time qualifier (same registration window as the lottery); legacy finisher (5+ Chicago Marathons in the last 10 years); Chicago Distance Series completion (Shamrock Shuffle + Chicago 13.1 + Chicago Marathon in a single year); charity entries; official tour operators.
New York City Marathon
Your odds: Around 3–4% for non-guaranteed general entry. Odds have collapsed in recent years as demand has surged past 125,000+ applicants.
Other ways in: NYRR 9+1 Program (complete 9 qualifying NYRR races + 1 volunteer shift in 2026 for guaranteed 2027 entry — the most reliable path for NYC-area runners); NYRR time qualifiers; non-NYRR time qualifiers (limited spots, ~1-week application window); charity partners ($3,000–$4,500+ fundraising minimum depending on the charity); Team for Kids; official international tour operators; NYRR Philanthropic Membership; 15-year legacy entry.
Pro tip: If you live in the NYC area, the 9+1 program is the most reliable path. It's a commitment — 9 races and 1 volunteer shift across a full calendar year — but it's guaranteed entry with no luck involved.
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One More Way In: The Abbott WMM Draw
If you've completed three or more of the six original Majors and registered on AbbottWMM.com, you're eligible for the Abbott WMM Race Draws — a separate guaranteed-entry lottery most runners don't know about. The draws run once per race per year, typically opening in spring, and are managed through the Runner Portal at AbbottWMM.com.
Eligibility requires 3–5 completed Majors for most races; Boston and Tokyo have a higher bar of 4–5. Once you've completed all six original Majors (the Six Star Finisher medal), you're no longer eligible for the draw. Because the pool is limited to active Six Star pursuers rather than the general public, the odds are meaningfully better than the public lotteries. If you're at three, four, or five stars, enter every draw you're eligible for — it's one free shot per race per year.
A Few Things I've Learned the Hard Way
Set calendar reminders now. The ballot windows are short — London is literally one week. If you forget, you're out for the year.
Apply to multiple Majors. Each one is independent, so there's no rule against entering several ballots in the same year. Your odds of getting into at least one go up dramatically when you apply to three or four.
Have a backup plan. Charity entries and tour operators are reliable ways in if the lottery doesn't go your way. They cost more, but if a specific Major is on your bucket list, they're worth considering.
Boston is its own animal. No traditional lottery means you're entirely in control — run the qualifying time and you're in (assuming the cutoff doesn't tighten further). If you're close to a BQ, that's a goal worth training for specifically.
Last updated: July 2026. Race days are confirmed by official race organizations. Ballot dates marked with ~ are projected based on the most recent confirmed cycle and are subject to change. Always verify on the official race website before applying.
Related reading
How to get into the World Marathon Majors →
Marathon training for busy professionals →
