Tokyo Marathon

Organized by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation, the inaugural Tokyo Marathon was held on February 18, 2007, and drew 95,044 applicants and 30,870 participants. Kenya’s Daniel Njenga (2:09:45) and Japan’s Hitomi Niiya (2:31:01) were the first champions. Since then, the Tokyo Marathon has grown to draw over 300,000 applicants and nearly 36,000 participants. Through its theme, “The Day We Unite,” the Tokyo Marathon brings together runners, volunteers, and spectators. In 2011, the Tokyo Marathon implemented its own charity program, “Run with Heart,” through which donors can contribute to various charitable activities. The number of charity runner entrants for Tokyo Marathon 2016 reached its capacity of 3,000 for the first time.

As Tokyo has been chosen to host the 2020 Olympic Games, the Tokyo Marathon is also gaining more attention and popularity. Tokyo Marathon 2017 will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2016 (tentative).

Inaugural Running: 2007
Estimated Number of Spectators: 37,000 (2016 only)
Largest Field: 35,501 finishers (2011)

Most Victories
Men: No multiple winners in female division
Women: No multiple winners in female division

Prize Purse
JPY 20,250,000 for both men and women (JPY 11,000,000 for male and female champions)

Time & Record Bonus
JPY 38,000,000 (JPY 30,000,000 for WR, JPY 3,000,000 for course record)

Organization Information

Tad Hayano, Race Director
Tokyo Marathon Foundation
Ariake Frontier Building
Tower B-8F, 3-7-26 Ariake
Koto-ku Tokyo, 135-0063
Japan
+81 (3) 5500-6677
www.marathon.tokyo

Media Contact

Ulala Nagashima
+81 (3) 5500-6653
[email protected]

Upcoming Race Dates

February 26, 2017 (tentative)

Boston Marathon

Inspired by their experience at the 1896 Olympic Games, several members of the Boston Athletic Association founded their own marathon in 1897. The race has been run every year since (though the 1918 edition featured a military relay rather than an individual race) and is now the world’s oldest annual marathon.

Both the start and finish lines have been moved over the years, but much of the original course remains exactly as it was originally designed. Since 1924 the race has begun in the town of Hopkinton, and from there the point-to-point course descends through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley. Upon entering Newton, the course gradually rises to the famous Heartbreak Hill. As runners reach the top, they can see downtown Boston for the first time, four miles in the distance. After running through Brookline, the course enters Boston where it finishes on historic Boylston Street. Runners must qualify for entry by meeting time standards corresponding to gender and age, which is another aspect — besides its course and longevity — unique to the Boston Marathon.

Inaugural Running: 1897
Largest Field: 35,868 finishers (1996)
Estimated Number of Spectators: 500,000

Most Victories
Men: 7 (Clarence H. DeMar, USA)
Women: 4 (Catherine Ndereba, KEN)

Prize Purse
$830,500 (plus an additional $220,000 in bonus awards) provided by principal sponsor, John Hancock Financial Services

Organization Information

Joann E. Flaminio, President
Thomas S. Grilk, Executive Director
Boston Athletic Association
185 Dartmouth Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 236-1652
www.baa.org

Media Contact

Jack Fleming
Director of Marketing & Communications
(617) 236-1652, x2627
[email protected]

Marc Davis
Communications Manager
(617) 236-1652, x2633
[email protected]

Upcoming Race Dates

April 18, 2016
April 17, 2017

Virgin Money London Marathon

In 1979, after running the New York City Marathon with John Disley, the late Chris Brasher questioned whether London could stage such a festival. “We have the course… but do we have the heart and hospitality to welcome the world?” Later that year Brasher travelled to America, where the running boom of the late 1970s had started. He witnessed the Boston Marathon and revisited the New York City race. He studied both races’ organisations and finances. On his return, Brasher and Disley secured a three-year contract with Gillette for £75,000, established the organisation’s charitable status, and set down six main aims for the event. The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981. More than 20,000 people wanted to run; 7,747 were accepted. There were 6,255 finishers led home by American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen. Joyce Smith broke the British record to win the women’s race. The 1982 race received more than 90,000 applicants from around the world. The entry was limited to 18,059. Since then, the London Marathon has grown to more than 35,000 starters and finishers, is viewed in more than 150 countries worldwide, and has more than six million viewers in the UK via the BBC.

Inaugural Running: 1981
Largest Field: 36,675 finishers (2015)
Estimated Number of Spectators: 750,000

Most Victories
Men: 3 (Dionicio Ceron, MEX; Antonio Pinto, POR; Martin Lel, KEN)
Women: 4 (Ingrid Kristiansen, NOR)

Prize Purse
$313,000 ($55,000 to male/female champions) + bonuses

Registered Office: Kestrel House, 111 Heath Road, Twickenham, Middlesex. TW1 4AH UK. Registered in
England No. 1528489. The London Marathon Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the London Marathon
Charitable Trust Ltd. Registered Charity No. 283813

Organization Information

Nick Bitel
Chief Executive

Hugh Brasher
Race Director

Virgin Money London Marathon Ltd
Marathon House
115 Southwark Street
London SE1 0JF
(+44) 207-902-0200
www.virginlondonmarathon.com

