Marathon running is growing again, with record ballot demand, huge finisher totals at major races, and faster average finish times in the United States than a few years ago. The statistics below cover participation, demand, performance, and event impact.
marathon statistics
Key marathon statistics
The official marathon distance is 42.195 kilometers, or 26 miles and 385 yards.
The men’s marathon world record is 2:00:35, set by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.
The women’s marathon world record is 2:09:56, set by Ruth Chepngetich in Chicago in 2024.
The 2025 TCS New York City Marathon had 59,226 finishers.
New York Road Runners said more than 240,000 people applied for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon drawing.
The 2025 TCS London Marathon had 56,640 finishers.
The public ballot for the 2026 TCS London Marathon drew 1,133,813 applications, a world record.
Of the UK applications for the 2026 London Marathon ballot, 433,775 were from men, 430,983 were from women, and 5,044 were from non-binary applicants.
The 2025 TCS London Marathon raised a record £87.3 million for charity.
The Boston Marathon field size for 2026 is set at 30,000 official entrants.
Boston received 33,249 qualifier applications for 2026, and 24,362 qualified applicants were accepted.
The 2026 Boston Marathon cutoff was 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the published qualifying standard for each age group and gender.
The accepted Boston 2026 qualifier field included 13,823 men, 10,429 women, and 110 non-binary athletes.
The 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon infused nearly $756 million into the Chicago metropolitan area economy.
The same 2025 Chicago event welcomed 55,744 participants and visitors and supported 5,186 full-time-equivalent jobs.
Chicago Marathon organizers say more than one million spectators line the streets annually.
RunRepeat found that the average U.S. marathon finish time improved from 4:39 in 2019 to 4:34 in 2024.
In the same analysis, men improved from 4:28 to 4:24 and women improved from 4:54 to 4:51.
Marathon participation and performance charts
Recent marquee marathon scale
Label
Bar
Value
New York 2025 finishers
59,226
London 2025 finishers
56,640
Boston 2026 field size
30,000
Max = 59226. Widths: New York 2025 finishers 100.00%, London 2025 finishers 95.63%, Boston 2026 field size 50.65%.
Marathon application demand
Label
Bar
Value
London 2026 ballot applications
1,133,813
London 2025 ballot applications
840,318
New York 2026 drawing applications
240,000+
Max = 1133813. Widths: London 2026 ballot applications 100.00%, London 2025 ballot applications 74.11%, New York 2026 drawing applications 21.17%.
Boston 2026 accepted qualifiers by gender
Label
Bar
Value
Men
13,823
Women
10,429
Non-binary
110
Max = 13823. Widths: Men 100.00%, Women 75.45%, Non-binary 0.80%.
U.K. applications for the 2026 London Marathon ballot by gender
Label
Bar
Value
Men
433,775
Women
430,983
Non-binary
5,044
Max = 433775. Widths: Men 100.00%, Women 99.36%, Non-binary 1.16%.
U.S. average marathon finish times in 2024
Label
Bar
Value
Men 2024 average
4:24
Overall 2024 average
4:34
Women 2024 average
4:51
Max = 291 minutes. Widths: Men 2024 average 90.72%, Overall 2024 average 94.16%, Women 2024 average 100.00%.
What these marathon statistics show
Marathon demand is now outpacing supply by a wide margin at the world’s most popular races. London’s ballot broke 1.13 million applications for 2026, while New York reported more than 240,000 applications for its 2026 drawing.
The largest events are also getting bigger. New York reached 59,226 finishers in 2025, while London posted 56,640 finishers in 2025.
Boston remains unusually selective even among major marathons. A 30,000-entry race still could not accommodate all 33,249 qualifier applications for 2026.
Performance trends are improving as well. RunRepeat’s U.S. marathon analysis found average finish times in 2024 were faster than in 2019 for the overall field, for men, and for women.
Sources
World Athletics world records https://worldathletics.org/records/by-category/world-records
World Athletics ratified Kelvin Kiptum world record https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/ratified-world-marathon-record-kelvin-kiptum
World Athletics Ruth Chepngetich world record report https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/news/chepngetich-world-marathon-record-chicago
New York Road Runners 2025 Marathon Monday release https://www.nyrr.org/media-center/press-release/2025_1103_marathonmonday
New York Road Runners 2026 drawing day release https://www.nyrr.org/media-center/press-release/2026_0304_tcsnycmdrawingday
London Marathon Events 2026 ballot record https://www.londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon/article/new-ballot-world-record-2026-tcs-london-marathon
London Marathon Events 2025 finisher record https://www.londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon/article/2025-tcs-london-marathon-breaks-guinness-world-records-title-largest-number
London Marathon Events 2025 fundraising record https://www.londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon/article/2025-tcs-london-marathon-sets-new-fundraising-record-ps873-million-total
Boston Athletic Association qualifier statistics https://www.baa.org/news/130thqualifiers/
Bank of America Chicago Marathon economic impact release https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/03/2025-bank-of-america-chicago-marathon-pumps-record–756-million-.html
RunRepeat The State of US Marathons 2025 https://runrepeat.com/the-state-of-us-marathons-2025
