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273. World Major Marathons: How to get in & are they worth the hype?
Knowing what kind of runner you are is key when it comes to planning races. You may have seen a lot of hype on social media or the media in general about the world major marathons like NY and Boston. Even when I tell people I coach runners, I often through out names like “we help people train for the NYC marathon”. Why? Because most people have heard of these races. But just because they are well known doesn’t mean they are the end all be all of running. In fact, there are dozens of marathons that take place every weekend around the globe. Each state has several marathons. Some states like California probably have close to 100 or more marathons every year. So what makes these world majors so special? They have been selected by Abbott world majors association because they meet special criteria. The biggest criteria is the size of the race. Local large marathons around here have a few thousand people where as a world major marathon would have tens of thousands of people. What is the benefit of doing such a large race? Well it depends on your goals and also how you like to race. Some athletes thrive with crowd support and lots of people to run with. Other people don’t get any benefit from crowd support and don’t enjoy running on busy courses. You have to factor these things into consideration when you register/think about doing a world major. Another factor is travel and money. Traveling for a race internationally or even flying to a race can be stressful and take more time/energy/planning. The cost also plays a huge factor. I was 23 years old when I ran Boston for the first time, and I remember we almost drained our savings account to make the trip out there the first time. If you have a lot of disposable income or you really make it a priority to save up, the majors can be great, but we also want to point out that attempting the run the majors is something that takes substantial amounts of money.
What are the 7 world major marathons & what makes them ‘major’
The world major marathons are Boston, Chicago, NYC, Berlin, Tokyo, London, Sydney. What makes them major is the size and just an organization what decided these races meet specific criteria. They are all incredibly difficult to get into and are constantly raising the bar for qualifying times.
Jason - Talking point
Abbotworld majors > https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/
Create Profile
Match results
Manage results and future goals in runner portal
Access digital global run club dashboard
Marathon Tours
Destination Marathons > https://sportstoursinternational.com/
Guaranteed entry: London, Berlin, Sydney
No Entry: Tokyo, NYC, Boston, Chicago
How does a major marathon compare to a local big race?
Traveling to a major marathon is going to be very expensive. The cost of hotels/air BnB spikes during those weekends in major cities. You can do things for cheap but generally the people who do the majors also have major money.
Majors will have a ton more participants. This can be fun to have more people to run with, but think of it as 10x the size of a normal big marathon. It can sometimes be a cluster when trying to get to water stops and also just getting to the starting line.
I find that majors can cause more nerves because there are more logistics for getting these and more downtime to get nervous waiting around
Time zone changes and jetlag can also be a factor for athletes who go abroad. I have had athletes get sick
What is the hype with the 7 or 6 star finishers?
It is a medal you get for running all 6-7 marathons
It is hard to get into the races
It is expensive to run
If you enjoy traveling and have extra cash
What are other options for marathons?
Local marathons
Faster courses: revel
Small marathons: could win
Marathon Tours
Destination Marathons > https://sportstoursinternational.com/
Guaranteed entry: London, Berlin, Sydney
No Entry: Tokyo, NYC, Boston, Chicago
View all episodes
By Run4PRs
4.4
186186 ratings
Knowing what kind of runner you are is key when it comes to planning races. You may have seen a lot of hype on social media or the media in general about the world major marathons like NY and Boston. Even when I tell people I coach runners, I often through out names like “we help people train for the NYC marathon”. Why? Because most people have heard of these races. But just because they are well known doesn’t mean they are the end all be all of running. In fact, there are dozens of marathons that take place every weekend around the globe. Each state has several marathons. Some states like California probably have close to 100 or more marathons every year. So what makes these world majors so special? They have been selected by Abbott world majors association because they meet special criteria. The biggest criteria is the size of the race. Local large marathons around here have a few thousand people where as a world major marathon would have tens of thousands of people. What is the benefit of doing such a large race? Well it depends on your goals and also how you like to race. Some athletes thrive with crowd support and lots of people to run with. Other people don’t get any benefit from crowd support and don’t enjoy running on busy courses. You have to factor these things into consideration when you register/think about doing a world major. Another factor is travel and money. Traveling for a race internationally or even flying to a race can be stressful and take more time/energy/planning. The cost also plays a huge factor. I was 23 years old when I ran Boston for the first time, and I remember we almost drained our savings account to make the trip out there the first time. If you have a lot of disposable income or you really make it a priority to save up, the majors can be great, but we also want to point out that attempting the run the majors is something that takes substantial amounts of money.
What are the 7 world major marathons & what makes them ‘major’
The world major marathons are Boston, Chicago, NYC, Berlin, Tokyo, London, Sydney. What makes them major is the size and just an organization what decided these races meet specific criteria. They are all incredibly difficult to get into and are constantly raising the bar for qualifying times.
Jason - Talking point
Abbotworld majors > https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/
Create Profile
Match results
Manage results and future goals in runner portal
Access digital global run club dashboard
Marathon Tours
Destination Marathons > https://sportstoursinternational.com/
Guaranteed entry: London, Berlin, Sydney
No Entry: Tokyo, NYC, Boston, Chicago
How does a major marathon compare to a local big race?
Traveling to a major marathon is going to be very expensive. The cost of hotels/air BnB spikes during those weekends in major cities. You can do things for cheap but generally the people who do the majors also have major money.
Majors will have a ton more participants. This can be fun to have more people to run with, but think of it as 10x the size of a normal big marathon. It can sometimes be a cluster when trying to get to water stops and also just getting to the starting line.
I find that majors can cause more nerves because there are more logistics for getting these and more downtime to get nervous waiting around
Time zone changes and jetlag can also be a factor for athletes who go abroad. I have had athletes get sick
What is the hype with the 7 or 6 star finishers?
It is a medal you get for running all 6-7 marathons
It is hard to get into the races
It is expensive to run
If you enjoy traveling and have extra cash
What are other options for marathons?
Local marathons
Faster courses: revel
Small marathons: could win
Marathon Tours
Destination Marathons > https://sportstoursinternational.com/
Guaranteed entry: London, Berlin, Sydney
No Entry: Tokyo, NYC, Boston, Chicago
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