The best marathons in the world for serious runners
Every marathon is 42.195 kilometres, but they are not the same 42.195. Some you run to chase a time; some you run to belong to something; and a few you spend years qualifying for the privilege of even standing at the start. If you’ve got a marathon or two in your legs and you’re looking for the ones worth building a season around, these are the races serious runners point at.
Most of them are Abbott World Marathon Majors — the elite circuit of Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Tokyo (with Sydney joining in 2025). Run all of them and you earn the coveted Six (now Seven) Star medal, which for a lot of runners becomes a multi-year quest of its own.
The one you have to earn. The world’s oldest annual marathon, run since 1897, and the only Major with a qualifying standard for most entrants — you post a qualifying time based on your age and sex, or you raise money for charity. The point-to-point course from Hopkinton is deceptively hard, with the Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill waiting at 20 miles. Qualifying for Boston is a goal in itself; finishing it is a rite of passage.
If you want to run fast, run Berlin. It’s the flattest and fastest of the Majors, a wide, smooth loop through the city that has hosted more marathon world records than any course on earth. Cool September weather, immaculate organisation, and a finish through the Brandenburg Gate. This is where personal bests happen — the course does everything it can to help you.
The one with the most heart. London is theatre — past the Cutty Sark, over Tower Bridge, down the Embankment to the Mall — carried the whole way by some of the loudest, most relentless crowd support in the sport, and by more charity runners than any marathon in the world. Enter by ballot or through a charity place. Relatively flat, endlessly atmospheric, and unforgettable.
The largest marathon on the planet, and the loudest. Fifty thousand runners tour all five boroughs across a course strung together by bridges — which is exactly what makes it tough, because those bridges are the hills. But the crowds through Brooklyn and First Avenue are a wall of sound, and finishing in Central Park is one of running’s great moments. Enter by lottery, charity, or a qualifying time.
The Major that runs like clockwork. Tokyo is flat, fast, and organised with a precision that has to be experienced — spotless streets, impeccable support, and a respectful, joyful crowd. It’s the gateway Major for Asia and a genuine personal-best course. Entry is by a heavily oversubscribed lottery, so getting in is often the hardest part of the whole race.
Not a Major, but a favourite of anyone hunting a fast time. Valencia has quietly become one of the quickest marathons anywhere — pancake-flat, superbly organised, with reliably cool December weather and a finish over a striking blue pontoon by the old riverbed. If you can’t get a Major place and you want to run fast, this is the one.
Chicago, and the rest of the Majors
Chicago (October) deserves a mention alongside Berlin and Valencia as a genuine personal-best course — flat, fast, one big loop, huge crowds. Between them, the Majors offer two flavours: the fast, flat time-machines (Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Valencia) and the hard-won, high-atmosphere experiences (Boston, London, New York). Serious runners tend to want both eventually.
Before you enter
Entry systems, dates, qualifying standards, and time limits change every year, and most of these races are heavily oversubscribed. Always confirm the details on the official race website before you plan a season around one — and get your name in the ballot early.
Training for a race worth travelling for
A goal race like these is worth years of work, which makes it exactly the kind of race a rigid plan lets down. Sixteen weeks of marathon training will run through a cold, a work trip, a bad week — and how you handle those weeks decides your race far more than the perfect ones do. Here’s how to train for a marathon, how to nail the taper so you arrive fresh, and what pace each finish time actually needs on our marathon goal pages.
That’s the whole idea behind Liftrun: it builds the full block toward your goal race and adapts every morning to the runner you actually are — so all those months of training arrive intact at a start line you spent years earning. New to the distance? Start with the friendliest first marathons instead.