The running boom continues. As the London Marathon expands to a two-day event to accommodate the masses and the Boston Marathon tightens its qualifying cutoff, Paris is making it slightly more challenging to run France’s largest marathon.
Paris Marathon
For Paris, the inaugural lottery attracted more than 166,000 applicants hoping to secure a bib for the 2027 race. The application period for the ASICS Marathon de Paris closed Wednesday.
The 50th edition is scheduled for April 4, 2027.
The new system replaces the first-come, first-served model used in previous years. For 2027, runners had three weeks to enter the draw, competing for one of 35,000 available places.
A waiting list will also be established.
Runners selected in the lottery must pay an entry fee of €169 (US$190; C$271) and confirm their places within 72 hours. Groups of two to six runners could also enter together, with the selection of one member allowing the entire group to register.
While 166,000 applications represent substantial demand, the 2027 London Marathon, the world’s largest marathon and biggest one-day charity event, received 1,338,544 applications.
The accompanying half-marathon, the HOKA Semi de Paris, scheduled for March 7, 2027, received nearly 110,000 lottery applications.
Chongqing Marathon
Chongqing Marathon is interesting because, while below it is listed as having 100,000 applications, that was just for one day. The total was 266,358 for the 2026 running. The event accommodated 25,000 marathon runners on January 18, 2026.
This not-well-known marathon outside of China runs along the Yangtze River. The course passes historic sites and urban landmarks, including Longmenhao Old Street, Ciyun Temple and the former French naval barracks.
Chongqing is known for its dramatic topography, dense urban development and river scenery. The race offers a distinctly different setting from the relatively flat, internationally familiar routes of Berlin, Chicago and London.
Royal Victoria Marathon
The Royal Victoria Marathon happens on Canada’s Thanksgiving Day on the first or second Sunday of October each year. It is considered one of the most beautiful city marathons in the world.
This year’s event sold out in August, and the weekend of events, which include a half-marathon, 8K, and 5K, has had over 17,000 registrations. It is more challenging to get to the race due to it being on an island, but it is worth the extra ferry ride from Vancouver.
Two fast alternatives this fall
Now, if you want a fast course, without all the mass event hassles, the Abingdon Marathon and Verona Marathon are fast, flat autumn races in Europe that offer competitive fields with much smaller crowds than major events like Berlin or Amsterdam.
Top 10 marathons by application
| Marathon | Location | Approx. applicants / pre-reg | Entry method | WMM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Marathon | London, UK | ~1.338 million (2027 ballot) | Ballot | Yes |
| Sydney Marathon | Sydney, Australia | ~123,000+ | General ballot | Yes |
| Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan | ~400,000+ (historical average) | General lottery | Yes |
| Berlin Marathon | Berlin, Germany | ~300,000+ (estimated) | General lottery | Yes |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, USA | ~200,000+ | Guaranteed entry | Yes |
| New York City Marathon | New York, USA | ~150,000–180,000 (estimated) | General drawing | Yes |
| Shanghai Marathon | Shanghai, China | ~170,000 (pre-registration peak) | Public lottery | No |
| Paris Marathon | Paris, France | ~166,000 | Paid entry / lottery | No |
| Chongqing Marathon | Chongqing, China | ~100,000+ (single-day peak) | Public reg | No |
| Boston Marathon | Boston, USA | ~33,000+ (qualifying applications) | Time qual. | Yes |
