Prize Money for Marathons [Too Many Stats and Facts to Count]

Marathoning can be big money these days! We wanted to see what top marathons were paying top finishers so we collected every stat and fact we could about prize winnings for being fast at 26.2 miles.

The Boston Marathon cash prizes

• In the past 35 years over $20 million has been given out in prize winnings at the Boston Marathon.
• The Boston Marathon has the largest prize purse of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo) at $868,500.00.
• Course record breakers (both in the open division and wheelchair division) receive a $50k bonus. 
• Master’s Divisions awards (runners 40 and older) will be given to the top 3 finishers of each sex. 
• Para Athletics Divisions are broken into 3 categories:
• Visual impairment
• Lower limb impairment
• Upper limb impairment
• The most rewarded Boston runner of all time was four times champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, a Kenyan runner who has earned a total of $469,000 from the Boston race alone.
• The Boston Marathon is the highest-paying marathon in North America.

Chicago Marathon prize purse

• The Chicago Marathon holds the current women’s world record time of  2:14:04 set by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei on October 13th, 2019.

Chicago Marathon time bonuses

New York Marathon prize money

NYC Marathon Open division

• Only athletes competing in the Professional/Invited athlete group are eligible for prize money
• The finish order is based on gun time.
• Prize money is subject to the 1.5% World Athletics “Athlete Levy” which supports the WA anti-doping testing program.

NYC Marathon USA division

• Athletes must be USA citizens, and may not be eligible to represent another national federation in international competition. 
• Only athletes competing in the Professional/Invited athlete start are eligible for USA Division prize money.

NYC Marathon NYRR member division

• Athletes must be a NYRR (New York Road Runners) member for a minimum of 6 months prior to race day and complete three fully-scored NYRR races during a set time period.
• NYRR Virtual races do not count towards this three-race requirement. 
• Only athletes who start in the Professional/Invited athlete start will be eligible for prize money in the NYRR Member Division “Open” category.

NYC Marathon masters division

• Professional/Invited athletes or “time-trial” runners are eligible for masters prize money. Priority will be given to athletes who start in the Professional/Invited Athlete start with finish order based on Gun Time. If applicable, athletes in the “time-trial” start will be eligible for remaining prize money spots, with finish order based on Net Time.

NYC Marathon wheelchair division

NYC Marathon Time Bonuses

Open division

• $50,000 bonus to any male or female that breaks the existing event record. 
• This bonus is limited to the race winner only. 
• The athlete must break, not tie, the record.

NYRR Member division

• Cumulative with NYRR member division prize money and listed above. 
• Only the highest eligible amount will be awarded.

Wheelchair division

London Marathon

• Due to Covid-19 and the financial ramifications of the pandemic, the London Marathon has significantly cut the prize money allocations. 

London Marathon Elite division

• Overall, there is £231,000 on offer for the elite runner’s division.

London Marathon time bonuses

• Any runner below the time of 2:05:00 (men) or 2:18:00 (women) will split a shared pot of £70,000. 

London Marathon world record bonus

London Marathon wheelchair division

• There is also £100,260 on offer to placing wheelchair competitors overall.

Berlin Marathon

• The Berlin Marathon course is flat and fast and currently claims the marathon men’s world record.
• Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya ran a 2:01:39 on September 16th, 2018.

Overall Berlin Marathon winner prizes

Berlin Marathon time bonuses

Berlin Marathon world record bonuses

Tokyo Marathon

• The Tokyo Marathon is the newest marathon in the Abbot World Marathon Majors starting in 2007 and is the largest marathon in Asia. 

Tokyo Marathon elite field

Tokyo Marathon record bonuses

• Record bonuses only go to first place finishers

Tokyo Marathon wheelchair division

Tokyo Marathon wheelchair division record bonuses

Other marathons with big cash prizes

Seoul International Marathon

• $80,000 to the male and female winners (required to finish under 2:10:00 and 2:24:00 respectively or prize is cut in half to $40,000).
• World record bonuses are $500,000 for men and $300,000 for women.
• Time bonus of $200,000 for sub 2:04:00 (male) and sub 2:18:00 (female) with additional time bonuses whittling down to $5,000 at its lowest. 

Nagoya Women’s Marathon

• The winner will take home $250,000 making it the current highest prize purse for any marathon in the world. 
• Nagoya is also the largest women-only marathon in the world. 
• Any female athlete, who has run under a 2:50:00 marathon is eligible for this race.

Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon

• $200,000 for first place winners.
• An additional $100,000 for breaking the marathon world record.
• In January of 2008, the Dubai Marathon offered the highest prize purses ever with winners receiving $250,000 and a million-dollar offer if they set a world record. 
• Unfortunately, no runner set the world record that day. 
• The winner of the 2008 race, Haile Gebrselassie, ran in 2:04:53, which was the second-best world marathon time at the time, and just a few months later at the Berlin Marathon, he did in fact set the world record at the time with a 2:03:59.
• Since 2019 the winner’s prize was cut in half to $125,000.

Abbott World Marathon Majors

• $500,000 goes to the men’s and women’s champions based on points earned in qualifying races after a full year of competition.

Other income for marathon runners

• Appearance fees can stack up and be upwards of $250K for big-name runners. 
• Shoe sponsor bonuses can be in the range of $50-75K for a major win, like Boston, from an athlete with a major sponsor like Nike. 
• General sponsors can add unlimited funding for runners and major wins can enhance an athlete’s visibility exponentially. 
• Speaking engagements are like general sponsors, and if an athlete jumps on opportunities quickly after a win they can see upwards of $40K for an individual engagement. 

About RunRepeat

We buy shoes with our own money, run in them, put them through vigorous tests in our lab, and present the findings to you.

The marathon is one of the oldest and most prestigious race distances in the world. It takes a lot of work to prepare for 26.2 miles and RunRepeat is here to help you find the right shoes for race day. Whether it’s marathon shoes, race-specific shoes, or carbon-plated shoes we want to help you do your best next time you’re lined up in the starting blocks. 

Interested in learning more about shoes? Check out our shoe buyer’s guides or our pages on road running shoes, trail running shoes, or even just sneakers.

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References