While it takes grit and determination to run a marathon, the real endurance sport is listening to someone describe their race day in detail putting one together.

Events commemorating the run from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens are usually organized by a nonprofit, which collects revenue to offset the massive overhead costs. Typically, by extension, the host city gets a windfall.

Money is the real runner’s gel

The nonprofit New York Roadrunners, which organizes the New York Marathon, spent $111 million putting together local races last year—the biggest of them being the 26.2-miler across the five boroughs.

Costs include staff salaries, vendor services like portable toilets, medical emergency teams, security, and road closures.

For instance:

• The organizer of the famed Boston Marathon pays eight cities and towns along the route up to $121,500 to offset the costs of the race.
• Last year, NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority asked the organizers of the New York Marathon to pay $750k to offset toll revenue lost by closing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for runners. The organizers disputed the charge, arguing that the marathon boosts the MTA’s revenue through increased ridership on race day.

Who’s paying?

Runners are asked to cough up steep participation fees. The 50,000 runners in the New York City Marathon pay a registration fee ranging from $255 to $315, with international runners charged an additional amount.

Then there’s sponsorships from companies willing to pay a pretty penny to plaster their logos on a citywide celebration of sportsmanship that only local Uber drivers are mad about. The headline sponsor of this year’s NYC Marathon, Tata Consultancy, planned to spend up to $40 million annually supporting races through 2029.

Meanwhile, Boston and Chicago marathons seem to be full-on celebrations of Bank of America, which some runners felt went too far last year when they received medals with the bank’s logo on the front.

Host city is the No. 1 finisher

The top 50 marathons inject $5.2 billion into their local economies annually, according to a 2025 report by Brand Finance. Half of that comes from just seven of the most prestigious races: Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.

The organizers of the New York City Marathon, which attracted 2 million spectators last fall, say it generated $692 million in economic impact last year, with $287 million of that coming from out-of-towners booking hotels and probably treating themselves to a post-race pasta binge in Little Italy.—SK

Marathoners receive reflective blankets that help regulate body heat after crossing the finish line, but many also get a warm fuzzy feeling from fundraising for a good cause.

Runners in the Boston, New York City, and Chicago Marathons collectively raised over $156 million for charitable causes last year, supporting a range of initiatives, from cancer research to local public media.

Bibs for bucks

The only way to snag a slot in the top marathons—aside from showing an awe-inspiring level of fitness in a qualifier or getting lucky with spots allocated via lottery—is by committing to fundraise for a nonprofit:

• Marathons allocate a limited number of runner bibs to hundreds of partner organizations, which then set a minimum fundraising requirement for each runner.
• The New York City Marathon requires runners to raise a minimum of $3,000 to participate in the event through a charity.
• But charity marathoning can get cutthroat: Some nonprofits involved in top-tier races request donations of $15,000 or more from aspiring participants, who vie for a limited number of slots.

Besides getting runners into races, some charities, like the American Heart Association, provide a training a training community and coaching to the runners raising money for them.

It’s not free money…as charities invest resources into their own administrative marathon of triaging applicants based on their cash-raising potential, ensuring runners stay on track to meet their fundraising goals, and dealing with “ghosting” from marathoners who run away from their charity commitment.—SK

One person faster than a marathon winner is an athleisure enthusiast googling the cool pair of shorts that just ran by. Following running’s recent explosion in popularity, brands are drafting so hard off its wake that one of the most common questions after “What’s your pace?” has become “Who are you wearing?”

The New York City Marathon “may as well be Paris Fashion Week,” one stylist and hobbyist runner told The Business of Fashion last year. Leading up to today’s 26.2 in NYC—which could set a record for the biggest marathon in history—the apparel companies outfitting many of the runners have transformed The Big Apple into one big jogging activation:

• Over the past week, Adidas, Hoka, Asics, Nike, New Balance, On, Saucony, and Lululemon led group jogs through NYC, sometimes in partnership with local run clubs.
• To score points with non-runners, many of these brands also have their own cheer zones along today’s route, sometimes rife with free swag.

Lesser-known activewear brands also organize pop-ups before a city’s big run, but the most significant bit of indie exposure came from a British pop star earlier this year: After Harry Styles ran the Tokyo marathon in March and the Berlin marathon in September, sales of the Tracksmith shorts he wore jumped by 50%, the brand’s CEO told the New York Times.

Why is every runner throwing on a fit? Maybe money saved on workout classes is being reallocated to wardrobes. Maybe run club members want to impress their crushes. Or maybe Olympian Sha'Carri Richardson—who races in makeup and long nails—inspired amateurs to put their best faces forward. Last year, amid record participation from women and nonbinary runners, Maybelline became the NYC Marathon’s first official cosmetics partner.—ML

Marathons require focus, persistence, resilience, and preparation…and that’s just to get past the sign-up process. While it’s pretty straightforward to gain entry to smaller races, the sport’s biggest events can leave you chafed before you even get to the start line.

Taking that first step

There are seven World Marathon Majors—Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Sydney, and Berlin—and getting into one is like running for political office. You’ll need elite credentials, luck, or heaps of money.

Luck of the draw: Major marathon organizers fill many of the spots via lottery, which is essentially pulling names out of a hat. It can be a long shot. According to Runner’s World:

• Only 2%–3% of applicants were accepted into the 2025 New York City Marathon. Those are about the same odds as getting into Harvard.
• A record 840,000+ runners applied for the 2025 London Marathon. Only 17,000 were accepted.

Boston doesn’t have a lottery, but there’s still some chance involved. Applicants must participate in a qualifying marathon and finish it within a certain amount of time. But that cutoff time can change, depending on how many people apply and how fast they are.

No luck? Pony up: There are more reliable—but expensive—ways to get into a major marathon. Races often allocate slots to different groups, which then distribute bibs as they see fit. For example:

• Marathon tour operators will secure you a bib and trip accommodations, but those race packages can cost as much as $4,000, per the New York Times.
• Charity organizations receive a multitude of requests, but they typically require minimum donations of thousands of dollars.

Big picture: Competition is only heating up. More than 1.1 million people applied for the 2026 London Marathon, blowing last year out of the wa’er.—BC

If you’re going to risk dehydration and losing your toenails, you want it to be as good a story as possible. That could be why marathoners are seeking out new and increasingly bizarre ways to race.

Do it for the ’gram: They have marathons for all sceneries: the low-lying desert of Death Valley, Jungfrau peak in the Swiss Alps, the North and South Poles, and a Kenyan safari run. Some destination races even have the opportunity for in-race international travel:

• The Victoria Falls Marathon travels between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• The Detroit Marathon crosses from the US to Canada and back. Try not to get tariffed along the way.

Stick to a theme: Don’t like the sun? Run the late-starting ET Full Moon Marathon near Area 51. And don’t forget to stay hydrated: The Marathon du Médoc in France has a course featuring 23 wine-tasting stations.

You can even make your marathon dreams come true at Disney World. Better yet, try Disney’s Dopey Challenge, which involves finishing a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon in four days.

Why stop at 26.2 miles?

Ultramarathons are also a popular way to spice up long-distance running. Races can range from a 50K (31.1 miles) to thousands of miles. Participation has skyrocketed since the 1990s. More than half of ultramarathoners ran their first one within the past five years, according to a 2024 Runner’s World survey.

Still not enough? Try out the one-of-a-kind Barkley Marathon, a ~100-mile race through the Tennessee brush that combines mountainous terrain, sleep deprivation, and ripping pages out of books (literally). There’s a 99% dropout rate.—BC