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Aug 06 When Does the Marathon Ballot Open? The Annual Pattern Aug 06 What Each Marathon Major Actually Costs to Run Aug 06 London vs New York: Which Marathon Is Harder to Get Into? Aug 05 Sydney vs Cape Town: The Two Newest Marathon Majors Compared Aug 05 Didn't Get Into the Tokyo Marathon 2027? Your Options Aug 05 When Do Tokyo Marathon 2027 Lottery Results Come Out? Aug 04 Marathon Ballot Applications Just Keep Setting Records Aug 03 The Boston Cutoff, Explained for Normal Runners Aug 02 London Marathon Good For Age, Explained Aug 01 NYC Marathon Lottery Odds: 1 in 100 and Falling
[ Wire ] · Dispatch · Aug 06

When Does the Marathon Ballot Open? The Annual Pattern

Marathon Major ballots do not run on one shared calendar. Each race opens its own window in roughly the same month every year, and knowing which month is which is most of the battle for anyone tracking more than one Major at a time.

The 8 Majors, roughly in calendar order

  • New York: general drawing opened February 4 and closed February 25, 2026, for the November 2026 race. Results landed March 4.
  • Shanghai (candidate race): entry opened April 29 and closed May 29, 2026, for the December 6, 2026 race, with the draw on June 30.
  • Cape Town: the 2027 ballot ran June 10 to 24, 2026, for the May 23, 2027 race, with results emailed June 26.
  • London: the 2027 ballot opened April 24 and closed May 1, 2026, for the April 25, 2027 race, with results announced July 9.
  • Tokyo: the 2027 general entry ballot opens August 14 and closes August 28, 2026, for the March 7, 2027 race, with results due September 18.
  • Boston: the 2027 qualifying window opens September 14 and closes September 18, 2026, for the April 19, 2027 race, with acceptances due September 23. Boston has no lottery ballot; this window is for qualifying-time registration.
  • Berlin: the most recent lottery ran September 25 to November 6, 2025, for the September 27, 2026 race, with results November 27, 2025.
  • Chicago: the most recent lottery ran October 21 to November 18, 2025, for the October 11, 2026 race, with results December 11, 2025.
  • Sydney: the 2027 ballot is projected to open around September 24 and close around October 17, 2026, for the August 2027 race, with a draw around October 29. These dates are carried forward from the 2026 cycle's pattern and are not yet officially confirmed.

Why does each race pick a different window?

Every Major schedules its ballot far enough ahead of its own race day to plan logistics, but close enough that demand and course conditions stay current. London and Tokyo, both spring races, open their ballots four to eight months out. Berlin and Chicago, both autumn races, run their lotteries in the preceding autumn, roughly a year ahead. New York, the last Major of the calendar year, opens its drawing the earliest relative to its own race day, nine months out, because of the sheer volume of applications it has to process.

Does the window ever move?

Yes. Windows shift by days or weeks between cycles as organisers adjust for demand or logistics, and any Major without officially confirmed next-cycle dates carries a projection based on the prior year's pattern until the organiser announces otherwise, exactly like Sydney's 2027 window above. Always check a race's own page close to its expected month, since a projected date is not a confirmed one.

How do I not miss a window?

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

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 Entry window dates per race from this site's majors.json, each independently sourced from the organiser's own registration page. Sydney's 2027 window is a projection carried forward from its 2026 cycle pattern, not yet officially confirmed by TCS Sydney Marathon; it is labelled as such below.