News
Aug 09 Ballot, Lottery, Drawing: What Each Major Calls It Aug 09 Chicago vs New York: The Two American Majors Compared Aug 09 When Is Each Marathon Major? The Full Race-Day Calendar Aug 08 You Got In. Now What? The First Month After a Ballot Win Aug 08 How Marathon Ballots Actually Work Aug 08 Boston vs London: The Two Hardest Bibs in the Majors Aug 07 Sydney Marathon Ballot Odds: Best in the Majors Aug 07 Chicago Marathon Lottery Odds: Roughly 1 in 4 Aug 07 Berlin Marathon Lottery Odds, Explained Aug 06 When Does the Marathon Ballot Open? The Annual Pattern
[ Wire ] · Dispatch · Aug 09

When Is Each Marathon Major? The Full Race-Day Calendar

Nine races make up the current Marathon Majors calendar: eight confirmed Majors plus Shanghai, racing as a candidate for a ninth spot. None of them share a start date. Race days run from Sydney on August 30, 2026 through Cape Town on May 23, 2027, a spread of nearly ten months. Here is every one, in order, with each ballot's status right now.

The full calendar, in race-day order

  • Sydney, August 30, 2026. The next race up. Its ballot for this edition closed months ago; the next window, for the 2027 race, is projected to open around September 24, 2026, once this one has run. Sydney's last published acceptance rate was roughly 32.5%, the best in the Majors.
  • Berlin, September 27, 2026. Ballot closed November 6, 2025, results out November 27, 2025, with roughly 20% accepted. The next lottery is expected around September to November 2026, after this race.
  • Chicago, October 11, 2026. Lottery closed November 18, 2025, selection emails sent December 11, 2025, on a record 200,000-plus applications against a published acceptance rate near 25%. The next lottery is expected around October to November 2026.
  • New York, November 1, 2026. Drawing closed February 25, 2026, on a record 240,000-plus applications, only about 1% accepted. The next drawing is expected around February 2027.
  • Shanghai, December 6, 2026 (candidate race). Entry closed May 29, 2026, draw June 30, 2026, odds not yet published. This race day also carries Shanghai's second Abbott World Marathon Majors candidacy assessment; a pass would make it the ninth Major starting in 2027.
  • Tokyo, March 7, 2027. The next ballot window on the calendar: general entry opens August 14, 2026 and closes August 28, 2026, results due September 18, 2026. Tokyo's odds have held near 10% for several cycles.
  • Boston, April 19, 2027. No lottery, a qualifying-time window instead: opens September 14, 2026, closes September 18, 2026, acceptances due September 23, 2026. Entry depends on beating a published time standard, not a random draw.
  • London, April 25, 2027. Ballot already closed, May 1, 2026, on a record 1,338,544 applications, results announced July 9, 2026. No public acceptance rate has been released for this cycle.
  • Cape Town, May 23, 2027. Africa's first Major. Ballot closed June 24, 2026, results emailed June 26, 2026. No acceptance rate published yet.

Which window is open right now?

None. As of today, no Marathon Major ballot is accepting entries. The next one to open is Tokyo's, on August 14, 2026, five days from now, followed by Boston's qualifying window on September 14.

Why don't the Majors share a calendar?

Each race schedules its own ballot around its own race day and its own logistics, not around the other seven. Spring races like London and Tokyo open their windows four to eight months ahead. Autumn races like Berlin and Chicago run their lotteries the prior autumn, closer to a year out. New York, the calendar's final Major, opens earliest relative to its own race day because of the sheer size of its applicant pool. The pattern repeats every cycle; when does the marathon ballot open breaks down the month-by-month logic behind it.

How do I track a specific race's window?

Each race's own page carries its live entry-window countdown: Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Boston, London, Cape Town. Free email alerts cover one Major of your choice at no cost, with a warning three days before its ballot opens, a reminder the day it closes, and a notice on results day.

Sources: Abbott World Marathon Majors, each race's own official registration page as tracked in this site's race pages

Sources Each race's official entry page Race days and entry windows per race from this site's majors.json, each independently sourced from the organiser's own registration page (accessed August 2026).