How it Works

The World Marathon Majors is a series consisting of five of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Boston Marathon, Virgin London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and ING New York City Marathon. In creating the World Marathon Majors, the organizers of these five races recognized an opportunity to advance the sport, raise awareness of its athletes and increase the level of interest in elite racing among running enthusiasts.

The five annual road races in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York, along with the Olympic Marathon and IAAF World Championships Marathon, serve as the Qualifying Races in the series. At the conclusion of each Qualifying Race, the top five male and female finishers are awarded points based on their finish place.

At the conclusion of each two-year series, a $1 million prize purse will be split equally between the top male and female point earners. The $1 million prize will be awarded annually meaning that each two-year series will overlap. The inaugural series will be 2006-2007 followed by 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and so on.

The total score for each athlete in a series will consist of points earned from a maximum of four Qualifying Races during that two-year cycle. To be eligible for the jackpot, an athlete must compete in a minimum of one Qualifying Race during each year of the series.