Media Contact
Penny Dain
Head of Communications
[email protected]
+ 44 (0) 7799 170433

Upcoming Race Dates

April 24, 2016

BMW-Berlin Marathon

A group of runners from one of Germany’s most prestigious athletic clubs, SC Charlottenburg Berlin, organized the first BERLIN-MARATHON in 1974. It was not until 1981 that the race moved from the Grunewald (a city forest) into the city center of West Berlin. Supported by the three western allied forces (Britain, France, and U.S.), it quickly developed into Germany’s biggest and best-quality marathon. It was after the Berlin Wall collapsed in November 1989 when a new era started. On September 30, 1990, three days before the reunification of Germany, the course of the BERLIN-MARATHON led through Brandenburg Gate and both parts of Berlin. In 2001, Naoko Takahashi became the first woman to break the 2:20 barrier in Berlin. The flat and fast loop course then was changed significantly for the 2003 race.

Paul Tergat, in a world record 2:04:55, became the first man to cross the new finish line, passing through Brandenburg Gate—the symbol for reunification. In 2007, the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie broke the world record in Berlin, clocking 2:04:26. In 2008 he broke the record again, clocking a fabulous 2:03:59— and in 2009, he joined Bill Rodgers (New York City, 1976–1979) as the only men to win the same World Marathon Majors race four years in a row. In 2011, it was again a Kenyan athlete who took the world record; Patrick Makau won in 2:03:38. Wilson Kipsang of Kenya broke that record in 2013, clocking 2:03:23. In 2014 it was Dennis Kimetto who broke the world record, being the first person finishing sub2:03 in 2:02:57.

Inaugural Running: 1974
Largest Field: 36,767 finishers (2015)
Estimated Number of Spectators: 1 Million

Most Victories
Men: 4 (Haile Gebrselassie, ETH)
Women: 3 (Uta Pippig, GER; Renata Kokowska, POL)

Prize Purse
$416,629 ($50,000 to male/female champions)

Organization Information

Mark Milde
Race Director
SCC-RUNNING GmbH
Hanns-Braun-Strasse/Adlerplatz
14053, Berlin
Germany
+49 (30) 30-12-88-10
www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com

Media Contact

Thomas Steffens
+49 (171) 933-48-36
[email protected]

Marisa Reich
+49 (178) 457-70-65
[email protected]

Upcoming Race Dates

September 27, 2015
September 25, 2016

Bank of America Chicago Marathon

In 1976, a small band of running enthusiasts met at the Metropolitan YMCA on LaSalle Street to plan a marathon in Chicago. Backed by the athletic enthusiasm of the new Chicago mayor, Michael Bilandic, and the leadership of Lee Flaherty, this founding group realized its vision on September 25, 1977, hosting 4,200 local participants in the first Chicago Marathon. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has since expanded to 40,000 registered runners and an estimated 1.7 million on-course spectators. The flat and fast course begins and ends in historic Grant Park, sweeping through 29 diverse and colorful neighborhoods including Lakeview, Greektown, Little Italy, Pilsen, Chinatown, and Bronzeville. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a long history of hosting the world’s fastest runners and has been the site of two men’s world records (Steve Jones, 2:08:05, 1984; and Khalid Khannouchi, 2:05:42, 1999) and two women’s world records (Catherine Ndereba, 2:18:47, 2001; and Paula Radcliffe, 2:17:18, 2002).

Inaugural Running: 1977
Largest Field: 40,659 finishers (2014)
Estimated Number of Spectators: 1.7 Million

Most Victories
Men: 4 (Khalid Khannouchi, MAR/USA)
Women: 3 (Liliya Shobukhova, RUS)

Prize Purse
$550,000 ($100,000 to male/female champions)

Organization Information

Carey Pinkowski
Executive Race Director
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
135 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1160
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 904-9800
www.chicagomarathon.com

Media Contact

Alex Sawyer
Communications Manager
(312) 992-6618
[email protected]

Upcoming Race Dates

October 9, 2016
October 8, 2017 (tentative)

TCS New York City Marathon

The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features the world’s top professional athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. The race began in 1970 with just 127 entrants running four laps around Central Park, and expanded citywide in 1976.
Today, runners from over 125 countries tour New York City’s five boroughs, starting on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and running through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, before ending in Manhattan at the iconic Central Park finish line. More than one million spectators line the city streets to cheer on the runners, while millions more watch the live television broadcast in the United States and around the world. The race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series featuring the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowning the top professional male and female marathoners of the series. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.com.

Inaugural Running: 1970
Largest Field: 50,530 finishers (2014)
Estimated Number of Spectators: 1 Million +

Most Victories
Men: 4 (Bill Rodgers, USA)
Women: 9 (Grete Waitz, NOR)

Prize Purse
More than $705,000 ($100,000 to male/female champions)

Organization Information

Michael Capiraso
President and CEO, New York Road Runners
Peter Ciaccia
President of Events, New York Road Runners and Race Director of the TCS New York City Marathon

New York Road Runners
156 West 56th Street, Third Floor
New York, NY, USA 10019

Media Contact

Chris Weiller
VP, Media and Public Relations
(212) 320-4046
[email protected]

Upcoming Race Dates

November 6, 2016
November 5, 2017