Dates marked ~ are projected from the last confirmed cycle. Always verify on the official race website.
Struck-through dates have 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.
Lottery, ballot, and drawing all mean the same thing, a random-draw entry process. Each race uses its own official terminology.
Race day: Sunday, March 7, 2027 (20th anniversary edition)
Entry method: Public lottery
General entry opens: August 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM JST → August 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM JST
Results announced: September 18, 2026
Your odds: Low (below 10%)
Entry fee: International $230 USD · Domestic ¥19,800
The race: A largely flat point-to-point through central Tokyo, finishing near Tokyo Station. Mean race-day temperature around 44°F (6°C), close to the optimal range for marathon performance.
Entry method: Time qualifier, no traditional lottery
Qualifying window opened: September 13, 2025 → September 18, 2026
Results announced: By early October 2026
Your odds: No lottery
Entry fee: 2027 fee Announced during registration week, September 2026 · For reference $250 in 2025, $260 in 2026
The race: Point-to-point from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, the most storied course in the sport. Mean race-day temperature around 65°F (18°C), the warmest of the Majors, and the most variable.
Entry fee: UK, standard £79.99, charged only if you are drawn · UK, Double Your Chances £49.99, charged upfront and non-refundable · International Not confirmed; reported figures conflict
The race: Point-to-point from Greenwich to The Mall, past the Cutty Sark and over Tower Bridge. Mean race-day temperature around 52°F (11°C).
Next cycle: The 2028 ballot should open during 2027 race week, in late April 2027.
Ballot opened: June 10, 2026 ✓ → June 24, 2026 at 7:00 PM SAST ✓
Results announced: June 26, 2026 ✓
Your odds: Low; figures not published
Entry fee: Ballot application fee R5, non-refundable, donated to a Cape Town Marathon linked charity · Not published for 2027
The race: A fast, scenic course through the city with Table Mountain in view for much of it. Southern-hemisphere autumn. Historical race-day mean around 61°F (16°C), with highs near 69°F (20°C) and lows near 54°F (12°C).
Next cycle: No 2028 ballot announced yet. The 2027 window ran just two weeks, so expect little warning.
Ballot opens: ~Late September 2026 * → ~Mid-October 2026 *
Results announced: ~Late October 2026 *
Your odds: Best chance of any Major (~33%)
Entry fee: Australian & New Zealand residents AUD $280 · International AUD $330
The race: A harbour course past the Opera House and over the Harbour Bridge. Average start temperature around 55°F (13°C), warming through the morning.
The race: A loop through the city, finishing through the Brandenburg Gate. Average start temperature around 55°F (13°C), though 2025 reached 81.7°F (27.6°C), the hottest Berlin on record.
Entry fee: Domestic $250 USD · International $260 USD
The race: A loop through 29 neighbourhoods, starting and finishing in Grant Park. Median start around 52°F (11°C), typically rising 15–20°F over the course of the race.
Entry fee: NYRR members $255 · Non-members $315 · Processing fee $11 on top of either
The race: Point-to-point across all five boroughs, starting on the Verrazzano and finishing in Central Park. Mean race-day temperature around 47°F (8°C), among the best racing conditions of any Major.
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One More Way In: The Abbott WMM Draw
If you've completed three or more Majors and registered on worldmarathonmajors.com, you're eligible for the Abbott WMM Race Draws, a separate guaranteed-entry lottery most runners don't know about. Every draw opens at once in early January and is managed through the Runner Portal. Each race then closes and draws on its own date, spread from April through August.
Eligibility runs from three to six completed Majors for most races; Tokyo and Boston set a higher bar of four to six. You can't enter the draw for a race you've already run, and runners who have completed all seven are out entirely. A Six Star Finisher is therefore still eligible for the Sydney draw. Because the pool is limited to runners still chasing stars rather than the general public, the odds are meaningfully better than the public lotteries. Enter every draw you qualify for, but note you can only win one entry per calendar year.
Quick Tips
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.
