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[ Wire ] · Dispatch · Aug 04

Marathon Ballot Applications Just Keep Setting Records

The 2027 TCS London Marathon ballot drew 1,338,544 applications, up 717% from the 163,926 filed in 2011. New York's 2026 drawing topped 240,000, a 627% jump since 2013. Chicago's 2026 lottery pulled more than 200,000 applications, up 150% in just four years. None of the three ballots got any bigger to match, so the odds of getting in went the other way.

How much has London's ballot grown?

London has set a world record ballot four years running. Applications climbed from 578,374 in 2024 to 840,318 in 2025, then 1,133,813 in 2026, then 1,338,544 for 2027, a 131% increase in three years. The 2026 ballot was the first in history to clear one million entries on its own. Full year by year figures are on the London Marathon ballot history page, and London Marathon ballot odds covers the math behind the roughly 1.3% figure that record now implies.

Why is New York's acceptance rate collapsing?

New York Road Runners reported more than 240,000 applications for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon drawing, a near 20% jump on 2025 and a record for the fourth straight year. Only around 1% of applicants were accepted through the general drawing, down from 12% as recently as 2014. The applicant pool grew nearly seven times over in that stretch while the field size barely moved, which is the entire story behind the falling odds. Details are on the New York City Marathon page, and NYC Marathon lottery odds breaks the rate down year by year.

Is Chicago catching up?

Chicago Event Management reported more than 200,000 applications for the 2026 lottery, up from 160,000 in 2025 and 80,000 in 2022, a 150% increase in four years. Chicago still publishes no single official acceptance rate, but a roughly 55,000-runner field against 200,000-plus applicants puts the drawing in the same range as Berlin's. The Chicago Marathon page has the full application history.

What is driving all of this?

All three ballots grew fastest in the years right after the pandemic paused mass-participation racing, and none of the three organizers has expanded its ballot allocation to match. London's public ballot has held near 17,000 to 18,000 places for years while applications more than doubled. New York's general drawing pool has stayed roughly flat while its applicant count grew nearly seven times over since 2013. The gap between demand and supply, not the field size, is what keeps pushing the odds down.

Which Major ballot still gives you a real shot?

Not London, New York, or Chicago on current trends. Sydney's published rate sits near 32.5% and Chicago's own drawing near 25%, both far more realistic than London's 1.3% or New York's 1%. The Marathon Ballot Simulator models how repeated entries compound at each race's actual odds, and your real odds at all 8 Marathon Majors, ranked has the full comparison.

Free alerts cover every Major's ballot window, which matters most for the races where demand keeps climbing and the deadline is the only thing you can control.

Sources: London Marathon Events: record 1.33 million applications for the 2027 TCS London Marathon, New York Road Runners: 2026 TCS New York City Marathon drawing, Running USA: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2026 applications

Sources London Marathon Events, New York Road Runners, Chicago Event Management London application counts (2011 to 2027) from this site's own London ballot history pages, each independently sourced to London Marathon Events announcements. New York application and acceptance figures from NYRR's press releases, republished on this site's New York ballot history pages. Chicago application figures from Chicago Event Management releases via this site's Chicago ballot history pages.